Ohio employers take note:

Ohio recently enacted a state “mini-WARN” Act (“Ohio WARN”), which will supplement federal WARN notice requirements for employers anticipating mass layoffs. The requirements of the new Ohio WARN are largely the same as those under the federal WARN Act; however, there are a few notable differences, including:

  • Ohio WARN defines the term “employer” in line with the federal WARN definition (one who employs at least 100 “full time” employees, excluding “part-time employees”, or alternatively, 100 or more employees including part-time employees who, in the aggregate, work at least 4,000 hours per week). However, Ohio WARN also states that the Ohio WARN notice requirements only apply to employers who employ “one hundred or more employees who in the aggregate work at least [4,000] hours a week”.
  • Ohio WARN purports to adopt federal WARN’s definitions of the terms “mass layoff” and “plant closing;” however, it provides that notice requirements only apply when an employer lays off “fifty or more employees at single site of employment during any thirty-day period” – which appears to eliminate the requirement under federal WARN that at least 33% of active, full-time employees at a job site experience a loss of employment in order for a “mass layoff” to have occurred.
  • Federal WARN allows for 90-day period to aggregate employment losses that do not, by themselves, trigger the thresholds for a mass layoff or a plant closing, whereas Ohio WARN does not seem to incorporate this provision.
  • Ohio WARN has broader notice requirements than federal WARN – including that notices to union representatives and non-represented employees must include a “detailed statement” explaining the reasons for a mass layoff or plant closing, and notices to non-represented employees also must include (1) information on how to access unemployment insurance benefits and other assistance programs; and (2) information on any available services for affected employees (e.g., job placement services).

Ohio employers should monitor developments relating to this new law, as the above-described ambiguities may be addressed in amendments, regulations or official guidance. The Ohio WARN statute can be found here: Section 4113.31 – Ohio Revised Code | Ohio Laws