No WARNING notice about Dell suspension in OKC may be a good sign
- Dell has not filed a notice with the Oklahoma Employment Security Commission, the Texas Workforce Commission, or the United States Department of Labor under the Workers’ Compensation and Training Notification Act.
- Under federal law, companies must file WARN notices with their employees, local officials, and emergency response coordinators only under certain circumstances.
- Large companies, such as Dell, which operates offices across the country, often do not disclose the exact number of workers affected by layoffs if they do not meet the requirements.
Two weeks after Dell announced the layoffs across the company, there is no clear indication of the impact of its Oklahoma City office.
About 1,600 workers are reported to be working for Dell by 2022 at its 3501 SW 15 facility. The company employs 12,000 worldwide. Despite multiple inquiries by The Oklahoman, Dell’s media relations team in Oklahoma City declined to share current job numbers or the percentage of the company’s overall layoffs.
The number of workers affected or who will be affected by the layoffs this month remains unclear. Dell’s media relations team declined to share additional information about the removal of several emails exchanged with The Oklahoman.
A Dell employee, who asked not to be identified because they were not authorized to comment on the layoffs, said the recent cuts affected the co-head of the office, several managers and “many” sellers. The employee said the Oklahoma City office has served as the company’s western US sales office since its inception in 2004. A colleague, the employee said, explained being fired as “the worst thing he’s seen in 17 years.” The employee added that those affected signed a “non-disparagement agreement,” as a condition of receiving severance pay.
One indication that OKC’s impact on Dell’s cuts may be modest lies in the fact that under federal law, written notice must be sent in advance to local governments and others when k A company employing 100 or more employees plans to lay off more than 50 employees or more than 33% of its workforce. This requirement is part of the Workers’ Compensation and Training Act (WAR) of 2003.
“These notifications are usually sent to the US Department of Labor’s State Rapid Response Dislocated Worker Unit and the local chief elected official, which in this case would be the mayor of Oklahoma City,” said Elizabeth “Liz” Searock, director of information. government and public. for the Oklahoma Department of Labor. “This process ensures that the appropriate local authorities and support services are notified in the event of significant staff reductions or facility closures.”
The mayor of Oklahoma, a state official did not receive a WARN notice from Dell
The Oklahoma City mayor’s office did not receive a WARNING notice from Dell, Chief of Staff Steve Hill said.
Cody Cox, vice president of field operations for the Oklahoma Department of Labor Safety Commission, said his office also did not receive a notification. Cox’s office is a designated Rapid Response Dislocated Worker Unit and would have been required to receive notification.
Also, Dell did not send notices to the State Labor Commission in Texas, where the company is headquartered, said Sarah Fisher, press officer for the Commission’s Office of Communications and Media.
Despite the government’s requirements, the lack of a WARNING notice is not necessarily a problem, said David Crow, OESC’s director of external communications. He said that big businesses rarely disclose WARNING notices and tend to avoid disclosing numbers of layoffs in local offices.
“A company, like a big company, that employs tens of thousands of people is going to go, ‘You know what? We throw away 50 people, [so]”We can’t base that number on how many are employed in Oklahoma, or just in one area,” he said. “We won’t be eligible for notification. A lot of this really varies from event to event. “
Also:Dell announces global layoffs; The impact of the OKC office is unknown
Oklahoma City provided $16,808,015 to Dell Development in total tax incentives, most of which were used to renovate sites and buildings within districts 4 and 5 that provide funding in the early stages of development. development, said Joanna McSpadden, the city’s economic development program manager. In turn, Dell benefited the city by adding jobs to local workers.
The city collected $1.4 million in revenue and had no outstanding debt, mainly in property taxes, last year from TIF 4 and TIF 5. Revenue collected from Dell’s development has increased slightly from $ 1.25 million in 2022.
“What I will say is we have money left over from that TIF,” he said. “So, we just funded another project … a housing development south of that Dell area.”
The impact of the collapse in city revenues from those TIFs wouldn’t be calculated until a year from now, he added.
WARNING information is not the same
Compliance, especially at large companies, has become a daunting task for federal, state and local authorities, who rely on WARN notifications to prepare quick response teams and ensure that workers are treated fairly. job change, Crow said. .
Crow added that there are few, if any, consequences for firms that fail to provide WARN notices to federal officials, which results in inconsistencies in whether transfers are passed on to workers and government agencies, to complicate support efforts.
“We follow federal law in terms of WARN notices, so if people are concerned about performance or anything, that’s a question for the federal government,” Crow said, adding that requirements vary by state. conditions and often companies decide how to do it. talk to government officials about getting fired.
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Crow said he believes the lack of agreement on advanced written retirement notices is more a state issue than a state issue.
“I remember, this was a few years ago. We got an additional notice for the employer to say they were letting one person go, like, they didn’t need to notify us, but we thank you,” said Crow.
Crow said the OESC’s role is to help relevant workers connect with community resources and find new opportunities, acting as “community providers”.
“What we do when we do these services is educate the public at the end of the day,” Crow said. “It’s just something to let people know what’s out there and what’s out there to help them.”
Crow said those affected by the layoffs can find support information on the OESC website: http://www.oklahoma.gov/workforce.html.
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