Paterson Orders 8,900 Layoffs of State Workers.

March 24, 2009.
photo: A. Golden, eyewash design, c. 2009.

Governor calls for first job cuts since the late 1990s as the state faces a $16 billion deficit.

(AP) - Gov. David Paterson on Tuesday ordered layoffs that could total more than 4 percent of state workers after unions refused concessions amid a staggering economic downturn that was projected to push the state's deficit to $16 billion in the next year.

Budget Director Laura Anglin told The Associated Press that the layoffs of nearly 9,000 employees would be the first since the late 1990s after unions refused to even provide counterproposals.

It was unclear if the eventual number of layoffs could be offset by attrition or early retirement incentives. Those are among the details that would be worked out in coming weeks.

The layoffs, which Ms. Anglin said could save the state $500 million over two years, could begin July 1. The state currently employs nearly 200,000 people.

Ms. Anglin said unions, including the state's largest public employee unions, have been informed and could still try to return to the table in the coming days before a budget is negotiated.

"We felt there was no other option at this point considering the size and magnitude of the deficit," Ms. Anglin said in an interview. "We asked everyone for a sacrifice and the unions were not willing to have that conversation."

There was no immediate comment from two of the state's biggest unions, the Civil Service Employees Association and Public Employees Federation.

Ms. Anglin said the unions refused proposals to delay 3 percent pay raises expected this year; defer a week's pay until retirement, a practice known as "lag pay"; or reduce state payments into retirees' health care.

The action is expected to save $161 million in the 2009-10 fiscal year.

It will take months to figure out which agencies and employees would be affected. The layoffs would apply only to workers in agencies under direct control of the governor's office such as highway crews, nurses, prison guards and forest rangers.

Employees not under Mr. Paterson's control include workers in the office of the attorney general, comptroller, state courts system or Legislature, Ms. Anglin said.

Mr. Paterson said no jobs are safe but he committed to protecting public safety.

State unemployment has risen during this recession to 7 percent in January, the latest number available, up from 4.7 percent a year before.

State jobs are most heavily concentrated in Albany and New York City, but they also represent a major part of local economies in many rural areas such as the Adirondacks and Southern Tier — particularly state prisons.

LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN!

Thanks for all you do!
Live your values. Love your country.
And, remember: TOGETHER, We can make a DIFFERENCE!

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.

Longer notice now needed for layoffs in NY

Post: Crain's NY
By: Daniel Massey
Photograph: A. Golden, eyewash design, c. 2009.

February 02, 2009 3:49 PM

Tougher new law requires 90 days notice before layoffs or closings – up from 60 days.

Just as job losses are mounting, thousands of private employers in New York must now give an even earlier heads up to workers of mass layoffs, plant closings and relocations.

The New York State Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act went into effect Feb. 1 and is more expansive than the 20-year-old federal law that had previously set notification standards. Indeed, the New York law is considered the strictest in the country by some employment lawyers, who note that it applies to more employers, requires additional advanced notice and is more easily invoked than the federal WARN statute.

Employment lawyers and business advocates say the new set of rules come at the wrong time for businesses and make it harder for them to cope with the recession.

“In this economic climate, there are going to be a lot of companies that have to make changes for business reasons,” said attorney Marc Mandelman, co-chair of the Managing Change/Reductions in Force group at law firm Proskauer Rose. “These new deadlines will be extremely difficult to meet.”

The federal law required employers with 100 or more full-time employees to provide written notification of mass layoffs and closings, but the New York law applies to businesses with 50 or more full-time workers.

The new law also requires 90-day advance notice to employees and government officials, compared with 60 days in the federal rules.

And notification is now required when at least 25 employees lose their positions, if they make up one-third of the workforce, or when a company lays off at least 250 full-time employees. The federal WARN act is triggered when 50 workers who represent one-third of the workforce are let go, or if 500 workers are laid off.

The Business Council of New York State says some 13,000 small businesses that weren’t affected by the federal statute will now be covered by the state law. Many of them can’t afford to hire labor attorneys to assist with the process, the council argued.

“It makes it more difficult to do business in New York State,” said a spokesman for the group.

But a spokesman for the New York State AFL-CIO, which represents 2.2 million workers, said the law provides employees a much-needed cushion to help deal with the harsh effects of unemployment.

“Every day counts when you’re losing your job,” the spokesman said. “You have to pay the bills, pay the rent and provide for your family. Any extra time helps you deal with the horror of losing your job.”

The law empowers the State Department of Labor to hit violators with penalties of $500 per day and hold them liable for back pay and employee benefits. Under the federal law, redress is more limited.

Employers are exempt from the requirements if they can show unforeseen hardship or attempts to actively seek capital or business that would have prevented the layoff, plant closing or relocation.

But Gerald Hathaway, an employment attorney at law firm Littler Mendelson, says the exemptions don’t go far enough. New Jersey’s WARN law, for example, applies only to businesses that have been around for three years or more. He says startups and even Broadway shows now have to factor giving 90 days notice into their business plans.

“Any entrepreneur starting a business has to ask himself six months in, ‘Am I going to make it?’” Mr. Hathaway said. “If I don’t, now I’m on the hook for giving three months notice. It calls to question survivability.”

LET THE REVOLUTION BEGIN!

Thanks for all you do!
Live your values. Love your country.
And, remember: TOGETHER, We can make a DIFFERENCE!

FAIR USE NOTICE: This blog may contain copyrighted material. Such material is made available for educational purposes, to advance understanding of human rights, democracy, scientific, moral, ethical, and social justice issues, etc. This constitutes a ‘fair use’ of any such copyrighted material as provided for in Title 17 U.S.C. section 107 of the US Copyright Law. In accordance with Title 17 U.S.C. Section 107, the material on this site is distributed without profit to those who have expressed a prior interest in receiving the included information for research and educational purposes. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for purposes of your own that go beyond ‘fair use’, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner.