Verrill's RIF/WARN Act Team

The attorneys in Verrill’s RIF/WARN Act Team have extensive experience helping employers across many industries successfully plan for and implement employee reductions in force (RIFs). RIFs may be necessary due to an economic downturn, a change in the client’s business operations, or a corporate transaction. Regardless of the cause, our attorneys are adept at assessing the applicability of and compliance with the Older Workers Benefit Protection Act (OWBPA), the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN), and individual state laws to client RIFs.

Our attorneys can assist and advise with:

  • advice for initial RIF planning and development of client-specific RIF strategies;
  • the consideration and selection of employee eligibility factors for clients’ early exit incentive plans and advising clients’ decisionmakers on employee selection;
  • selected employee group adverse impact analysis conducted under the attorney-client privilege and advice and recommendations to review and address potential disparate impact situations;
  • WARN Act coverage issues, triggering events, look-back and look-forward periods, employee notice requirements, preparation of WARN-compliant notices and required communications with government officials and agencies;
  • ERISA, employee benefit plan, and federal tax code issues arising from RIFs, facility/plant closings, and mass layoffs;
  • review and advice concerning the impact of RIF selections on executive employment agreement “Good Reason” early termination triggers; and
  • preparation of OWBPA-compliant employee separation and release agreements, the information disclosures for employees over age 40, and provisions compliant with specific state laws governing confidentiality/non-disclosure restrictions and rules for obtaining enforceable releases;

Our RIF/WARN Act Team is focused on ensuring that clients’ planned cost savings and restructuring efforts are not cancelled out or impaired by legal claims, defense costs, settlement payments, and damage awards from RIF missteps.

Employment & Labor Attorneys

Employee Benefits & Executive Compensation Attorneys

Firm Highlights

Blog

HR Power Hour with Sabine Gedeon

Event

Maine HR Convention: Workshop A: Out of Sight, Out of Mind-Legal Implications of Proximity Bias

Join Verrill's Tawny L. Alvarez at the 2023 Maine HR Convention where she will be presenting Workshop A:Out of Sight, Out of Mind-Legal Implications of Proximity Bias. Proximity bias can raise discrimination issues for...

Publication/Podcast

Litigation Update: Jack Daniels V. Bad Spaniels. Is It Parody or Is It Trademark Infringement?

This week the U.S. Supreme Court will hear argument in the case, Jack Daniel’s Properties Inc. v. VIP Products LLC, U.S. Doc. No. 22-148, to decide the question: Can we do that? It’s been...

Matter

Advised Fortune 500 Company on Group Health and Welfare Benefit Plans

We were engaged by a Fortune 500 manufacturing company to provide legal and compliance services regarding its group health and welfare benefit plans. During the course of our representation, we have advised the company...

News

Verrill's Norman Belanger and Betts Gorsky Featured in Mainebiz Article

Event

Maine HR Convention: Workshop C: What Every Plan Sponsor Needs to Know-Your Fiduciary Duties in 2023

Join Verrill's Christopher S. Lockman at the 2023 Maine HR Convention where he will be presenting Workshop C: What Every Plan Sponsor Needs to Know-Your Fiduciary Duties in 2023 . This workshop will review...

Matter

Elections and Constitutional Law: Successfully Challenged Certification of Initiative Petition

In a victory for consumers and the ride-hailing public, the Massachusetts Supreme Judicial Court recently barred the Secretary of State from placing on the November ballot initiative petitions proposed by companies such as Uber...

News

David Lazarus Quoted in Massachusetts Lawyers Weekly Article Regarding Cryptocurrency Whistleblowing.

Publication/Podcast

Telehealth compliance after the public health emergency

Verrill attorneys David G. Lazarus and Alicia M. Siani recently published an article in Compliance Cosmos titled, “Telehealth compliance after the public health emergency.” In it they discuss how COVID-19 impacted telehealth usage for...

Blog

Carolyn Gilbert Nominated to Maine PUC

On March 28, Governor Janet Mills nominated Carolyn “Carrie” Gilbert to serve a six-year term on the Maine Public Utilities Commission. For the past 15 years, Gilbert has worked at Daymark Energy Advisors where...

Contact Verrill at (855) 307 0700