RIF and OWBPA Task Force
During this period of significant economic challenge, workforce restructuring and/or downsizing has been necessary. This year alone, employers announced thousands of mass layoffs and more than two million jobs were lost. Recognizing that the current climate has presented our clients with some of the biggest challenges in recent memory, Hunton & Williams LLP created a RIF Taskforce: a subgroup within our Labor & Employment team comprised of attorneys with broad experience counseling employers through the challenges of an economic downturn. We are advising our clients in a variety of matters related to workforce restructuring, including how to model and staff a reorganized company while avoiding the minefield of legal issues that are implicated by a major downsizing event, how to structure mass layoffs and plant closings in both union and non-union settings, and how to minimize risk relating to litigation arising out of downsizing and restructuring actions. We also represent our clients in litigation that is filed as a result of layoffs and restructurings.
Employer downsizing initiatives, if not carefully planned and coordinated, can trigger a host of potential liabilities, including:
- Discrimination charges;
- Wage and hour claims based on improperly executed furloughs and other cost-saving initiatives related to the number of hours worked by employees;
- Wrongful discharge and breach of implied and express contract claims;
- Unfair Labor Practice charges and, potentially, Section 301 lawsuits related to employer obligations under collective bargaining agreements (including issues such as treatment of seniority, work preservation, subcontracting, fragmentation of business units, etc.);
- ERISA liability based on the application or modification of existing benefit plans or arising out of a well-intentioned (but legally faulty) severance plan;
- WARN and other claims based on laws requiring employer notice prior to workforce reductions; and
- Invalid releases for failure to comply with the OWBPA.
Our team combines the knowledge and resources of attorneys focused on virtually every area implicated by the current economic and financial climate. Hunton & Williams’ RIF Taskforce stands ready to help clients navigate these turbulent economic waters. Please contact us today if we can assist you in planning a way forward for your company or business.
Contacts
Wood W. Lay | wlay@hunton.com | (704) 378-4753
Julie I. Ungerman | jungerman@hunton.com | (214) 979-3039
