The WARN Act and Notice of Termination Essay Example | Topics and Well Written Essays - 500 words

The WARN Act and Notice of Termination - Essay Example Ultimately, a criminal indictment was filed by the DOJ. At first, the indictment was sealed, meaning private, and Arthur Andersen continued a vigorous defense. There was some negative publicity and some rather minor business losses; however, the indictment was later unsealed and Arthur Andersen experienced mass client defections and staggering financial losses. At is in this case is a decision by Arthur Andersen to send a notice of termination to 560 employees. In response to these layoffs, many employees joined a class action in Federal District Court in which they alleged that Arthur Andersen violated the WARN Act. The purpose of this Act is to compel certain large employers to provide advance notice to employees, 60 days in this case, when the company plans plant closings or mass layoffs. The plaintiffs, therefore, argued that because the notice provisions of the WARN Act were not complied with, a fact not in dispute, that they were entitled to back pay and other damages. Arthur Andersen conceded the lack of a 60 notice, but argued that they were innocent by virtue of an exception to the WARN Act. More specifically, they argued that they were not required to comply with the notice provisions because they made the decision to lay off employees based on events which were not reasonably foreseeable.