Laid off Jevic workers allege WARN Act violations, file suit

Lawyers says Jevic was required by the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act to give at least 60 days advance written notice of the employee terminations.

The Trucker News Services

5/22/2008

NEW YORK — Jevic Transportation Inc. allegedly violated federal labor law this week when the trucking company abruptly terminated approximately 1,200 employees shortly before it sought bankruptcy protection, according to lawyers for workers who sued the company Wednesday in Delaware federal court.

The lawsuit was filed on behalf of former Jevic employees Casimir Czyzewski and Jeffrey Oehlers, who worked at the company’s Delanco, N.J., facility. According to the complaint, the company was required by the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act to give at least 60 days advance written notice of the employee terminations and continue paying certain wages, salary, and benefits during the notice period in accordance with federal law.

The workers’ lawyers will seek to have the lawsuit certified as a class action that includes all persons who were terminated without cause at Jevic Transportation facilities on or about May 19. The suit seeks WARN Act-required wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, accrued holiday pay, accrued vacation pay, pension and 401(k) contributions, and other benefits that would have been paid or covered during the notice period, and attorneys’ fees and litigation-related costs.

The defendants are Jevic Transportation, Inc., Jevic Holding Corp., Creek Road Properties, LLC, and Sun Capital Partners, Inc.

The former employees are represented by Adam T. Klein, Jack A. Raisner, and Rene S. Roupinian, of Outten & Golden LLP, of New York.

“We allege that the Jevic Transportation employees are entitled to the protections of the WARN Act,” Raisner said. “Employers bound by the WARN Act and other labor laws cannot be allowed to compound the difficulties of abruptly laid-off employees.”