• In some cases, a company can terminate an employee under the definition of “employment loss.”

The term “employment loss” means:

• An employment termination other than a discharge for cause, voluntary departure, or retirement;
• A layoff exceeding 6 months; or
• A reduction in an employee’s hours of work of more than 50 percent in each month of any six-month period.

Employment loss does not occur when an employee refuses a transfer to a different employment site within reasonable commuting distance.

Also, no employment loss occurs when an employee accepts a transfer within 30 days after it is offered, or within 30 days after the plant closing or mass layoff, whichever is later. In both cases, the transfer offer must be made before the closing or layoff, there must be no more than a six-month break in employment, and the new job must not be deemed a constructive discharge.

These transfer exceptions from the “employment loss” definition apply only if the closing or layoff results from the relocation or consolidation of part or all of the employer’s business.