Mandatory severance pay: Is it coming to a state near you?

• Position: In The News...

New pro-employee workplace initiatives usually take a long time (and effort) to get approved in the first state. But once those new laws break through, other states seem to jump on the bandwagon quickly. That may be what happens with the idea of guaranteed severance pay after New Jersey last month became the first state to approve such a measure.

The New Jersey law says workers at larger companies (100 or more employees) who suffer "mass layoffs" (more than 50 people) must now be paid at least a week's wages for every year of employment. Plus, if employees aren't give the required 90 days' notice of the layoff, they must receive...