Gov Gregoire�s statement on WARN Act Announcement

For Immediate Release: July 31, 2012

OLYMPIA � Gov. Chris Gregoire today issued the following statement on guidance provided by the U.S. Department of Labor on the relevance of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act to possible layoffs of federal contractors:

�I thank the Labor Department and Secretary Solis for their guidance and clarification on WARN Act notices in regard to sequestration. At the Farnborough Air Show, this issue was a major concern for both aerospace companies and suppliers. I shared that concern with my gubernatorial colleagues, the Labor Department and our delegation.

�Yesterday�s guidance appropriately assures that the WARN Act is not triggered based on unspecific information and therefore eliminates the prospect of thousands of layoff notices for workers and their families. This eliminates an undue amount of stress on the economy and our workforce as they both struggle to recover. It also falls in line with the intent of sequestration which was designed to bring Congress together to make appropriate reductions, not to force drastic scenarios.

�Now Congress must act. The recovery of our economy relies on them working together to solve the issue of sequestration and provide certainty for the country�s economic path.�