WJPA News has learned that more than 170 employees of the Meadows Racetrack and Casino in Washington County have been informed that they will be permanently furloughed amid declining revenues due to the COVID-19 PANDEMIC. The WARN notice was sent to 174 workers, informing them that they would be laid-off beginning September 15, 2020. Under WARN – an acronym for the federal Worker Adjustment and Retaining Notification Act – employers with 100 or more workers are required to provide 60 calendar-day advance notification of plant closings and mass layoffs. Officials say the layoffs will be permanent, but the facility will remain open. Company officials say the impact on their business was not reasonably foreseeable until now. They say the initial closure of business considerably affected their business and they believe that the impact will continue for the foreseeable future. These layoffs come on the heels of the furloughs of some 180 workers that was announced several weeks ago.