Assembly Bill A7781A

                             
                     S T A T E   O F   N E W   Y O R K
 ________________________________________________________________________
 
                                  7781--A
 
                        2025-2026 Regular Sessions
 
                           I N  A S S E M B L Y
 
                              April 10, 2025
                                ___________
 
 Introduced  by M. of A. BRONSON, SIMON, TAYLOR -- read once and referred
   to the Committee 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  commit-
   tee

 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;  requiring employers to pay severance to employees
   when there is a plant closing, relocation,  or  mass  layoff;  and  to
   repeal certain provisions of such law relating thereto
 
   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.

  EXPLANATION--Matter in ITALICS (underscored) is new; matter in brackets
                       [ ] is old law to be omitted.
                                                            LBD05943-03-6
 A. 7781--A                          2
              

 
   3. "ASSOCIATE", WHEN USED TO INDICATE A RELATIONSHIP WITH ANY  PERSON,
 MEANS:
   (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;
 A. 7781--A                          3
 
   (c)  a  reduction  in  hours of work of more than fifty percent during
 each month of any consecutive [six-month] THREE-MONTH period.
   "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. Subdivision 3 of section 860-b of the labor law is REPEALED.
   § 3. 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:
 A. 7781--A                          4
 
   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
 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.
   § 4. 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.
   § 5. 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
 A. 7781--A                          5
 
   2. notice is given at the time it becomes reasonably foreseeable  that
 the extension beyond [six] THREE months will be required.
   §  6.  Section  860-e of the labor law, as added by chapter 475 of the
 laws of 2008, is amended to read as follows:
   § 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.
   §  7.  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.
   § 8. 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) 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) In a private action brought under this article, any liability paid
 by  the  employer  in  an  administrative proceeding by the commissioner
 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. 7781--A                          6
 
   (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
 LAYOFF, RELOCATION OR EMPLOYMENT LOSS OUT OF WHICH LIABILITY AROSE WAS A
 DIRECT  RESULT  OF  SUCH NATURAL DISASTER, THE COMMISSIONER MAY, IN SUCH
 COMMISSIONER'S 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 HARD-
 SHIPS  IMPOSED ON EMPLOYEES BY ANY AND ALL VIOLATIONS; (III) ANY EFFORTS
 BY THE  EMPLOYER  TO  MITIGATE  ANY  VIOLATION  OR  VIOLATIONS  AND  ANY
 REDUCTION  IN LIABILITY 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 THEIR 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, RELOCATION, OR
 EMPLOYMENT LOSS SHALL PAY EACH SUCH EMPLOYEE AN ADDITIONAL FOUR WEEKS OF
 SEVERANCE PAY. THE RATE OF SEVERANCE PAY PROVIDED BY THE EMPLOYER PURSU-
 ANT 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 ASSOCIATED WITH THE TERMI-
 NATION OF THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP,  AND  EARNED  IN  FULL  UPON  THE
 TERMINATION  OF  THE EMPLOYMENT RELATIONSHIP, NOTWITHSTANDING THE CALCU-
 LATION OF THE AMOUNT OF THE PAYMENT WITH  REFERENCE  TO  THE  EMPLOYEE'S
 LENGTH  OF  SERVICE.  THE  EMPLOYER SHALL PAY THE SEVERANCE PAY REQUIRED
 A. 7781--A                          7
 
 PURSUANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION OR THE SEVERANCE PAY REQUIRED BY A  COLLEC-
 TIVE BARGAINING AGREEMENT OR FOR ANY OTHER REASON, WHICHEVER IS GREATER.
 THE  FOUR WEEKS OF SEVERANCE PAY PROVIDED FOR AN EMPLOYEE BY THIS SUBDI-
 VISION IN THE EVENT OF A FAILURE TO GIVE NOTICE AS REQUIRED BY 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 PURSU-
 ANT TO THIS SUBDIVISION SHALL BE EFFECTIVE WITHOUT APPROVAL OF THE WAIV-
 ER BY THE COMMISSIONER OR A COURT OF COMPETENT JURISDICTION.
   § 9.  Severability. If any provision or application of this act  shall
 be  held to be invalid, or to violate or be inconsistent with any appli-
 cable federal law or regulation, that shall not affect other  provisions
 or  applications  of  this  act  which  can be given effect without that
 provision or application; and to that end, the provisions  and  applica-
 tions of this act are severable.
   § 10. This act shall take effect immediately.