New Jersey is putting workers first.
On Tuesday, Gov. Phil Murphy signed legislation that not only guarantees and mandates severance pay for mass layoffs, but made the northeastern state the first in the country to do so, according to The Associated Press Wednesday.
In the event of a mass layoff, plant closing or transfer leading 50 or more workers to lose their jobs, the new bill demands that companies with 100 or more full-time employees must pay said employees a week’s pay for each year of service.
Under this law, a minimum of 90 days is required to notify people of such events, whereas it used to be 60 days.
Democratic state Sen. Joe Cryan, who co-sponsored the bill, said this legislation will look out for “the little guys” who tend to “get screwed” during a “corporate takeover” in which company honchos end up with “huge bonuses.”
The lawmaker hopes that the new measure will force companies to reconsider layoffs as a “go-to solution for every problem.”
According to AP, the protective bill was prompted by the 2019 Toys “R” Us closing that left 2,000 New Jersey employees jobless.
In Feb. 2019, NJ.com reported that those workers were initially let go without severance, though a $20 million severance fund was eventually established by two of the private equity funds that owned the toy retailer, based in Wayne – about 28 miles northwest of Manhattan.
Nationwide, over 30,000 lost their jobs after Toys “R” Us filed for bankruptcy in Sept. 2017 and announced in March 2018 all of its U.S. and British stores would be closing.
