A Maryland company will have to close an office in Philadelphia and lay off more than 100 people after it says the Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority, better known as SEPTA, ended a contract with its business.
Hart to Heart Transportation filed a Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act with the Pennsylvania Department of Labor & Industry, informing the state it will close its facility at 2502 Wheatsheaf Lane, and 124 people will be laid off. Another five people will be laid off at Statewide Automotive, 1844 W. Sedgley Ave. in Philadelphia.
The layoffs began on Monday and will be completed on April 12.
Hart to Heart Transportation said it wasn’t able to provide 60 days’ notice due to “unforeseeable business circumstances.”
The company said in the WARN notice that on February 28, SEPTA informed Hart to Heart Transportation that it was terminating its contract on May 30. However, SEPTA later changed the contract termination date to March 19, Hart to Heart said.
The employees being laid off include 106 operators.
Hart to Heart Transportation provides specialty care transport, ambulance, wheelchair and paratransit services. The company said that it expects a portion of its employees in Philadelphia to resume work with Total Transit.
The WARN Act is federal legislation that offers protection to workers, their families, and communities by requiring employers to provide notice 60 days in advance of a covered-business closing and covered-business mass layoff. There are some exceptions to the requirement. The WARN notice was dated March 21.
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