Today, ERIC filed a complaint against the recently amended New Jersey WARN Act with the United States District Court for the District of New Jersey.
Our complaint argues that the amended Act violates federal ERISA law by imposing a series of expanded requirements that collectively force employers to implement an ongoing administrative scheme, which is the equivalent of a severance benefit plan under ERISA. Our complaint, therefore, seeks injunctive relief to halt enforcement of the amended New Jersey WARN Act.
On August 1, New Jersey Governor Phil Murphy renewed his public health emergency declaration for the state through August 31, which pushes back the effective date of the amended NJ WARN Act to November 29. Nonetheless, we decided, with our legal counsel, that it is better to file the complaint sooner rather than later.
You can read the entire complaint here.
Reuters has published an exclusive story covering ERIC’s legal filing and our ERISA preemption argument. In addition, ERIC has issued a press release and Frequently Asked Questions.
Article by Aliya Robinson, Senior Vice President of Retirement and Compensation Policy
