Department of Workforce Services offers many resources that can assist your
company. Rapid Response is designed to respond to layoffs and plant closings
by providing immediate aid to companies and their affected workers. Rapid Response
will work with employers to minimize the disruptions on companies and their
affected workers when faced with job loss. Contact the State Dislocated Worker
Unit for more information.
Department of Workforce Services
State Dislocated Worker Unit
Dawn Lay, 5th Floor
140 E. 300 South
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Email: dlay@utah.gov
Phone: (801) 526-4312
Fax: (801) 526-9662
Providing Rapid Response services to your workers during layoffs or plant closings will result in multiple benefits, the more quickly Rapid Response is implemented, the better off your company and workers will be. Providing Rapid Response to your workers will help assure:
The decision to lay off workers is one no employer wants to make. However, as layoffs do occur, inviting Rapid Response to meet with affected workers prior to layoff will allow your employees to assess services and programs that will help them through this difficult time. Rapid Response offers free, preferably on-site, seminars to provide your employees with information and services, including:
The federal Government provides additional services to workers whose jobs are lost due to foreign trade or shifts in production out of the United States. While not all job loss due to foreign competition meets the requirements of the Trade Act, the Rapid Response team will work with your company to provide information on Trade Adjustment Assistance (TAA) and the benefits you can receive if your company is certified as trade-affected. Your company, the Rapid Response team, or the workers themselves can file a trade petition with the United States Department of Labor. TAA and its benefits are provided at not cost to your as an employer and allow your workers to access an even wider array of services than they would otherwise be eligible for; ask your Rapid Response contact for more information on TAA and the petition process.
Under certain conditions, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining
Notification (WARN) Act requires employers to give their workers 60 days
notice before a plant closing or mass layoff. All employers are encouraged to
provide notice to the State
Dislocated Worker Unit as quickly as possible. Besides WARN, Utah does not
have additional State plant closing laws. If you are facing the prospect of
a layoff, by contacting the State Dislocated Worker Unit, an array of employer
services can be made available at no cost, to assist your workers with their
re-employment efforts.
Providing advance notice gives workers time to adjust to the impending job loss,
find a new job, and if necessary, receive skills training in order to compete
in the job market. It also gives us time to provide workers with information
about job search and training services before the job separation occurs.
If you employ 100 or more full-time workers, you may be liable under the WARN
Act. The layoff or closure information you provide will be kept in strict confidence
and should be submitted to:
Department of Workforce Services
State Dislocated Worker Unit
Dawn Lay, 5th Floor
130 E. 400 S.
Salt Lake City, UT 84111
Email: dlay@utah.gov
Phone: (801) 526-4312
Fax: (801) 529-9662
Find below some links to organizations that offer other services that may help avert or minimize layoffs.