The Nation - News from Dec. 7, 1988

The Labor Department is advising employers who anticipate closing their plants or implementing large layoffs in February to start providing 60 days’ notice despite some confusion over the timetable of the new law. Although the plant-closing notice law--formally the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act--does not take effect until Feb. 4, there have been different interpretations on when companies should begin providing 60 days’ notice. Until the department issues final regulations by next April or the issue is resolved in court, the Labor Department said in a Federal Register notice that “employers are best advised to proceed conservatively and to provide notice . . . as early as Dec. 6 . . . in view of this possible liability.” No notice is required for layoffs or plant closings that occur between now and Feb. 4.