S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  7382--A
 
                        2021-2022 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                                May 6, 2021
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. BRONSON -- read once and referred to the Commit-
   tee on Labor -- recommitted to the Committee on  Labor  in  accordance
   with  Assembly  Rule  3, sec. 2 -- committee discharged, bill amended,
   ordered reprinted as amended and recommitted to said committee
 
 AN ACT to amend the labor law, in relation to removing the exclusion  of
   part-time  employees  from  certain definitions relating to employment
   and expanding the definition of employer; removing certain  exclusions
   for employer notice requirements for the closing of a facility; remov-
   ing the discretionary reduction of penalties for employers for certain
   acts  or  omissions  concerning  notice requirements for mass layoffs,
   relocations or employment loss; removing the maximum time  period  for
   determining   back pay and other liabilities for certain employees who
   experience employment loss; allowing  the  attorney  general  to  take
   certain  action  to assist certain employees in receiving back pay and
   other liabilities; and requiring employers to pay severance to employ-
   ees when there is a plant closing, relocation, or mass layoff
 
   THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK, REPRESENTED IN SENATE AND  ASSEM-
 BLY, DO ENACT AS FOLLOWS:
 
   Section  1. Section 860-a of the labor law, as added by chapter 475 of
 the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
   § 860-a. Definitions. As used in this  article,  the  following  terms
 shall have the following meanings:
   1. "Affected employees" means employees who may reasonably be expected
 to  experience an employment loss as a consequence of a proposed [plant]
 FACILITY closing or mass layoff by their employer.
   2. "AFFILIATE" MEANS A PERSON THAT DIRECTLY, OR INDIRECTLY THROUGH ONE
 OR MORE INTERMEDIARIES, CONTROLS, OR  IS  CONTROLLED  BY,  OR  IS  UNDER
 COMMON CONTROL WITH, A SPECIFIED PERSON.
   3.  "ASSOCIATE", WHEN USED TO INDICATE A RELATIONSHIP WITH ANY PERSON,
 MEANS:

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD02675-11-2
 A. 7382--A                          2
              

 
   (A) ANY ENTITY OF WHICH SUCH PERSON IS AN OFFICER OR  PARTNER  OR  IS,
 DIRECTLY  OR  INDIRECTLY, THE BENEFICIAL OWNER OF TEN PERCENT OR MORE OF
 ANY CLASS OF VOTING SECURITIES;
   (B)  ANY  TRUST OR OTHER ESTATE IN WHICH SUCH PERSON HAS A SUBSTANTIAL
 BENEFICIAL INTEREST OR AS TO WHICH SUCH PERSON SERVES AS TRUSTEE OR IN A
 SIMILAR FIDUCIARY CAPACITY; AND
   (C) ANY RELATIVE OR SPOUSE OF SUCH PERSON, OR  ANY  RELATIVE  OF  SUCH
 SPOUSE, WHO HAS THE SAME HOME AS SUCH PERSON.
   4. "BENEFICIAL OWNER", WHEN USED WITH RESPECT TO ANY SECURITIES, MEANS
 A PERSON:
   (A)  THAT,  INDIVIDUALLY  OR  WITH OR THROUGH ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES OR
 ASSOCIATES, BENEFICIALLY OWNS SUCH SECURITIES, DIRECTLY  OR  INDIRECTLY;
 OR
   (B)  THAT,  INDIVIDUALLY  OR  WITH OR THROUGH ANY OF ITS AFFILIATES OR
 ASSOCIATES, HAS (I) THE RIGHT TO ACQUIRE SUCH SECURITIES,  WHETHER  SUCH
 RIGHT  IS  EXERCISABLE  IMMEDIATELY  OR  ONLY AFTER THE PASSAGE OF TIME,
 PURSUANT TO ANY AGREEMENT, ARRANGEMENT OR UNDERSTANDING, WHETHER OR  NOT
 IN  WRITING, OR UPON THE EXERCISE OF CONVERSION RIGHTS, EXCHANGE RIGHTS,
 WARRANTS OR OPTIONS, OR OTHERWISE; OR (II) THE RIGHT TO VOTE SUCH  SECU-
 RITIES  PURSUANT TO ANY AGREEMENT, ARRANGEMENT OR UNDERSTANDING, WHETHER
 OR NOT IN WRITING; PROVIDED, HOWEVER, THAT A PERSON SHALL NOT BE  DEEMED
 THE  BENEFICIAL  OWNER  OF ANY SECURITIES UNDER THIS SUBPARAGRAPH IF THE
 AGREEMENT, ARRANGEMENT OR UNDERSTANDING  TO  VOTE  SUCH  SECURITIES  (1)
 ARISES  SOLELY  FROM A REVOCABLE PROXY OR CONSENT GIVEN IN RESPONSE TO A
 PROXY OR CONSENT SOLICITATION MADE IN  ACCORDANCE  WITH  THE  APPLICABLE
 RULES AND REGULATIONS UNDER THE EXCHANGE ACT AND (2) IS NOT THEN REPORT-
 ABLE  ON  A  SCHEDULE  13D  UNDER THE EXCHANGE ACT, OR ANY COMPARABLE OR
 SUCCESSOR REPORT; OR
   (C) THAT HAS ANY AGREEMENT, ARRANGEMENT OR UNDERSTANDING,  WHETHER  OR
 NOT  IN  WRITING,  FOR THE PURPOSE OF ACQUIRING, HOLDING, VOTING, EXCEPT
 VOTING PURSUANT TO A REVOCABLE PROXY OR CONSENT AS DESCRIBED IN SUBPARA-
 GRAPH (II) OF PARAGRAPH (B) OF THIS SUBDIVISION, OR  DISPOSING  OF  SUCH
 SECURITIES WITH ANY OTHER PERSON THAT BENEFICIALLY OWNS, OR WHOSE AFFIL-
 IATES OR ASSOCIATES BENEFICIALLY OWN, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECTLY, SUCH SECU-
 RITIES.
   5.  "CONTROL",  INCLUDING THE TERMS "CONTROLLING", "CONTROLLED BY" AND
 "UNDER COMMON CONTROL WITH", MEANS THE POSSESSION, DIRECTLY OR INDIRECT-
 LY, OF THE POWER TO DIRECT OR CAUSE THE DIRECTION OF (A) THE  MANAGEMENT
 AND POLICIES OF A PERSON, (B) THE OPERATION OF A PERSON, OR (C) SUBSTAN-
 TIALLY  ALL  OF THE ASSETS OF A PERSON, WHETHER THROUGH THE OWNERSHIP OF
 VOTING SECURITIES, BY CONTRACT,  OR  OTHERWISE.  A  PERSON'S  BENEFICIAL
 OWNERSHIP OF TEN PERCENT OR MORE OF AN ENTITY'S OUTSTANDING VOTING SECU-
 RITIES  SHALL  CREATE A PRESUMPTION THAT SUCH PERSON HAS CONTROL OF SUCH
 ENTITY.  NOTWITHSTANDING THE FOREGOING, A PERSON SHALL NOT BE DEEMED  TO
 HAVE  CONTROL  OF  AN  ENTITY IF SUCH PERSON HOLDS VOTING SECURITIES, IN
 GOOD FAITH AND NOT FOR THE PURPOSE OF CIRCUMVENTING THIS SECTION, AS  AN
 AGENT, BANK, BROKER, NOMINEE, CUSTODIAN OR TRUSTEE FOR ONE OR MORE BENE-
 FICIAL OWNERS WHO DO NOT INDIVIDUALLY OR AS A GROUP HAVE CONTROL OF SUCH
 ENTITY.
   6. "Employment loss" means:
   (a)  an  employment  termination,  other  than  a discharge for cause,
 voluntary departure OTHER THAN IN ANTICIPATION OF AN ANNOUNCED  FACILITY
 CLOSING OR MASS LAYOFF, or retirement;
   (b) a mass layoff exceeding [six] THREE months;
   (c)  a  reduction  in  hours of work of more than fifty percent during
 each month of any consecutive [six-month] THREE-MONTH period.
 A. 7382--A                          3
 
   "Employment loss" shall not result under circumstances where a [plant]
 FACILITY closing or mass layoff is  the  result  of  the  relocation  or
 consolidation  of part or all of the employer's business and, before the
 closing or mass layoff, the employer offers to transfer the employee  to
 a  different  site  of employment within a reasonable commuting distance
 with no more than a [six-month] THREE-MONTH break in employment, or  the
 employer  offers  to  transfer the employee to any other site of employ-
 ment, regardless of distance, with no more  than  a  [six-month]  THREE-
 MONTH  break  in employment, and the employee accepts within thirty days
 of the offer or of the closing or mass layoff, whichever is later.
   [3.] 7. "Employer" means any business enterprise that employs fifty or
 more employees[, excluding part-time employees, or fifty or more employ-
 ees that work in the aggregate at least two thousand  hours  per  week].
 "EMPLOYER"  SHALL INCLUDE ANY AFFILIATE OF AN EMPLOYER. "Employer" shall
 not include the federal or state government or any  of  their  political
 subdivisions,  including  any  unit  of  local  government or any school
 district.
   [4.] 8. "EXCHANGE ACT" MEANS THE ACT OF CONGRESS KNOWN AS THE  SECURI-
 TIES  EXCHANGE  ACT  OF  1934,  AS THE SAME HAS BEEN OR HEREAFTER MAY BE
 AMENDED FROM TIME TO TIME.
   9. "Mass layoff" means a reduction in force which:
   (a) is not the result of a [plant] FACILITY closing; and
   (b) results in an employment loss FOR THOSE WORKING at OR REPORTING TO
 a single site of employment during any thirty-day period for[:
   (i) at least thirty-three percent of the  employees  (excluding  part-
 time employees); and
   (ii)  at  least twenty-five employees (excluding part-time employees);
 or
   (iii) at  least  two  hundred  fifty  employees  (excluding  part-time
 employees)] TWENTY OR MORE EMPLOYEES.
   [5.  "Part-time  employee"  means  an  employee who is employed for an
 average of fewer than twenty hours per week or who has been employed for
 fewer than six of the twelve months preceding the date on  which  notice
 is required.
   6.  "Plant]  10.  "FACILITY  closing" means the permanent or temporary
 shutdown of a single site of employment, or one or  more  facilities  or
 operating  units  within  a  single  site of employment, if the shutdown
 results in an employment loss at the single site  of  employment  during
 any thirty-day period for [twenty-five] TWENTY or more employees [(other
 than part-time employees)].
   [7.] 11. "Representative" means an exclusive representative within the
 meaning  of section 9(a) or 8(f) of the National Labor Relations Act (29
 U.S.C.  159(a), 158(f)) or section 2 of the Railway Labor Act (45 U.S.C.
 152).
   [8.] 12. "Relocation" means the removal of all or substantially all of
 the industrial or commercial operations of an employer  to  a  different
 location fifty miles or more away.
   13.  "PERSON"  MEANS  ANY INDIVIDUAL, PARTNERSHIP, ASSOCIATION, CORPO-
 RATION, COOPERATIVE, LIMITED LIABILITY COMPANY, FIRM,  TRUST,  OR  OTHER
 ENTITY.
   §  2. Subdivisions 5 and 7 of section 860-b of the labor law, as added
 by chapter 475 of the laws of 2008, are amended to read as follows:
   5. In the case of a sale of part or all of an employer's business, the
 seller shall be responsible for providing notice for any [plant] FACILI-
 TY closing or mass layoff in accordance with this  section,  up  to  and
 including  the  effective  date of the sale. After the effective date of
 A. 7382--A                          4
 
 the sale of part or all of an employer's business, the  purchaser  shall
 be  responsible for providing notice for any [plant] FACILITY closing or
 mass layoff in accordance with this section. Notwithstanding  any  other
 provision  of  this article, any person who is an employee of the seller
 as of the effective date of the sale shall be considered an employee  of
 the purchaser immediately after the effective date of the sale.
   7.  Nothing  set forth herein shall be read to prevent an employer who
 is not required to comply with the notice requirements of this  section,
 to  the  extent  possible,  to  provide  notice to its employees about a
 proposal to close a [plant] FACILITY or  permanently  reduce  its  work-
 force.
   §  3.  Subdivision  1  of  section 860-c of the labor law, as added by
 chapter 475 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
   1. In the case of a  [plant]  FACILITY  closing  OR  MASS  LAYOFF,  an
 employer is not required to comply with the notice requirement in subdi-
 vision one of section eight hundred sixty-b of this article if:
   (a)[(i)  at the time the notice would have been required, the employer
 was actively seeking capital or business; and
   (ii) the capital or business sought, if obtained, would  have  enabled
 the employer to avoid or postpone the relocation or termination; and
   (iii)  the  employer reasonably and in good faith believed that giving
 the notice required by subdivision one of section eight hundred  sixty-b
 of  this  article  would  have precluded the employer from obtaining the
 needed capital or business;
   (b) the need for a notice was not reasonably foreseeable at  the  time
 the notice would have been required;
   (c)]  the  [plant]  FACILITY closing is of a temporary facility or the
 [plant] FACILITY closing or mass layoff is the result of the  completion
 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 project or undertaking;
   [(d)  the  plant  closing or mass layoff is due to any form of natural
 disaster, such as a flood, earthquake, or drought; or
   (e)] (B) the FACILITY closing or mass layoff constitutes a  strike  or
 constitutes  a  lockout  not  intended to evade the requirements of this
 article. Nothing in this article shall  require  an  employer  to  serve
 written  notice  when permanently replacing a person who is deemed to be
 an economic striker under the National Labor Relations  Act  (29  U.S.C.
 151  et  seq.).  Nothing  in this article shall be deemed to validate or
 invalidate any judicial or administrative ruling relating to the  hiring
 of permanent replacements for economic strikers under the National Labor
 Relations Act.
   §  4.  Section  860-d of the labor law, as added by chapter 475 of the
 laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
   § 860-d. Extension of mass layoff period.  A mass layoff of more  than
 [six]  THREE  months  which,  at  its outset, was announced to be a mass
 layoff of [six] THREE months or less WITH AN ANNOUNCED EXPECTED DATE  OF
 RECALL shall be treated as an employment loss under this article unless:
   1.  the  extension  beyond  [six]  THREE  months is caused by business
 circumstances (including unforeseeable changes in  price  or  cost)  not
 reasonably foreseeable at the time of the initial mass layoff; and
   2.  notice is given at the time it becomes reasonably foreseeable that
 the extension beyond [six] THREE months will be required.
   § 5. Section 860-e of the labor law, as added by chapter  475  of  the
 laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
 A. 7382--A                          5
 
   §  860-e. Determinations with respect to employment loss. In determin-
 ing whether a [plant] FACILITY closing or mass layoff  has  occurred  or
 will  occur,  employment losses for two or more groups of employees at a
 single site of employment, each of which is less than the minimum number
 of employees specified in [subdivisions four or six] SUBDIVISION NINE OR
 TEN  of  section  eight hundred sixty-a of this article but which in the
 aggregate meet or exceed that minimum number set forth in such  subdivi-
 sions,  and which occur within any ninety-day period shall be considered
 to be a [plant] FACILITY 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 article.
   §  6.  The section heading of section 860-g of the labor law, as added
 by chapter 475 of the laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
   Violation; liability; SEVERANCE.
   § 7. Subdivisions 2, 4, 6 and 8 of section 860-g of the labor law,  as
 added by chapter 475 of the laws of 2008, are amended and two new subdi-
 visions 9 and 10 are added to read as follows:
   2.  Back  pay and other liability under this section is calculated for
 the period of the employer's violation, [up to a maximum of sixty days,]
 or one-half the number of days that the employee  was  employed  by  the
 employer, whichever period is smaller.
   4. The amount of an employer's liability under subdivision one of this
 section, shall be reduced by the following:
   (a) Any wages, except vacation moneys accrued before the period of the
 employer's  violation,  paid  by the employer to the employee during the
 period of the employer's violation.
   (b) Any voluntary and unconditional payments made by the  employer  to
 the employee that were not required to satisfy any legal obligation.
   (c) Any [payments 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.
   (d)  Any]  liability paid by the employer under any applicable federal
 law governing notification of mass layoffs, [plant]  FACILITY  closings,
 or relocations.
   [(e)]  (D)  In  an  administrative proceeding by the commissioner, any
 liability paid by the employer prior to the commissioner's determination
 as the result of a private action brought under this article.
   [(f)] (E) In a private action brought under this article, any  liabil-
 ity  paid by the employer in an administrative proceeding by the commis-
 sioner prior to the adjudication of such private action.
   6. [If an employer proves to the satisfaction of the commissioner that
 the act or omission that violated this article was  in  good  faith  and
 that  the  employer had reasonable grounds for believing that the act or
 omission was not a violation of this article, the commissioner  may,  in
 his  or  her  discretion, reduce the amount of liability provided for in
 this section. In determining the amount of such reduction,  the  commis-
 sioner  shall  consider  (a) the size of the employer; (b) the hardships
 imposed on employees by the violation; (c) any efforts by  the  employer
 to  mitigate  the  violation;  and  (d)  the  grounds for the employer's
 belief.]
   (A) WITHIN THIRTY DAYS AFTER A NATURAL  DISASTER,  SUCH  AS  A  FLOOD,
 EARTHQUAKE,  OR DROUGHT, AN EMPLOYER MAY MAKE APPLICATION TO THE COMMIS-
 SIONER FOR A REDUCTION IN LIABILITY IMPOSED UNDER THIS ARTICLE. IF  SUCH
 EMPLOYER  PROVES, TO THE SATISFACTION OF THE COMMISSIONER, THAT THE MASS
 A. 7382--A                          6
 
 LAYOFF, RELOCATION OR EMPLOYMENT LOSS OUT OF WHICH LIABILITY AROSE WAS A
 DIRECT RESULT OF SUCH NATURAL DISASTER, THE COMMISSIONER MAY, IN HIS  OR
 HER  DISCRETION,  REDUCE ANY LIABILITY WITH RESPECT TO SUCH MASS LAYOFF,
 RELOCATION  OR  EMPLOYMENT  LOSS PROVIDED FOR IN THIS ARTICLE, INCLUDING
 THE SEVERANCE OBLIGATIONS PROVIDED BY SUBDIVISION TEN OF  THIS  SECTION.
 IN  DETERMINING  THE  AMOUNT OF ANY APPROVED REDUCTION, THE COMMISSIONER
 SHALL CONSIDER:(I) THE SIZE OF THE EMPLOYER; (II) THE HARDSHIPS  IMPOSED
 ON EMPLOYEES BY ANY AND ALL VIOLATIONS; (III) ANY EFFORTS BY THE EMPLOY-
 ER  TO MITIGATE ANY VIOLATION OR VIOLATIONS AND ANY REDUCTION IN LIABIL-
 ITY TO EMPLOYEES; AND (IV) THE DEGREE OF HARM CAUSED TO THE EMPLOYER AND
 THE EMPLOYEES BY THE NATURAL DISASTER.
   (B) ANY AGGRIEVED EMPLOYEE OF AN EMPLOYER MAKING APPLICATION  PURSUANT
 TO  PARAGRAPH  (A) OF THIS SUBDIVISION SEEKING TO CHALLENGE THE DETERMI-
 NATION OF THE COMMISSIONER MAY BRING A CIVIL ACTION ON THEIR OWN BEHALF,
 OR ON BEHALF OF OTHER PERSONS SIMILARLY SITUATED, OR BOTH, IN ANY  COURT
 OF  COMPETENT  JURISDICTION,  WITHIN THE TIME PERIOD PROVIDED BY SECTION
 TWO HUNDRED THIRTEEN OF THE CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES. THE COURT  MAY
 AWARD  REASONABLE  ATTORNEY'S FEES AS PART OF COSTS TO ANY PLAINTIFF WHO
 PREVAILS IN A CIVIL ACTION BROUGHT UNDER THIS ARTICLE.
   8. Neither the commissioner nor any court shall have the authority  to
 enjoin a [plant] FACILITY closing, relocation, or mass layoff under this
 article;  PROVIDED,  HOWEVER, WHENEVER AN EMPLOYER IS LIABLE PURSUANT TO
 SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION, APPLICATION MAY BE MADE BY THE ATTORNEY
 GENERAL IN THE NAME OF THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF NEW YORK TO A COURT OR
 JUSTICE HAVING JURISDICTION BY A SPECIAL PROCEEDING TO ISSUE AN  INJUNC-
 TION,  AND  UPON  NOTICE TO THE DEFENDANT OF NOT LESS THAN FIVE DAYS, TO
 ENJOIN AND RESTRAIN THE ACTIONS OF SUCH  EMPLOYER  OR  TAKE  SUCH  OTHER
 ACTIONS  THE  ATTORNEY  GENERAL  MAY  DEEM  APPROPRIATE  TO  ENFORCE THE
 PROVISIONS OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF THIS SECTION.  IN CONNECTION  WITH  ANY
 SUCH  PROPOSED  APPLICATION,  THE ATTORNEY GENERAL IS AUTHORIZED TO TAKE
 PROOF AND MAKE A DETERMINATION  OF  THE  RELEVANT  FACTS  AND  TO  ISSUE
 SUBPOENAS IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CIVIL PRACTICE LAW AND RULES.
   9.  NO  WAIVERS  OF  LIABILITY UNDER THIS ARTICLE SHALL BE ENFORCEABLE
 UNLESS SUPERVISED BY A COURT, THE COMMISSIONER OR CERTIFIED CLASS  COUN-
 SEL.
   10.  WHENEVER  THERE  IS  A  PLANT CLOSING, RELOCATION, OR MASS LAYOFF
 UNDER THIS ARTICLE, THE EMPLOYER SHALL PAY SEVERANCE  TO  EACH  EMPLOYEE
 ENTITLED  TO  NOTICE WHO LOST HIS OR HER EMPLOYMENT EQUAL TO ONE WEEK OF
 PAY FOR EACH FULL YEAR OF EMPLOYMENT. AN  EMPLOYER  WHO  FAILS  TO  GIVE
 NOTICE  AS REQUIRED BY PARAGRAPH (A) OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION EIGHT
 HUNDRED SIXTY-B OF THIS ARTICLE BEFORE ORDERING  A  MASS  LAYOFF,  RELO-
 CATION,  OR  EMPLOYMENT  LOSS SHALL PAY EACH SUCH EMPLOYEE AN ADDITIONAL
 FOUR WEEKS OF SEVERANCE PAY. THE RATE OF SEVERANCE PAY PROVIDED  BY  THE
 EMPLOYER  PURSUANT  TO THIS SECTION SHALL BE THE AVERAGE REGULAR RATE OF
 COMPENSATION RECEIVED BY THE EMPLOYEE DURING THE  LAST  THREE  YEARS  OF
 EMPLOYMENT  WITH  THE  EMPLOYER, OR THE EMPLOYEE'S FINAL REGULAR RATE OF
 COMPENSATION, WHICHEVER IS  HIGHER.  SEVERANCE  UNDER  THIS  SUBDIVISION
 SHALL  BE REGARDED AS COMPENSATION DUE TO AN EMPLOYEE FOR LOSSES ASSOCI-
 ATED WITH THE TERMINATION OF THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP, AND EARNED  IN
 FULL  UPON THE TERMINATION OF THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP, NOTWITHSTAND-
 ING THE CALCULATION OF THE AMOUNT OF THE PAYMENT WITH REFERENCE  TO  THE
 EMPLOYEE'S  LENGTH  OF SERVICE. THE EMPLOYER SHALL PAY THE SEVERANCE PAY
 REQUIRED PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION OR THE SEVERANCE PAY REQUIRED BY A
 COLLECTIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT OR FOR ANY OTHER  REASON,  WHICHEVER  IS
 GREATER.  THE  FOUR  WEEKS  OF SEVERANCE PAY PROVIDED FOR AN EMPLOYEE BY
 THIS SUBDIVISION IN THE EVENT OF A FAILURE TO GIVE NOTICE AS REQUIRED BY
 A. 7382--A                          7
 
 PARAGRAPH (A) OF SUBDIVISION ONE OF SECTION  EIGHT  HUNDRED  SIXTY-B  OF
 THIS  ARTICLE  SHALL  BE  REDUCED  BY  ANY BACK PAY PAID TO THE EMPLOYEE
 PURSUANT TO THIS SECTION OR SUBSECTION 5 OF SECTION 2104 OF THE  FEDERAL
 WORKER  ADJUSTMENT AND RETRAINING NOTIFICATION ACT (29 U.S.C.  SEC. 2104
 ET SEQ.), BECAUSE OF A VIOLATION OF SUBSECTION 3 OF SECTION 2102 OF SUCH
 ACT (29 U.S.C. SEC. 2102 ET SEQ.). NO WAIVER OF THE RIGHT  TO  SEVERANCE
 PROVIDED  PURSUANT  TO  THIS  SUBDIVISION  SHALL  BE  EFFECTIVE  WITHOUT
 APPROVAL OF THE WAIVER BY THE  COMMISSIONER  OR  A  COURT  OF  COMPETENT
 JURISDICTION.
   § 8. This act shall take effect immediately.