29 U.S.C. § 2104 — Administration and enforcement of re-

Page 768 TITLE 29—LABOR § 2103 (2)(A) An employer may order a plant closing or mass layoff before the conclusion of the 60- day period if the closing or mass layoff is caused by business circumstances that were not reason- ably foreseeable as of the time that notice would have been required. (B) No notice under this chapter shall be re- quired if the plant closing or mass layoff is due to any form of natural disaster, such as a flood, earthquake, or the drought currently ravaging the farmlands of the United States. (3) An employer relying on this subsection shall give as much notice as is practicable and at that time shall give a brief statement of the basis for reducing the notification period. (c) Extension of layoff period A layoff of more than 6 months which, at its outset, was announced to be a layoff of 6 months or less, shall be treated as an employment loss under this chapter unless— (1) the extension beyond 6 months is caused by business circumstances (including unfore- seeable changes in price or cost) not reason- ably foreseeable at the time of the initial lay- off; and (2) notice is given at the time it becomes reasonably foreseeable that the extension be- yond 6 months will be required. (d) Determinations with respect to employment loss For purposes of this section, in determining whether a plant closing or mass layoff has oc- curred or will occur, employment losses for 2 or more groups at a single site of employment, each of which is less than the minimum number of employees specified in section 2101(a)(2) or (3) of this title but which in the aggregate exceed that minimum number, and which occur within any 90-day period shall be considered to be a plant closing or mass layoff unless the employer demonstrates that the employment losses are the result of separate and distinct actions and causes and are not an attempt by the employer to evade the requirements of this chapter. (Pub. L. 100–379, § 3, Aug. 4, 1988, 102 Stat. 891; Pub. L. 105–277, div. A, § 101(f) [title VIII, § 405(d)(26), (f)(18)], Oct. 21, 1998, 112 Stat. 2681–337, 2681–424, 2681–432; Pub. L. 113–128, title V, § 512(kk), July 22, 2014, 128 Stat. 1722.) Editorial Notes AMENDMENTS 2014—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 113–128 substituted ‘‘the State or entity designated by the State to carry out rapid response activities under section 3174(a)(2)(A) of this title,’’ for ‘‘the State or entity designated by the State to carry out rapid response activities under sec- tion 2864(a)(2)(A) of this title,’’. 1998—Subsec. (a)(2). Pub. L. 105–277, § 101(f) [title VIII, § 405(f)(18)], struck out ‘‘the State dislocated worker unit or office (referred to in section 1661(b)(2) of this title), or’’ before ‘‘the State or entity’’. Pub. L. 105–277, § 101(f) [title VIII, § 405(d)(26)], sub- stituted ‘‘to the State dislocated worker unit or office (referred to in section 1661(b)(2) of this title), or the State or entity designated by the State to carry out rapid response activities under section 2864(a)(2)(A) of this title, and the chief’’ for ‘‘to the State dislocated worker unit (designated or created under title III of the Job Training Partnership Act) and the chief’’. Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE OF 2014 AMENDMENT Amendment by Pub. L. 113–128 effective on the first day of the first full program year after July 22, 2014 (July 1, 2015), see section 506 of Pub. L. 113–128, set out as an Effective Date note under section 3101 of this title. EFFECTIVE DATE OF 1998 AMENDMENT Amendment by section 101(f) [title VIII, § 405(d)(26)] of Pub. L. 105–277 effective Oct. 21, 1998, and amendment by section 101(f) [title VIII, § 405(f)(18)] of Pub. L. 105–277 effective July 1, 2000, see section 101(f) [title VIII, § 405(g)(1), (2)(B)] of Pub. L. 105–277, set out as a note under section 3502 of Title 5, Government Organization and Employees. EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective 6 months after Aug. 4, 1988, see sec- tion 11 of Pub. L. 100–379, set out as a note under sec- tion 2101 of this title. § 2103. Exemptions This chapter shall not apply to a plant closing or mass layoff if— (1) the closing is of a temporary facility or the closing or layoff is the result of the com- pletion of a particular project or undertaking, and the affected employees were hired with the understanding that their employment was limited to the duration of the facility or the project or undertaking; or (2) the closing or layoff constitutes a strike or constitutes a lockout not intended to evade the requirements of this chapter. Nothing in this chapter shall require an employer to serve written notice pursuant to section 2102(a) of this title when permanently replacing a per- son who is deemed to be an economic striker under the National Labor Relations Act [29 U.S.C. 151 et seq.]: Provided, That nothing in this chapter shall be deemed to validate or in- validate any judicial or administrative ruling relating to the hiring of permanent replace- ments for economic strikers under the Na- tional Labor Relations Act. (Pub. L. 100–379, § 4, Aug. 4, 1988, 102 Stat. 892.) Editorial Notes REFERENCES IN TEXT The National Labor Relations Act, referred to in par. (2), is act July 5, 1935, ch. 372, 49 Stat. 452, which is clas- sified generally to subchapter II (§ 151 et seq.) of chap- ter 7 of this title. For complete classification of this Act to the Code, see section 167 of this title and Tables. EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective 6 months after Aug. 4, 1988, see sec- tion 11 of Pub. L. 100–379, set out as a note under sec- tion 2101 of this title. § 2104. Administration and enforcement of re- quirements (a) Civil actions against employers (1) Any employer who orders a plant closing or mass layoff in violation of section 2102 of this title shall be liable to each aggrieved employee who suffers an employment loss as a result of such closing or layoff for— (A) back pay for each day of violation at a rate of compensation not less than the higher of— Page 769 TITLE 29—LABOR § 2107 1 So in original. The comma probably should not appear. (i) the average regular rate received by such employee during the last 3 years of the employee’s employment; or (ii) the final regular rate received by such employee; and (B) benefits under an employee benefit plan described in section 1002(3) of this title, includ- ing the cost of medical expenses incurred dur- ing the employment loss which would have been covered under an employee benefit plan if the employment loss had not occurred. Such liability shall be calculated for the period of the violation, up to a maximum of 60 days, but in no event for more than one-half the num- ber of days the employee was employed by the employer. (2) The amount for which an employer is liable under paragraph (1) shall be reduced by— (A) any wages paid by the employer to the employee for the period of the violation; (B) any voluntary and unconditional pay- ment by the employer to the employee that is not required by any legal obligation; and (C) any payment by the employer to a third party or trustee (such as premiums for health benefits or payments to a defined contribution pension plan) on behalf of and attributable to the employee for the period of the violation. In addition, any liability incurred under para- graph (1) with respect to a defined benefit pen- sion plan may be reduced by crediting the em- ployee with service for all purposes under such a plan for the period of the violation. (3) Any employer who violates the provisions of section 2102 of this title with respect to a unit of local government shall be subject to a civil penalty of not more than $500 for each day of such violation, except that such penalty shall not apply if the employer pays to each aggrieved employee the amount for which the employer is liable to that employee within 3 weeks from the date the employer orders the shutdown or lay- off. (4) If an employer which has violated this chapter proves to the satisfaction of the court that the act or omission that violated this chap- ter was in good faith and that the employer had reasonable grounds for believing that the act or omission was not a violation of this chapter the court may, in its discretion, reduce the amount of the liability or penalty provided for in this section. (5) A person seeking to enforce such liability, including a representative of employees or a unit of local government aggrieved under para- graph (1) or (3), may sue either for such person or for other persons similarly situated, or both, in any district court of the United States for any district in which the violation is alleged to have occurred, or in which the employer trans- acts business. (6) In any such suit, the court, in its discre- tion, may allow the prevailing party a reason- able attorney’s fee as part of the costs. (7) For purposes of this subsection, the term,1 ‘‘aggrieved employee’’ means an employee who has worked for the employer ordering the plant closing or mass layoff and who, as a result of the failure by the employer to comply with section 2102 of this title, did not receive timely notice either directly or through his or her representa- tive as required by section 2102 of this title. (b) Exclusivity of remedies The remedies provided for in this section shall be the exclusive remedies for any violation of this chapter. Under this chapter, a Federal court shall not have authority to enjoin a plant clos- ing or mass layoff. (Pub. L. 100–379, § 5, Aug. 4, 1988, 102 Stat. 893.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective 6 months after Aug. 4, 1988, see sec- tion 11 of Pub. L. 100–379, set out as a note under sec- tion 2101 of this title. § 2105. Procedures in addition to other rights of employees The rights and remedies provided to employ- ees by this chapter are in addition to, and not in lieu of, any other contractual or statutory rights and remedies of the employees, and are not intended to alter or affect such rights and remedies, except that the period of notification required by this chapter shall run concurrently with any period of notification required by con- tract or by any other statute. (Pub. L. 100–379, § 6, Aug. 4, 1988, 102 Stat. 894.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective 6 months after Aug. 4, 1988, see sec- tion 11 of Pub. L. 100–379, set out as a note under sec- tion 2101 of this title. § 2106. Procedures encouraged where not re- quired It is the sense of Congress that an employer who is not required to comply with the notice requirements of section 2102 of this title should, to the extent possible, provide notice to its em- ployees about a proposal to close a plant or per- manently reduce its workforce. (Pub. L. 100–379, § 7, Aug. 4, 1988, 102 Stat. 894.) Statutory Notes and Related Subsidiaries EFFECTIVE DATE Section effective 6 months after Aug. 4, 1988, see sec- tion 11 of Pub. L. 100–379, set out as a note under sec- tion 2101 of this title. § 2107. Authority to prescribe regulations (a) The Secretary of Labor shall prescribe such regulations as may be necessary to carry out this chapter. Such regulations shall, at a min- imum, include interpretative regulations de- scribing the methods by which employers may provide for appropriate service of notice as re- quired by this chapter. (b) The mailing of notice to an employee’s last known address or inclusion of notice in the em- ployee’s paycheck will be considered acceptable methods for fulfillment of the employer’s obli- gation to give notice to each affected employee under this chapter.