HB 815 — An Act requiring notification of employees, the Department of Labor and Industry and municipalities when mass layoffs and business closings occur; and providing for civil penalties and for powers and duties of the Department of Labor and Industry.

PRINTER'S NO.   845

                   THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF PENNSYLVANIA



                       HOUSE BILL
                       No. 815
                                              Session of
                                                2025

     INTRODUCED BY O'MARA, GIRAL, SANCHEZ, HILL-EVANS, CIRESI,
        SCHLOSSBERG, HOHENSTEIN, HARKINS, FREEMAN, DELLOSO, FLEMING,
        OTTEN, GREEN, INGLIS, KENYATTA, HOWARD, WAXMAN, HANBIDGE,
        GUENST, BOYD AND MERSKI, MARCH 5, 2025

     REFERRED TO COMMITTEE ON LABOR AND INDUSTRY, MARCH 5, 2025


                                   AN ACT
 1   Requiring notification of employees, the Department of Labor and
 2      Industry and municipalities when mass layoffs and business
 3      closings occur; and providing for civil penalties and for
 4      powers and duties of the Department of Labor and Industry.
 5      The General Assembly of the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania
 6   hereby enacts as follows:
 7   Section 1.   Short title.
 8      This act shall be known and may be cited as the Worker
 9   Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
10   Section 2.   Declaration of policy.
11      The General Assembly finds and declares as follows:
12          (1)   The impact of business closings and job loss due to
13      mergers and downsizing can be devastating to both individuals
14      and communities.
15          (2)   With adequate notice of business closings and job
16      loss due to mergers and downsizing, employees, unions, State
17      and local government, business and community leaders can take
18      action to prevent the job loss or to implement plans for new
 1      employment opportunities.
 2   Section 3.   Definitions.
 3      The following words and phrases when used in this act shall
 4   have the meanings given to them in this section unless the
 5   context clearly indicates otherwise:
 6      "Affected employee."     An employee who may reasonably be
 7   expected to experience an employment loss as a consequence of a
 8   proposed business closing or mass layoff by the employee's
 9   employer.
10      "Business closing."      If a shutdown results in an employment
11   loss at the single site of employment during any 30-day period
12   for 30 or more employees, excluding part-time employees, the
13   permanent or temporary shutdown of:
14          (1)   A single site of employment.
15          (2)   One or more facilities or operating units within a
16      single site of employment.
17      "Department."    The Department of Labor and Industry of the
18   Commonwealth.
19      "Employer."   A business enterprise that employs:
20          (1)   50 or more employees, excluding part-time employees,
21      whether at one or multiple sites; or
22          (2)   50 or more employees who in the aggregate work at
23      least 2,000 hours per week, exclusive of hours of overtime.
24      "Employment loss."    The term includes:
25          (1)   An employment termination, other than a discharge
26      for cause, voluntary departure or retirement.
27          (2)   A mass layoff exceeding six months.
28          (3)   A reduction in hours of work of more than 50% during
29      each month of any six-month period.
30      "Mass layoff."   A reduction in force that meets both of the

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 1   following criteria:
 2            (1)   Is not the result of a business closing.
 3            (2)   Results in an employment loss at the single or
 4      multiple sites of employment during any 30-day period for:
 5                  (i)    at least 33% of the employees and at least 25
 6            employees; or
 7                  (ii)    at least 500 employees.
 8      "Part-time employee."       An employee who is employed for an
 9   average of fewer than 20 hours per week or who has been employed
10   for fewer than six of the 12 months preceding the date on which
11   notice is required.
12      "Plant closing."       If a shutdown results in an employment loss
13   at the single site of employment during any 30-day period for 50
14   or more employees, other than part-time employees, the permanent
15   or temporary shutdown of:
16            (1)   A single site of employment.
17            (2)   One or more facilities or operating units within a
18      single site of employment.
19      "Relocation."       The removal of all or substantially all of the
20   industrial or commercial operations of an employer to a
21   different location 50 or more miles away.
22      "Representative."       An exclusive representative of employees
23   for collective bargaining purposes.
24      "Secretary."       The Secretary of Labor and Industry of the
25   Commonwealth.
26   Section 4.     Notice required before business closing and mass
27                  layoffs.
28      (a)   Parties to be notified.--An employer may not order a
29   business closing, mass layoff or relocation until the end of a
30   90-day period after the employer serves written notice of the

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 1   business closing or mass layoff order:
 2            (1)   To each representative of the affected employees as
 3      of the time of the notice or, if there is no representative
 4      at that time, to each affected employee.
 5            (2)   To the department and the chief elected official of
 6      the municipality within which the business closing or mass
 7      layoff is to occur. If there is more than one municipality,
 8      the municipality that the employer shall notify is the
 9      municipality to which the employer pays the taxes for the
10      year preceding the year for which the determination is made.
11            (3)   To the local workforce investment board established
12      under 29 U.S.C. Ch. 32 (relating to workforce innovation and
13      opportunity) for the locality in which the business closing,
14      relocation or mass layoffs will occur.
15      (b)   Reduction of notification period.--
16            (1)   An employer may order a business closing or mass
17      layoff before the conclusion of the 90-day period if the
18      business closing or mass layoff is caused by business
19      circumstances that were not reasonably foreseeable as of the
20      time that notice would have been required.
21            (2)   Notice under this act shall not be required if the
22      business closing or mass layoff is due to a form of natural
23      disaster, including a flood, earthquake or drought.
24            (3)   An employer relying on this subsection shall give as
25      much notice as is practicable and at that time shall give a
26      brief statement of the basis for reducing the notification
27      period.
28      (c)   Extension of layoff period.--A layoff of more than six
29   months which, at the layoffs outset, was announced to be a
30   layoff of six months or less shall be treated as an employment

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 1   loss under this act unless:
 2            (1)   The extension beyond six months is caused by
 3      business circumstances, including unforeseeable changes in
 4      price or cost, not reasonably foreseeable at the time of the
 5      initial layoff.
 6            (2)   Notice is given at the time it becomes reasonably
 7      foreseeable that the extension beyond six months is required.
 8      (d)   Determinations regarding employment loss.--For purposes
 9   of this section, in determining whether a business closing or
10   mass layoff has occurred or will occur, employment losses for
11   two or more groups at a single site of employment, each of which
12   is less than the minimum number of employees specified in the
13   definition of "business closing" or "mass layoff" under section
14   3, but which in the aggregate exceed that minimum number and
15   occur within any 90-day period, shall be considered to be a
16   business closing or mass layoff unless the employer demonstrates
17   that the employment losses are the result of separate and
18   distinct actions and causes and not an attempt by the employer
19   to evade the requirements of this act.
20   Section 5.     Special circumstances.
21      (a)   Sale or merger of business.--
22            (1)   In the case of a sale or merger of part or all of an
23      employer's business, the seller or original employer shall be
24      responsible for providing notice for any business closing or
25      mass layoff in accordance with section 4, up to and including
26      the effective date of the sale or merger.
27            (2)   After the effective date of the sale or merger of
28      part or all of an employer's business, the purchaser or
29      resulting merged entity shall be responsible for providing
30      notice for any business closing or mass layoff in accordance

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 1      with section 4.
 2            (3)   Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, a
 3      person who is an employee of the seller or original employer
 4      other than a part-time employee as of the effective date of
 5      the sale or merger shall be considered an employee of the
 6      purchaser or resulting merged entity immediately after the
 7      effective date of the sale or merger.
 8      (b)   Exception.--An employee may not be considered to have
 9   experienced an employment loss if the closing or layoff is the
10   result of the relocation or consolidation of part or all of the
11   employer's business and, prior to the closing or layoff:
12            (1)   the employer offers to transfer the employee to a
13      different site of employment within a reasonable commuting
14      distance with no more than a six-month break in employment;
15      or
16            (2)   the employer offers to transfer the employee to any
17      other site of employment regardless of distance with no more
18      than a six-month break in employment and the employee accepts
19      within 30 days of the offer or of the closing or layoff,
20      whichever is later.
21   Section 6.     Exemptions.
22      (a)   Applicability.--This act shall not apply to a business
23   closing or mass layoff if:
24            (1)   The closing is of a temporary facility or the
25      closing or layoff is the result of the completion of a
26      particular project or undertaking and the affected employees
27      were hired with the understanding that the employment was
28      limited to the duration of the facility or the project or
29      undertaking.
30            (2)   The closing or layoff constitutes a strike or

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 1      constitutes a lockout not intended to evade the requirements
 2      of this act.
 3      (b)   Plant closings.--In the case of a plant closing, an
 4   employer is not required to comply with the notice requirement
 5   in section 4 if:
 6            (1)   at the time the notice would have been required, the
 7      employer was actively seeking capital or business;
 8            (2)   the capital or business sought, if obtained, would
 9      have enabled the employer to avoid or postpone the relocation
10      or termination; and
11            (3)   the employer reasonably and in good faith believed
12      that giving the notice required by section 4 would have
13      precluded the employer from obtaining the needed capital or
14      business.
15      (c)   Economic strikers.--Nothing in this act shall require an
16   employer to serve written notice under section 4 when
17   permanently replacing a person who is deemed to be an economic
18   striker under 29 U.S.C. Ch. 7 Subch. II (relating to national
19   labor relations). Nothing in this act shall be deemed to
20   validate or invalidate any judicial or administrative ruling
21   relating to the hiring of permanent replacements for economic
22   strikers under 29 U.S.C. Ch. 7 Subch II.
23   Section 7.     Administration and enforcement requirements.
24      The following requirements shall apply:
25            (1)   The secretary shall prescribe rules and regulations
26      as may be necessary to carry out this act. The rules and
27      regulations shall, at a minimum, include provisions that
28      allow the parties access to administrative hearings for any
29      actions of the department under this section.
30            (2)   In an investigation or proceeding under this act,

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 1    the secretary has, in addition to all other powers granted by
 2    law, the authority to examine any information of an employer
 3    necessary to determine whether a violation of this act has
 4    occurred, including to determine the validity of any defense.
 5        (3)   Except as provided in this section, information
 6    obtained through administration of this act from an employer
 7    subject to this act and that is not otherwise obtainable by
 8    the secretary under this section shall be confidential and
 9    shall not be published or open to public inspection. Prior to
10    public disclosure of the information in connection with any
11    court action or proceeding, the employer shall be given a
12    reasonable opportunity to make application to protect the
13    information's confidentiality.
14        (4)   No decision or order issued under this act shall be
15    admissible or used in evidence in any subsequent court
16    proceeding except in an action by the secretary or the
17    employer to implement, enforce or challenge a determination
18    made by the secretary under this act.
19        (5)   An officer or employer of the State, an officer or
20    employee of an entity authorized to obtain information under
21    this section and an agent to this State or of the entity who,
22    except with authority of the secretary under this section,
23    discloses information commits a misdemeanor.
24        (6)   If, after an administrative hearing, the secretary
25    determines that an employer has violated a requirement of
26    this act or rules or regulations promulgated under this act,
27    the secretary shall issue an order that shall include any
28    penalties assessed by the secretary under this act. Upon the
29    entry of the order, a party aggrieved thereby may commence a
30    proceeding for review under the civil practice law and rules

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 1      within 30 days from the notice of the filing of the order in
 2      the office of the secretary. The proceeding shall be
 3      commenced in Commonwealth Court. If the order is not reviewed
 4      or if it is reviewed and the final decision is in favor of
 5      the secretary, the secretary may file with the clerk of the
 6      county where the employer resides or has a place of business
 7      the order of the secretary containing the amount found to be
 8      due. The filing of the order shall have the full force and
 9      effect of a judgment duly docketed in the office of the
10      clerk. The order may be enforced by and in the name of the
11      secretary in the same manner, and with like effect, as that
12      prescribed by the civil practice law and rules for the
13      enforcement of a money judgment.
14            (7)   The secretary shall promptly distribute any back pay
15      and the value of benefits recovered to employees subject to
16      the violation.
17   Section 8.     Civil actions and remedies.
18      (a)   Liability of employer.--An employer who orders a
19   business closing or mass layoff in violation of section 4 is
20   liable to each affected employee who suffers an employment loss
21   as a result of the business closing or mass layoff for:
22            (1)   back pay for each day of violation at a rate of
23      compensation not less than the higher of:
24                  (i)    the average regular rate received by the
25            employee during the last three years of the employee's
26            employment; or
27                  (ii)    the final regular rate received by the
28            employee; and
29            (2)   benefits under an employee benefit plan, including
30      the cost of medical expenses incurred during the employment

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 1      loss that would have been covered under an employee benefit
 2      plan if the employment loss had not occurred.
 3      (b)   Calculation of liability.--Liability shall be calculated
 4   for the period of the violation up to a maximum of 60 days. In
 5   no event shall the liability be for more than one-half the
 6   number of days the employee was employed by the employer.
 7      (c)   Not considered remuneration.--Payments to an employee
 8   under this section by an employer who has failed to provide the
 9   advance notice of a facility closure required by this act or 29
10   U.S.C. Ch. 23 (relating to worker adjustment and retraining
11   notification). Unemployment insurance benefits may not be denied
12   or reduced because of the receipt of payments related to an
13   employer's violation of this act or 29 U.S.C. Ch. 23.
14      (d)   Reduction of liability.--The amount for which an
15   employer is liable under subsection (a) shall be reduced by any:
16            (1)   wages paid by the employer to the employee for the
17      period of the violation;
18            (2)   voluntary and unconditional payment by the employer
19      to the employee that is not required by any legal obligation;
20            (3)   payment by the employer to a third party or trustee,
21      including premiums for health benefits or payments to a
22      defined contribution pension plan on behalf of and
23      attributable to the employee for the period of the violation;
24            (4)   liability paid by the employer under any applicable
25      Federal law governing notification of mass layoffs, plant
26      closings or relocations;
27            (5)   in an administrative proceeding by the secretary,
28      liability paid by the employer prior to the secretary's
29      determination as the result of a private action brought under
30      this act; and

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 1            (6)   in a private action brought under this act,
 2      liability paid by the employer in an administrative
 3      proceeding by the secretary prior to the adjudication of the
 4      private action.
 5      (e)   Credit.--In addition, any liability incurred under
 6   subsection (d)(1) with respect to a defined benefit pension plan
 7   may be reduced by crediting the employee with service for all
 8   purposes under the plan for the period of the violation.
 9      (f)   Payment to aggrieved employees.--An employer who
10   violates section 4 with respect to a municipality shall be
11   subject to a civil penalty of not more than $500 for each day of
12   the violation. The penalty shall not apply if the employer pays
13   to each aggrieved employee the amount for which the employer is
14   liable to that employee within three weeks from the date the
15   employer orders the business closing or mass layoff.
16   Section 9.     Civil penalty.
17      (a)   Failure of notice.--An employer who fails to give notice
18   as required by section 4 shall be subject to a civil penalty of
19   not more than $500 for each day of the violation. The employer
20   shall not be subject to a civil penalty under this section if
21   the employer pays to all applicable employees the amounts for
22   which the employer is liable under section 4 within 21 days from
23   the date the employer orders the mass layoff, relocation or
24   employment loss.
25      (b)   Maximum penalty.--The total amount of penalties for
26   which an employer may be liable under this section shall not
27   exceed the maximum amount of penalties for which the employer
28   may be liable under Federal law for the same violation.
29      (c)   Penalty payments.--A penalty amount paid by the employer
30   under Federal law shall be considered a payment made under this

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 1   article.
 2      (d)     Reduction of liability or penalty.--If an employer that
 3   has violated this act proves to the satisfaction of the
 4   secretary or the court that the act or omission that violated
 5   this act was in good faith and that the employer had reasonable
 6   grounds for believing that the act or omission was not a
 7   violation of this act, the secretary and the court may, in their
 8   discretion, reduce the amount of the liability or penalty under
 9   this section. In determining the amount of the reduction, the
10   secretary and the court shall consider:
11            (1)   the size of the employer;
12            (2)   hardships imposed on employees by the violation;
13            (3)   efforts by the employer to mitigate the violation;
14      and
15            (4)   the grounds for the employer's belief.
16      (e)     Jurisdiction.--A person seeking to enforce liability,
17   including a representative of employees or a municipality
18   aggrieved under subsection (d)(1) or (4), may sue on his or her
19   own behalf or for other persons similarly situated, or both, in
20   any court of common pleas in which the violation is alleged to
21   have occurred, or in which the employer transacts business.
22      (f)     No injunction.--The secretary shall not have the
23   authority to enjoin a plant closing, relocation or mass layoff
24   under this act.
25      (g)     Attorney fees.--In an action under this subsection, the
26   court, in the court's discretion, may allow the prevailing party
27   reasonable attorney fees as part of the costs.
28      (h)     Definition.--As used in this section, an "aggrieved
29   employee" shall mean an employee who:
30            (1)   worked for an employer that ordered a business

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 1      closing or mass layoff; and
 2          (2)    as a result of the employer's failure to comply with
 3      section 4, did not receive timely notice directly or through
 4      the employee's representative as required by this act.
 5   Section 10.   Procedures and other rights.
 6      The following procedures and rights shall apply:
 7          (1)    The rights and remedies provided to employees by
 8      this act are in addition to any other contractual or
 9      statutory rights and remedies of the employees and are not
10      intended to alter or affect those rights and remedies, except
11      that the period of notification required by this act shall
12      run concurrently with any period of notification required by
13      contract or by any other statute.
14          (2)    Nothing in this act shall be read to abridge,
15      abrogate or restrict the right of any State or local entity
16      to require an employer that is receiving State or local
17      economic development incentives for doing or continuing to do
18      business in this State from being required to provide
19      additional or earlier notice as a condition for the receipt
20      of the incentives.
21          (3)    Nothing in this act shall be read to prevent an
22      employer who is not required to comply with the notice
23      requirements of this section, to the extent possible, to
24      provide notice to the employees about a proposal to close a
25      plant or permanently reduce its workforce.
26   Section 11.   Promulgation of regulations.
27      The department shall promulgate regulations as may be
28   necessary to carry out the provisions of this act.
29   Section 12.   Form of notice.
30      The mailing of notice to an employee's last known address or

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1   inclusion of notice in the employee's paycheck shall be deemed
2   acceptable methods for fulfillment of the employer's obligation
3   to give notice to each affected employee under this act.
4   Section 13.   Effective date.
5      This act shall take effect in 60 days.




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