So let me get this straight. If they lay off more than 50 people within a 30 day rolling period per state, they can avoid the WARN Act. If Optum or UHC is able to avoid the WARN Act, it means at most, only 2,500 people are being let go, (given they even have employees in every single state).
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It's up to a $500 per day fine. big deal. The Dept of Labor DOES NOT/Will NOT investigate complaints - most states do a wink-wink to big businesses that contribute huge tax/revenue streams. The politicians way of making the sheeple think they are being protected. Unionize if it's that bad.
I would bet the severance package are conditional to waive the WARN 60 day pay.
It's per site, not state. There's multiple corporate locations per state, not to mention sattelite offices where they acquired businesses. Then UHC vs Optum vs UHG. All technically different companies. RIFs happen in September/October usually. They're just tiering it out to avoid triggering a WARN notice. Its calculated and planned. They're not stupid. Just heartless.
WARN limit varies by state though the majority follow federal guidelines (don't have to report if number affected is <500 for a given site (not state) and that number represents < 33% of the total workforce at that site). A small handful of states have more "restrictive" exceptions (e.g. Cali).
The penalty is only back pay 60 days for the employees if they get caught. The combination of severance and notices covers them I would assume, for the most part.
Also, given they just laid off the last two weeks, the number of people being laid off this week may be even lower if they want to still avoid the WARN Act. What do you think?