Forewarn Act
Latest action · Jun 25, 2009 Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
Progress
Where this bill reached, and when. A stage with no date was not reached; one that failed a vote and later carried shows the date it carried.
- IntroducedJun 25, 2009
- Passed HouseNot reached
- Passed SenateNot reached
- To the PresidentNot reached
- Became lawNot reached
Summary
Forewarn Act - Amends the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (the Act) to: (1) redefine the terms "employer," "plant closing," and "mass layoff" for purposes of the Act; and (2) among other things, apply it to employers of 75 or more employees (currently, 100 employees), including any parent company of which the business enterprise is a subsidiary.
Requires an employer to: (1) give 90-day written notice (currently, 60-day) to employees and appropriate state and local governments before ordering a plant closing or mass layoff; (2) notify the Secretary of Labor and the governor of the state in which the closing or layoff will occur; and (3) provide affected employees with information regarding benefits and services available to them, including unemployment compensation, trade adjustment assistance, COBRA benefits, onsite access to rapid response teams, and certain other services.
Exempts from such notice requirements plant closings or mass layoffs which are due directly to a terrorist attack.
Requires the Secretary to notify the appropriate U.S. Senators and Members of the House of Representatives who represent the area where such closing or mass layoff is to occur.
Makes an employer who violates such notice requirements liable to the employee for, among other things, two days pay (currently, back pay for each day of violation) multiplied by the number of calendar days for which the employer was required but failed to provide notice, including interest on such pay.
Authorizes an affected employee to file a complaint with the Secretary alleging a violation of the notice requirements. Requires the Secretary to investigate and attempt to resolve such complaints. Authorizes the Secretary to bring an action in court to recover on behalf of an affected employee any backpay (including interest), benefits, and liquidated damages due.
Requires an employer to post conspicuously upon its premises pertinent provisions of this Act and information on the filing of a complaint. Requires the Secretary to maintain a guide on the benefits and services available to affected employees.
Prohibits the waiver of rights and remedies provided under this Act (including the right to maintain a civil action) by any agreement or settlement negotiated on behalf of affected employees.
Cosponsors 62
Members who signed on, in the order they did. Signatures ran from Jun 25, 2009 to Jan 19, 2010; 3 are original cosponsors, there from the day it was introduced.
| Seat | Cosponsor | Signed on | |
|---|---|---|---|
| R-NY | John M. McHugh | Original | Jun 25, 2009 |
| D-CA | Lynn C. Woolsey | Original | Jun 25, 2009 |
| D-OH | Marcy Kaptur | Original | Jun 25, 2009 |
| D-IL | Phil Hare | Jun 26, 2009 | |
| D-FL | Alcee L. Hastings | Jul 7, 2009 | |
| D-OH | Betty Sutton | Jul 7, 2009 | |
| D-CA | Bob Filner | Jul 7, 2009 | |
| D-NH | Carol Shea-Porter | Jul 7, 2009 | |
| D-MI | Dale E. Kildee | Jul 7, 2009 | |
| D-NY | Eric J. J. Massa | Jul 7, 2009 | |
| D-WI | Gwen Moore | Jul 7, 2009 | |
| D-MA | John F. Tierney | Jul 7, 2009 | |
| D-IL | Luis V. Gutierrez | Jul 7, 2009 | |
| D-MI | Mark H. Schauer | Jul 7, 2009 | |
| D-ME | Michael H. Michaud | Jul 7, 2009 | |
| D-MA | Barney Frank | Jul 10, 2009 | |
| D-NY | Jerrold Nadler | Jul 10, 2009 | |
| D-OH | Charles A. Wilson | Jul 13, 2009 | |
| D-NY | Maurice D. Hinchey | Jul 13, 2009 | |
| D-CT | Rosa L. DeLauro | Jul 13, 2009 | |
| D-NY | Timothy H. Bishop | Jul 13, 2009 | |
| D-IN | André Carson | Jul 14, 2009 | |
| D-PA | Chaka Fattah | Jul 14, 2009 | |
| D-OH | John A. Boccieri | Jul 14, 2009 | |
| D-MI | John D. Dingell | Jul 14, 2009 | |
| D-OH | Marcia L. Fudge | Jul 14, 2009 | |
| D-CA | Henry A. Waxman | Jul 15, 2009 | |
| D-AZ | Raúl M. Grijalva | Jul 16, 2009 | |
| D-CA | Sam Farr | Jul 16, 2009 | |
| D-CA | Lucille Roybal-Allard | Jul 20, 2009 | |
| D-MI | Sander M. Levin | Jul 20, 2009 | |
| D-NY | Louise McIntosh Slaughter | Jul 21, 2009 | |
| D-OR | Peter A. DeFazio | Jul 21, 2009 | |
| D-IN | Peter J. Visclosky | Jul 21, 2009 | |
| D-NJ | Donald M. Payne | Jul 23, 2009 | |
| D-VA | Gerald E. Connolly | Jul 23, 2009 | |
| D-OH | Mary Jo Kilroy | Jul 23, 2009 | |
| D-PA | Robert A. Brady | Jul 23, 2009 | |
| D-TX | Sheila Jackson Lee | Jul 23, 2009 | |
| D-MA | James P. McGovern | Jul 24, 2009 | |
| D-WA | Jim McDermott | Jul 27, 2009 | |
| D-CA | Barbara Lee | Jul 28, 2009 | |
| D-IL | Janice D. Schakowsky | Jul 28, 2009 | |
| D-CA | Joe Baca | Jul 28, 2009 | |
| D-NY | Jose E. Serrano | Jul 28, 2009 | |
| D-MI | Gary C. Peters | Jul 29, 2009 | |
| D-VI | Donna M. Christensen | Jul 30, 2009 | |
| D-CT | Joe Courtney | Jul 30, 2009 | |
| D-ME | Chellie Pingree | Jul 31, 2009 | |
| D-OH | Dennis J. Kucinich | Jul 31, 2009 | |
| D-CA | Lois Capps | Jul 31, 2009 | |
| D-NY | Michael A. Arcuri | Jul 31, 2009 | |
| D-NY | Carolyn B. Maloney | Sep 8, 2009 | |
| D-NY | Carolyn McCarthy | Sep 8, 2009 | |
| D-DC | Eleanor Holmes Norton | Sep 8, 2009 | |
| D-GA | John Lewis | Sep 8, 2009 | |
| D-OH | Tim Ryan | Sep 8, 2009 | |
| D-NJ | Rush Holt | Sep 10, 2009 | |
| D-NY | Paul Tonko | Sep 22, 2009 | |
| D-TN | Steve Cohen | Sep 22, 2009 | |
| D-NY | Brian Higgins | Dec 8, 2009 | |
| D-CA | Linda T. Sánchez | Jan 19, 2010 |
Committees 1
Where it was sent and what each committee and subcommittee did with it, in order.
| Chamber | Committee | What it did |
|---|---|---|
| House | Education and Workforce Committee | Referred Jun 25, 2009 |
Actions 2
Everything that happened, newest first.
- Jun 25, 2009Introduced in House
- Jun 25, 2009Referred to the House Committee on Education and Labor.
In the Congressional Record 1
Days the Record’s own index lists this bill, newest first, with the pages and the members it names. Pages starting H are the House, S the Senate, E Extensions of Remarks.
| Where | In the Record | Members | Date |
|---|---|---|---|
| Extensions | Debate and remarks E1702 | John M. McHugh R-NY | Jul 9, 2009 |
Related bills 1
Companion bills and other measures the record links to this one.
| Bill | Title | Relationship | Latest action |
|---|---|---|---|
| S 1374 | Forewarn Act | Related bill | Jun 25, 2009 |
Titles 2
Every title it has carried, official and short, at each stage.
- Official Title as Introduced
- To amend the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to minimize the adverse effects of employment dislocation, and for other purposes.
- Short Titles as Introduced
- Forewarn Act
Subjects
Assigned by the Library of Congress. Policy area: Labor and Employment.
- Civil actions and liability
- Employee benefits and pensions
- Employment and training programs
- Employment discrimination and employee rights
- Government information and archives
- Government studies and investigations
- Health care costs and insurance
- Labor and Employment
- Trade adjustment assistance
- Unemployment
- Wages and earnings
Text 1
Each version as it was printed, newest first.
- Jun 25, 2009Introduced in House
Everything here is as published by Congress: the summary is the Congressional Research Service's, the action wording is the clerks', and the subjects are the Library of Congress's. How far it got is read from the actions themselves, taking the most recent one of each kind, so a bill that failed a vote and later passed is shown as having passed. Records come from this bill on Congress.gov and govinfo.gov; cost estimates are the Congressional Budget Office's, and the hearings are the printed hearings GovInfo publishes, which can appear months after the hearing.
