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Eric J. says he and his colleagues at the Bic Graphic manufacturing plant in Clearwater, Florida, spent more than half of this year on furlough, but believed the company when it said the employees would be brought back to work.
Unfortunately, that never happened.
Instead, the company reportedly informed the workers in late November that it was closing the plant for good, triggering employee layoffs with no advance warning.
Now, Eric has filed a federal class action lawsuit against Bic Graphic and its parent company, Scribe Opco Inc., for allegedly violating the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
“Defendant’s mass layoffs deprived [its workers] and their families some transition time to adjust to the prospective loss of employment, to seek and obtain alternative jobs and, if necessary, to enter skill training or retraining that will allow these workers to successfully compete in the job market,” his lawyers argue in the class action lawsuit.
The class action was filed on Wednesday, Dec. 9 in U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida in Tampa. Eric and his attorneys are asking the court to certify the case as a class action and approve them to represent a Class of Bic Graphic workers who were affected by the employee layoffs and not given a minimum of 60 days’ written notice.
An exact number of potential Class Members is not provided in the filing, but Eric’s lawyers told the court that hundreds were impacted by the employee layoffs.
Eric is seeking back pay and benefits from his former employer.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act “protects workers, their families, and communities” by requiring most employers with 100 or more employees to provide at least 60 days advance written notice before effecting a plant closure or laying off more than 50 employees at a single site.
The legal team representing Eric expects Big Graphic will argue that the coronavirus pandemic forced the plant closure and will claim one of the exceptions allowed for by the law.
Under the warning act, employers can order a closure or mass employee layoffs in less than 60 days if the actions are necessitated by “business circumstances that were not reasonably foreseeable.” In those instances, employers are required to give “as much notice as is practicable,” the law says.
But the complaint claims that Bic Graphic executives likely knew when they furloughed the Clearwater plant’s workers on March 26 or shortly thereafter that mass employee layoffs were foreseeable.
Eric and his co-workers were led to believe the plant would reopen, which “in turn, caused [Eric] not to seek other employment as he erroneously assumed he would be brought back to work,” the class action lawsuit claims. “Instead of returning to work, they were fired with zero days’ notice.”
Bic Graphic informed its employees on Nov. 20 the plant was closing on Nov. 20, according to the class action lawsuit.
The plaintiff worked for Bic Graphic for more than 16 years, he says.
“Defendant’s decision to terminate [Eric] was devastating as he had worked for defendant for nearly two decades,” the class action lawsuit says. “And, while he understood that the ongoing pandemic was causing problems for the company, he both expected and was entitled to sufficient advance written notice as to his termination.”
Have you ever been laid off by a company that failed to warn you in advance, as required by the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act? Tell us about it in the comment section below.
Lead plaintiff Jones and the proposed Class Members are represented by Luis A. Cabassa and Brandon J. Hill or Wenzel Fenton Cabassa, P.A. and Chad A. Justice of Justice for Justice LLC.
The Employee Layoffs Class Action Lawsuit is Eric J., et al. v. Scribe Opco, Inc. Case No. 8:20-cv-02945, in the U.S. District Court for the Middle District of Florida, Tampa Division.
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22 thoughts onClass Action Lawsuit Says Mass Layoffs at Bic Graphic Violated Federal Warning Law
I myself worked at koozie group same thing happened to me at the tech dr location on March 25th and 26th and they rehire dme back and just fired me again and I am one of the hardest workers in there that place is trash and they racist lol
My mom work Or enterprise for 30 years and She was just laid off !!we have not heard anything ever someone please email us to know what to do
Very unfair when you give 30 years of your life to a company that just dropped you like a hot tomato!!!
Lawyers – you may want to know they bought 2 companies in past year so to claim “covid” as excuse but then buy 2 companies doesn’t appear the company has “hardship” issues. We needed these people who had been told to “hold on”. Many times we asked when are we bringing them back. They filled with more management and more jobs overseas. I’m shocked to find out we closed one of the plants. In fact i think it was November when we were told they bought those plants. We have NOT been told a plant closed in Florida. Found this by from a friend let go in March. :(
Please add me, I was let go without any notice after 36 yrs with the company.
How does Red Wing get in on this. We cannot find contact number or attorney names?
Please add me. I was employed for 22years at Bic.I was layed off on March 26th 2020 also. I was notified on November 20th that i was being let go also. I saw a memo from Barbie Winterbottom shortly after we in the first wave were layed off That when WE ARE brought back it would be by SENIORITY.This was posted on the new Bic web page they made to keep us all informed.
Add me too, I was let go in March of 2020. I had a perfect 16 year, ( to the day ) record. And was let go, no warning whatsoever.!! 6 months later, in 85 plus applications I finally got a job a $2 cut plus a half hour commute.
The company underwent stress to implement a web-based computer system over an extensive period of 5+ years. It caused extreme pain points for customers and employees working excessive amounts of overtime for necessary processes to enter, manufacture and ship orders from its locations in Florida and Minnesota. Executives of Bic Graphic knew in advance there were going to be permanent layoffs. They were shifting numerous positions overseas to reduce their labor costs.
I am one in a group of 18 long-term, full-time associates eliminated with “Zero notice” March 20, 2020. All except 2 had been with the company 20+ years. We were directed to a conference room at 11:30 to be told everything but “thank you” for our years of service. We were told the company needed to make some financial cuts and our positions were being eliminated effective noon-same day! We were also told our names were chosen because of our attendance, productivity, quality and attitudes toward their “People Powers”. We WERE their “people powers”. Why would large numbers of associates retain their jobs for 20-37 years, if we possessed those inabilities to perform our jobs?
We were told to remain in the conference room until our coats, purses, lunch bags and any medications from our work areas could be brought to us. Other associates in the group received this news over the phone. We were told the balance of our belongings would be shipped to us. However, when the large box from my desk was delivered, my folder labeled “Personal” including copies of my performance reviews for nearly 38 years were missing.
We were escorted from the building, single file through Human Resources as if we had violated the law. When I requested a copy of the script that was read to us, the HR Manager replied, she didn’t think they were required by law to provide it!? The only document handed to us was the cobra information with unaffordable ins rates for someone with no job. Our insurance coverage ended 10 days later, however clinics were not accepting appts due to current Covid-19 restrictions. This group was not offered severance pay or any hope of being called back to work. We were told we could file for unemployment.
I was also laid off on March 26, 2020 through a phone call from Cassie Otto from Red Wing, Minnesota. Following with a letter. I was in manufacturing and did my job very well, exceeding production quotas as long as machines were working correctly. I didn’t come late or leave early. I only took scheduled time off. I think I was laid off and replaced by my co-worker because I was exempted from working overtime through August 22, 2020 because of medical reasons. I believe this is why I was laid off. I was laid off 8 months and was called November 20, 2020 telling me I was terminated. The letter says because they weren’t sure when the company would be at 100%. I also have a lot of knowledge about printing, multi-print and assembly. I still have at least 8-10 years to get full social security and looking for a job at this point and time in my life hasn’t been easy, in a Pandemic.
Please add me. I had almost 20 years between Full-time and part-time and different times working for this company.
Please add me. Graphic artist. After 34 years of service the shock of getting a phone call to let me know I was terminated with out notice was just a slap in the face. The understanding was we would be brought back when business picked up but they decided to out source instead. So many employees let go like we meant nothing.