This bill amends the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to require large employers to fund economic impact studies before closing plants or conducting mass layoffs. When an employer that is not experiencing financial hardship orders a closure or layoff, the employer must pay the assessed financial losses to either a state Impacted Workers Fund or the state workforce development system within 30 days prior to the closure. The economic impact study must evaluate the employer's financial viability and assess direct and indirect losses to affected local governments over a one-year period, including impacts on local businesses and tax revenue. The bill lowers the threshold for what constitutes a mass layoff from 50 to 25 full-time employees or 75 combined full-time and part-time employees, and expands notification requirements to include state representatives and members of Congress. The Secretary of Labor will issue guidance on conducting these studies within six months and will grant funds to help employers cover the cost of the required economic impact studies.
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