I’m scratching my head. Micron, the region’s largest employer here in Southwest Idaho, is in the process of laying off 1,100 workers. That’s not great news, but that’s not what’s puzzling.

There’s this little federal law called the WARN Act that requries companies give sixty days notice before laying off large numbers of workers in one geographic area. Micron gave the local community two weeks.

What’s got me puzzled is nobody seems to be too concerned about it. This violation of federal law (not a suggestion, but a law) goes fluttering on by unmentioned. Oh, wait, I guess it was mentioned. It was the very last sentence in the July 11 Idaho Statesman article about the layoffs.

Why the blind eye? Are we afraid of pissing off Micron to the point that they’ll take away all the jobs? Do we just ignore this little violation, wink, and be thankful that it’s only 1,100 people out of work and not 11,000? Why do we allow the ‘big boys’ to ignore the rules?

I say BAH. The rule book is one rule book. We can’t look at one company and say “go ahead, we’ll just ignore that little federal violation,” and then throw the book at other companies and yell “guilty.”

Oops. We just did.

This large company arrogance reminds me of a woman I know who works for another large Treasure Valley employer (several thousand employees). When she was pregnant and getting ready to deliver, she was told she could have six weeks off and then she had to be back to work. She wanted to take twelve weeks, but her supervisor said, “I can’t guarantee you’ll have a job if you’re gone longer than six weeks.”

Can anybody say “Family Medical Leave Act?” 

When discussing these matters, a colleague with a long history of interaction in the Boise business community said, “These large companies need a wake up call. They need to be told ‘You can choose not to follow these federal laws, but be prepared to pay the consequences and break out your checkbook.’”

Larger employers need to adhere to the rule book, the same as everybody else. The least Micron could do is apologize to the local community for ignoring the WARN Act. Otherwise, this ding in their integrity is going to collect some rather stubborn dirt.

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Filed in Business, Opinion, Management, Leadership, Workplace, Corporate Culture