House Labor Committee Passes Bill to Support Workers Affected by Plant Closures, Mass Layoffs

Thursday, October 18, 2007

WASHINGTON, DC -- By a vote of 26 to 18, the House Education and Labor Committee today passed legislation to help reduce the devastating impact of plant closures and mass layoffs on workers, their families and their communities.

“The American people are right to be concerned about the impacts of international trade agreements, particularly in light of the lack of safeguards available to workers affected by trade,” said U.S. Rep. George Miller (D-CA), chairman of the committee. “We must recognize that trade can produce both positive and negative consequences, and we must provide substantial assistance to workers who are negatively affected by trade.”

The legislation, H.R. 3796, the Early Warning and Health Care for Workers Affected by Globalization Act, seeks to build on and improve the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988.

The Government Accountability Office has reported that the 1988 WARN Act’s provisions are confusing and often misinterpreted. This confusion has enabled employers to avoid providing advance notice to employees soon to be affected by a plant closing or mass layoff, according to GAO.

“Hard-working Americans in our manufacturing sector are often times the casualties of globalization, bearing the costs of massive layoffs and plant closures,” said U.S. Rep. Lynn Woolsey (D-CA), chairwoman of the House Subcommittee on Workforce Protections. “This legislation is a step towards helping these workers, their families, and their communities deal with the impact of increased globalization.”

H.R. 3796 would ensure that workers who are about to lose their jobs are given enough notice – 90 days’ worth – so they can learn about and access important services available to them, such as job training and unemployment insurance.  It would require employers to provide information about these available services, and it would increase penalties against employers that fail to comply with the law.

The bill would also extend the time period that workers can continue their health coverage at their own expense with their former employer at more affordable group rates, also known as COBRA. Workers who lose their jobs because of trade and are age 55 or older or who have worked with the same employer for over ten years could pay for this continuing health coverage until they become Medicare-eligible at age 65 or become covered by another employer health plan. Under current law, workers generally cannot take advantage of this continuing coverage for more than 18 months, a time period Miller said is arbitrary.

H.R. 3796 is set to be considered on the House floor within the next month along with other legislation intended to help Americans affected by trade.

To learn more about H.R. 3796, click here.

To read Miller’s opening statement from today’s committee meeting, click here.

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FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
Contact: Tom Kiley / Rachel Racusen
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