If a global company files chapter 11 in the US, is the Warren Act still in effect? Is the employer required to provide 60 days notice with pay when laying people off?
It is not the Warren Act it is the WARN Act (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification).
How is WARN applicable to bankruptcy situations?
WARN remains applicable to an employer that declares bankruptcy in some circumstances. If an employer declares bankruptcy and then orders a plant closing or mass layoff, it may still be liable under WARN. There are two situations in which WARN may apply in a bankruptcy. The first is when the employer knew about the closing or mass layoff before filing bankruptcy and should have given notice but seeks to use bankruptcy to avoid giving notice.
The second is when the employer continues to run the business in bankruptcy, usually as a "debtor in possession." WARN does not, however, apply to a trustee in bankruptcy whose sole function is to wind up the business. The exceptions to the notice requirement, known as the faltering company and unforeseeable business circumstances exceptions, often come up in bankruptcy cases. The bankruptcy proceeding does change the court in which any WARN claim must be filed, from the District Court to the Bankruptcy
Court.
