Second, we will take a look at what consultants are advising executives on regulations and commonly practiced internal policies during an acquisition:
Additionally, the selection process must establish "guardrails": legal parameters within which decisions must be made, such as regulatory approvals, the WARN Act' (for US businesses), and workscouncil2 stipulations (for most European businesses). These legal parameters apply to human resource practices and may vary by role, geography, and timeframe (for example, pre-close, day one, and post-close).
Usually, such guardrails are exchanged only with human resources personnel responsible for identifying and performing the hiring process, as well as with managers conducting interviews or selecting talent for the new organization. The specifications should be identified and distributed as soon as possible after the announcement of the transaction and should be checked on a regular basis by the general counsel overseeing the integration.
Note, that there is a particular law in the United States that protects employees during an acquisition, called the "The Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification" or the WARN Act. The WARN Act addresses employee's notification about any qualified implementation process of layoffs or retraining programs. Here is a brief Q&A on the WARN Act:
Which type of employers are covered?
WARN Act applies to companies with 100 or more full-time employees. Workers who have been employed less than 6 months in the preceding12 months or who operate an average of less than 20 hours a week are not included in the requisite 100 employees.
What type of employees are covered?
The WARN Act applies to hourly and salaried employees, as well as managers and supervisors. Business partners are not bound by the Act and therefore do not have a right of notification under it. As mentioned in the above Q&A, the employee must have been employed for at least 6 months within the last 12 months and worked over 20 hours a week to be covered.
When is my employer required to notify me before I lose my job?
Employers are expected to provide you with at least 60 days written notice prior to closure or layoff if WARN applies. It is important that you are notified in writing of the upcoming work loss.A valid notice does not include verbal announcements from the boss, pre-printed notes distributed in your paycheck, and/or corporate news releases.
You can learn more about the WARN act by going to the Department of Labor website regarding the WARN Act.