The Tennessee Department of Labor & Workforce Development is here to help you when you are laid off from your job or if you are an employer we can assist you with transitioning your employees. We serve both workers and employers. See the services below.
FOR EMPLOYEES
Rapid Response
The rapid response team works with employees in mass to inform them of services the state offers. Those services include Unemployment Insurance, job search and placement assistance, labor market and in-demand occupation information, testing and assessment; resumé preparation and interviewing skills workshops, and classroom and occupational skills training if deemed necessary.
Counseling is also available to help Dislocated Workers with a variety of issues, including job search assistance and job referral information, and coping with the stress of having lost their jobs through no fault of their own.
Rapid Response Presentation – (English) (Spanish)
Unemployment Insurance
Tennessee Career Centers
Adult Education
Trade Adjustment Assistance
FOR EMPLOYERS
Employers Responsibility when planning a layoff or closure
Under Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 (WARN), Tennessee employers are required to send a written notice to the Dislocated Worker Unit 60 days in advance of a plant closure or mass layoff. Tennessee Code annotated (TCA 50-1-601) requires such notice when 50 or more workers are affected, versus the 100 required by federal guidelines.
The Dislocated Worker Unit generates the required WARN Notification Letters which are distributed to the highest elected local official, the Local Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (LWDA) Executive Director, the Governor’s designated cabinet members, certain federally elected representatives and others in need of this information. Area Dislocated Worker coordinators are notified of impending layoffs or closures. The coordinators then contact the company and other members of the Rapid Response team within 48 hours to set up an initial meeting.
The Rapid Response team is made up of specialists who include Tennessee Career Center System representatives, the Area Dislocated Worker Coordinator, TN AFL-CIO (when applicable) and an Adult Education representative. The AFL-CIO is a member of the team if the affected workers are represented by organized labor. Other member agencies are included as required. The Tennessee Career Center System is the basic delivery vehicle for the state’s Dislocated Worker Services.
WARN Act Technical Assistance Guide
Contact an Area Dislocated Worker Coordinator
Rapid Response Presentation – (English) (Spanish)
Dislocated Worker Brochure – (English) (Spanish)
Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development
Joan Craig, Director
Dislocated Worker Unit
220 French Landing Drive
Nashville, TN 37243-0658
Phone: (615) 741-0889
Fax: (615) 741-3003
Toll Free: 1-800-255-5872
E-mail: Joan.Craig@tn.gov
Joe Fults, Director, Rapid Response Services
Tennessee Career Center
125 South Cedar Lane
Pulaski, TN 38478
E-mail: Joe.W.Fults@tn.gov
Office: 931-424-3014
Fax: 931-424-4008