Senate Seeks to Protect Workers

Right now, New Hampshire is one of about 40 states that doesn’t have a state WARN Act.

WARN stands for Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification, a federal law that’s been on the books since 1989.

Under the Act, a business of at least 100 employees must give 60 day notice if it’s going to layoff 1/3rd of its labor force or 500 workers if it is a large company.

But the federal law doesn’t have any teeth.

So when outfits like Car Component Technologies of Bedford and Customized Structures of Claremont closed with scant warning in the past few years, Senator Maggie Hassan says little could be done.

TAPE: there is virtually no way for employees or the state of NH to get the back pay and the value of the benefits that they would have had, if the company had complied with the WARN Act requirements.

In response to those incidents, Senate lawmakers have crafted legislation they believe will help employees get that back pay.

Initially the bill would have allowed the Department of Labor to investigate and determine if companies with more than 75 employees had complied with the Act.

But unlike the federal law, the state could seek both the parent company and individual executives’ personal assets.

Over the past several weeks, the business community has lobbied Senators to remove the personal and parent company liability provisions.

Senator Hassan introduced an amendment that she felt met the business community halfway.

TAPE: Connecticut, Massachusetts, Maine, California, all have individual liability in their statute...we’ve taken that out. But we have kept parent corporation in. Imagine...what happened to some of our residents in the last year happens again, and there is a parent corporation right over the border in Massachusetts that’s got money that could compensate those employees who didn’t get the 60 day notice, and we can’t get anything from that parent corporation to keep them whole.

In addition to removing the personal liability, the measure includes multiple exceptions.

A business is not required to provide notice if owners are seeking capital to keep the doors open, or the notice was not reasonably foreseeable at the time a notice would have been required, or in the event of a natural disaster.

Despite the concessions, many Senators remained troubled.

TAPE: we are fearful, including the four Republicans who co-sponsored the bill that there are unintended consequences and this bill needs further work.

Senate Republican leader Peter Bragdon and others who weren’t satisfied with Hassan’s amendment, felt with a little more time, everyone could be happy.

TAPE: it’s our job to call balls and strikes sometimes. And the reality is there is a basic disagreement here.

Senator Hassan said the basic disagreement is that the business community wants a WARN Act on the books that can’t make employees whole if there is a violation.

She told Senators this was an opportunity to help their so-called ‘Main St.’ constituents.

TAPE: 8:07 we are in an environment over the last year where we understand well, that corporate America has been really good about taking care of itself. But not so good at taking care of its employees. And our constitutients are asking us if it’s time to recalibrate the equation just a little bit. To make sure that when bad things happen, when the economy goes south that we ask the business to be as accountable to the employees as the executives of that business would like to be treated.

The measure passed, narrowly, 12-10, with two Democrats siding with all of the Senate Republicans.

After the vote, representatives from the business community said the Senate has sent a very clear message.

TAPE: in effect, the Senate has told any businesses that are considering a move or relocation to New Hampshire that the welcome mat is no longer available.

Chris Williams is the President of the Nashua Chamber of Commerce.

TAPE: when businesses look at where they are going to expand, or relocate, they look at the pro-business message a state gives.

Williams says given that many states don’t have a state WARN Act that would make parent company assets available, businesses won’t want to take a risk and site their companies in the Granite State.

He says, right now, this bill is the business communities top legislative priority.

As the measure moves to the House, Williams says he hopes both the Governor and the state’s Office of Economic Development will get involved.

He reasons, if they are concerned about business recruitment, particularly in a recession, they will want to weigh in on the debate.

For NHPR News, I’m DG.