North Austin Benefits Firm To Lay Off Dozens By November

AUSTIN, TEXAS — A locally based firm specializing in the design of "exclusive employee benefit products" will be laying off nearly 100 of its workers by November, according to a state filing issued this week.

Officials of the Boon Group notified the Texas Workers Commission of its plans to cut 81 jobs over the next 60 days as the company streamlines. The notice of imminent layoffs was given as part of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act of 1988 compelling employers to give advance notice of job cuts, largely intended to allow displaced workers enough time to seek other employment.

In the original WARN notice sent to Patch via email, the company said up to 213 employees would be affected. But accompanying correspondence from the company to state regulators that was requested by Patch indicates the immediate threat of layoffs affects 81 employees.

In the explanatory letter submitted by company official Jennifer Nelson, who holds the title of People + Culture Generalist, the affected workers would be out of work by Nov. 4. The company is located in North Austin.

"The Boon Group Inc. previously previously entered into a co-employment agreement has determined that to increase efficiency these employees will be rebadged under our partner employer," the letter reads in part. "There are a total of 213 regular, full-time employees in the company."

As part of her correspondence with the TWC, Nelson included a list of job titles for the impacted positions. But the TWC redacted the information as part of a recently implemented measure framed as a provision to protect privacy.

Nelson noted the affected workers are not represented by a union, and lack so-called "bumping rights." The term refers to the sole remedy offered as a provision of the WARN Act. Bumping rights provide for an employee to displace another employee due to a layoff or other employment action as defined in a collective bargaining agreement, employer policy, or other binding agreement. Workers availing themselves of this right do so based on their seniority.

"The company intends to offer transition programs to affected employees," Nelson noted in her letter. "It is our hope that these programs will lessen the impact of the mass layoff on individual employees. These employees are being rebadged under our partner company, we do not anticipate any negative affect [sic] on the employees or the community."

According to the company website, the Boon Group is the parent holding company of The Boon Insurance Agency Inc., Boon Administrative Services Inc. (formerly named CEBA), Boon Insurance Management Services, L.P., Health & Welfare Benefit Systems Inc. and Boon Investment Group Inc.

"The Boon Group was formed to support and strengthen the position of these companies as a wholesaler of exclusive products and services," the website reads. It describes its business model as one focused on "...designing exclusive employee benefit products to meet the unique needs of government contractors," a role informed by 30 years of experience in the sector.

The company lists its address as 6300 Bridge Point Parkway.

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