OXFORD, Miss. — Former employees of United Furniture Inds have added another lawsuit to their portfolio., parent company of Lane Furniture, following the company’s closure on November 22. The new lawsuit seeks to file a class action lawsuit on behalf of all former employees while alleging violations of the WARN Act. The third lawsuit that has been filed against United so far is this one.
Barret Law Group of Lexington, Mississippi filed the second lawsuit., on behalf of resident of Tupelo, Mississippi, Francis Denise Alomari, and had been employed by Prior to being let go by the business, United for six years.
By having former employees sign a release form, United is able to avoid being held accountable under the WARN Act. The lawsuit asks the court for damages and to prevent United from doing so. Specifically, the suit asks for the following:
- Insist that United has broken the WARN Act, and find this to be true.
- Certify a class action and appoint Francis Alomari and her lawyers to represent United’s ex-employees anywhere in the United States who were laid off without the WARN required notice
- Enter declaratory relief and an injunction to stop United from violating the WARN Act and from seeking releases of claims under the WARN Act without informing ex-employees of this lawsuit and their rights under those statutes
- Award compensatory damages, including all expenses and wages owed
- Award pre- and post-judgment interest
- Award reasonable attorneys’ fees, costs and expenses
- Any other relief to which ex-employees may be entitled
- Demand a jury trial on all the causes of action that are “triable”
Companies with 100 or more employees are required by the Federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) of 1988 to give employees at least 60 days’ notice before any layoffs. Prior to informing its staff via text and email that the company was ceasing operations on November 1, United Furniture had not submitted a WARN notification in any of the states where it was conducting business. 22.
Although the WARN act does not allow for the enforcement of penalties, it does permit former employees to file lawsuits to recover unpaid wages.
In the Northern District of Mississippi Federal Court, where United had its corporate offices, two additional lawsuits have been brought by former employees of the company.
The legal summons was delivered to United via C.T. Corporation System, 645 Lakeland East Drive., Flowood, Miss., Ste. 101 A response to the lawsuit must be made by the company within 21 days of receiving service.
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