Gross v. Hale-Halsell Co.
United States Court of Appeals for the Tenth Circuit
554 F.3d 870 (10th Cir. 2009)
Hale-Halsell Company (HHC) (defendant), a grocery distributor, relied on United Supermarkets for 40% of its business under a 31-year relationship. Despite periodic complaints about stockouts, United reassured HHC as late as January 8, 2004 that it wanted to keep doing business together, then abruptly informed HHC a week later that it was switching suppliers; around the same time, HHC's expected $15 million loan fell through. HHC laid off 200 employees three days after United's withdrawal, without giving the 60 days' notice the WARN Act ordinarily requires. Gross and other laid-off employees (plaintiffs) sued, and the district court granted HHC summary judgment based on the Act's unforeseeable-circumstances exception.
Whether an employer ordering a mass layoff is excused from the WARN Act's 60-day notice requirement when the circumstances causing the layoff were unforeseeable.