The Obama Administration has notified federal defense contractors it is “neither necessary nor appropriate” to comply with federal law by providing employees with 60 days’ notice of impending layoffs that could result from mandatory “sequestration” defense budget cuts, and commits the U.S. government to covering any legal penalties incurred from breaking the law.
Particularly in battleground states like Virginia where defense contractors such as Lockheed Martin employ large numbers of voters, such notices sent prior to the November election could be considered liabilities for President Obama’s reelection effort.
Labeling it “Scandalous,” Ace of Spades summarizes the order:
Due to Obama’s failure to lead and craft a solution to the debt crisis, the Department of Defense is slated for massive cuts.
These cuts mean massive layoffs in both the DoD and affected industries.
200,000 or more layoffs.
The law requires that companies which know they’re going to lay people off provide advance notice of this.
But Obama doesn’t want those notices going out before the election.
So he’s warned contractors to not comply with the law.
As The Hill reports, Senate Republicans are accusing the White House of playing politics, hiding the true expense of policy decisions and pushing the cost of the layoffs onto taxpayers, as contractors could be required to compensate employees laid off without the requisite advance notice period.
“The Obama Administration is cynically trying to skirt the WARN Act to keep the American people in the dark about this looming national security and fiscal crisis,” Sens. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) and Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) said in a statement. “The president should insist that companies act in accordance with the clearly stated law and move forward with the layoff notices.”
