Ex-Employees Hit The Walking Dead Video Game Maker With Class Action

Ex-employees of Telltale Games Inc., makers of the “The Walking Dead,” “Batman,” and “Minecraft” video game and other popular video games, hit the company with a class action lawsuit after an unexpected mass layoff.

Plaintiff Vernie Roberts Jr. filed the Telltale wages class action lawsuit claiming that he and around 275 other former employees should be paid 60 days of wages and benefits, after they were let go unexpectedly during a mass layoff.

Roberts says that the layoff happened on Sept. 21, and the fact that the company did not warn employees of the impending layoff violated California’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act of 1988 (the WARN Act).

This round of layoffs was reportedly the second round of layoffs for the company, following one in November 2017. Reportedly, these layoffs are the result of insufficient sales of video games that required the company to downsize significantly.

Telltale announced that it planned to retain 25 employees so it could fulfill obligations to the company’s board.

According to Roberts, the WARN Act requires that companies of a certain size disclose a mass layoff or closing to employees, and that they make the employees aware of the layoff at least 60 days in advance of the layoff happening.

He says that employees who are either full time or part time are entitled to a warning of a layoff if they have worked with the company for at least six months.

Roberts goes on to argue that because Telltale did not give employees their legally-required 60 days of advance notice, the companies should receive 60 days of pay and benefits that they would have had had they been appropriately notified of impending layoffs.

According to the Telltale layoff class action lawsuit, the company “failed to pay the aggrieved employees their respective wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, accrued holiday pay and accrued vacation for 60 working days following their terminations, and failed to make the pension and 401(k) contributions, provide other employee benefits under [the Employee Retirement Income Security Act], and pay their medical expenses for 60 calendar days from and after the dates of their respective terminations.”

Netflix has worked with the company on projects, and says that it would go to Telltale to produce a new “Minecraft” game, but would not be working with Telltale on the upcoming “Stranger Things” video game.

Telltale announced on Twitter that it hopes to release a final season of “The Walking Dead” in its characteristic episodic video game style.

On “The Walking Dead,” Telltale says that “while we can’t make any promises today, we are actively working towards a solution that will allow episodes 3 and 4 to be completed and released in some form.”

The plaintiff is represented by Douglas E. Dexter of Farella Braun & Martel LLP, Stuart J. MIller of Lankenau & Miller LLP and Mary E. Olsen of The Gardner Firm PC.

The Telltale Layoff Class Action Lawsuit is Roberts Jr. v. Telltale Games Inc., Case No. 3:18-cv-05850, in the U.S. District Court for the Northern District of California.