GRANITE CITY, Ill. — The Illinois Department of Labor has issued a subpoena to U.S. Steel (NYSE: X) to investigate its compliance with a state law that requires employers to provide advance notice of mass layoffs.
Editor's Note: The above video is from November.
The subpoena was issued two days after IDOL was informed by U.S. Steel that it was issuing layoff notices to about 1,000 employees at its Granite City Works in Madison County. U.S. Steel said it would idle steelmaking “indefinitely” at the mill, saying it could meet demand with other facilities. U.S. Steel laid off about 400 workers in October, but did not issue a WARN notice, saying the layoffs were "temporary," not stretching beyond six months.
Dan Simmons, president of United Steelworkers Local 1899, said the 1,000 layoff notices issued this week was an attempt by U.S. Steel to cover the 400 workers laid off in October when the company said it was "temporarily" idling blast furnace B in Granite City.