OTHER NEWS - Feb. 23, 1993

Plant-Closing Law Filled With Loopholes: A law requiring companies to provide notice of layoffs and plant closings is so riddled with loopholes that many employers are escaping its reach, a congressional study said. A survey of 11 states found that 54% of employers who appeared to fall under the authority of the law did not file notice with state officials, according to the report by the General Accounting Office. “In addition, when employers provided notice, some did not provide the 60-days notice required” by the law, the report said. The 4-year-old Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act requires businesses employing more than 100 workers to give 60 days’ notice of plant closings and layoffs involving 50 or more people. No federal agency is responsible for enforcing the law. The GAO suggested that Congress consider giving such authority to the Labor Department.