AB&C Workers v Reliant Equity Investors LLC, Tatum LLC, Bluesky Brand Inc., Richard Hebert, et al.
Class Action Status Given To AB&C Workers Suit
A federal judge has ruled a lawsuit filed on behalf of AB&C Group workers who were abruptly laid off in March 2008 may proceed as a class-action claim for failure to provide 60 days notice of the companys shutdown.
Employers who fail to provide the required advance notice to workers may be liable to the workers for up to 60 days of pay for allegedly violating the WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) Act and the Fair Labor Standards Act.
The decision filed by U.S. District Judge John Preston Bailey in Martinsburg means workers at three former AB&C Group work sites in Jefferson and Berkeley counties in West Virginia and Orange County, Va., automatically will be included in the legal action and stand to benefit from the litigation.
Bailey also ruled that workers claims for wages owed to them for time spent logging into AB&C Groups computer programs may proceed as a class action.
Opt-in cards and instructions will be mailed in the coming weeks to workers last-known addresses.
The federal lawsuit names Reliant Equity Investors LLC, Tatum LLC, Bluesky Brand Inc., Richard Hebert, Cathy Jo Van Pelt, Kimberly Myers, Michael Lutz and Larry Muzzy as defendants.
The lawsuit is one of at least three civil actions filed after AB&C Group shut down March 14, 2008. In addition to the federal case, two lawsuits are pending in Jefferson County Circuit Court.
Former workers can also obtain information via email, by sending inquiries to :
dhammer@hfslawyers.com
Or call : 304-264-8505, ext. 0
