The Fishel Company Failed to Provide Workers Advance Notice Before Layoff, Class Action Says

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A proposed class action alleges the Fishel Company failed to give employees at its Tampa, Florida facility proper advance notice prior to a mass layoff in May 2023.

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The 11-page lawsuit claims the Ohio-based construction engineering company violated the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act when it terminated the plaintiff and approximately 146 other employees on May 10 of this year without cause and without providing them at least 60 days’ advance notice.

The suit shares that on May 10, the plaintiff and other workers who reported to the company’s Tampa, Florida facility were given a letter that immediately terminated their employment. In the termination letter, the defendant attributed its course of action to a “reduction in work orders under a specific contract,” which it purported to have learned about on May 2, the case relays.

“Only a few months prior, the Regional Manager refuted rumors of upcoming layoffs and [the defendant] reported the second highest profit sharing in the company’s history,” the case alleges.

According to the complaint, of the roughly 176 workers that reported to the Tampa facility, “approximately only 30 employees remained after the terminations.”

The filing contends that “the only written notice received by the [plaintiff] from [the Fishel Company] came in the form of the termination letter,” which the lawsuit claims failed to include certain details and disclosures required under the WARN Act.

The suit charges that the company’s conduct deprived employees and their families of time to transition, obtain other work or seek skill training that would help them compete in the job market.

As a result of the alleged WARN Act violations, the plaintiff and other former workers are entitled to recover from the defendant damages in the amount of 60 days’ compensation and benefits, the case argues.

The lawsuit looks to represent any former Fishel Company employee in the United States who was not given a minimum of 60 days’ written notice of termination and whose employment was terminated on or about May 10, 2023, or within 30 days of that date, as a result of a mass layoff or plant closing.

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