Policy Watch: The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act

Abstract

With the passage of the 1988 Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, the United States belatedly joined the large number of industrialized nations that require employers to provide affected workers with advance notice of a plant closing or mass layoff. The authors review the legislation, and consider the possible effects of the mandate on workers’ postdisplacement outcomes. Their examination of the impact of the law reveals that the quantity of notice has not increased since the act went into effect. The authors conclude by considering possible reasons why the law has been ineffective.