Wrongful Termination and WARN

Charleston, WVPeople get fired all the time, but when those people are fired without proper reason, there can be a cause to file a wrongful termination lawsuit. People who believe they were wrongfully terminated from their job can file a lawsuit to recover lost wages, future earnings and, in some cases, reinstatement to their job. However, for such lawsuits to be successful the former employee must prove that he or she was the victim of wrongful employment termination.

Sometimes, even mass layoffs can result in wrongful termination lawsuits. According to an August 12, 2009, article at Ocala.com a wholesale mortgage lender faces a class-action lawsuit filed after the company informed its employees that their jobs were being eliminated. Taylor, Bean & Whitaker had informed approximately 1,000 employees at the company's headquarters plus additional employees across the country about the job losses.

The lawsuit alleges that the company did not give at least 60 days' advance notice of the layoffs, a requirement under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. Under that law, job losses of 500 or more full-time employees at a single site must involve at least 60 days' notice. Other situations that require 60 days notice include a plant closing with 50 full-time workers being laid off or a mass layoff in which between 50 and 499 full-time workers at a single site of employment are laid off.

The WARN Act is a federal law and does allow for mass layoffs with no notice if the layoffs are the result of unforeseeable circumstances, including an economic downturn or the cancellation of a major order. Layoffs that result from a natural disaster, such as a hurricane, also do not require 60 days' notice.

Furthermore, workers are entitled to WARN notice if they are terminated, laid off for more than six months or have their regular hours reduced by more than half during all six months in a six-month period.

The lawsuit seeks recovery of 60 days' wages and benefits plus attorneys' fees.

According to The Worker's Guide to Advance Notice of Closings and Layoffs (doleta.gov) companies covered by WARN include businesses with 100 or more full-time workers or business with 100 or more workers who work a combined 4,000 a week and are private or quasi-public companies. WARN covers both hourly and salaried employees, including those in managerial and supervisory positions.