Game Company Layoffs Violate Federal and State Employment Laws, Lawsuit Claims

An employment class action lawsuit in California federal court claims that game company layoffs were unwarned and that the game creator owes former employees benefits for being laid off without notice or cause.

Plaintiff Vernie R. recently filed a class action lawsuit against Telltale Games Inc., alleging that game company layoffs were made without warning employees or giving them their owed benefits.

On Sept. 21, Vernie and around 275 other Telltale Games employees were let go as a part of widespread game company layoffs. According to the complaint, Vernie and the other former employees were not given notice or cause – meaning that they are entitled to a variety of benefits, he claims.

“The defendant failed to pay the aggrieved employees their respective wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, accrued holiday pay and accrued vacation for 60 working days following their respective 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,” the game company layoffs class action lawsuit states.

Vernie brings his claims under California’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act of 1988. This act requires employers to give at least 60 days’ notice of a mass layoff which affects part and full time employees who worked for the company for more than half a year.

Under the WARN Act, a mass layoff includes dismissing 50 or more employees in a 30-day period or dismissing 500 or more employees in any period. Violations of the law require the employer to pay former employees back pay and benefits for what they would have earned in a 60-day notice policy.

The September game company layoffs are not the first layoffs to occur at Telltale Games. In November 2017, game company layoffs targeted 90 employees. Additionally, former CEO Kevin Bruner was also removed from his position in the company and on the board.

The company allegedly failed to provide him information he was owed when he prepared to sell company stock, prompting Bruner to file an additional lawsuit against the game maker.

“Today, I’m mostly saddened for the people who are losing their jobs at a studio they love,” Bruner wrote in blog post following the recent game company layoffs. “And I’m also saddened at the loss of a studio that green-lit crazy ideas that no one else would consider.”

Telltale Games is the company responsible for many adventure games based on “The Walking Dead,” Batman,  and “Minecraft”. However, declining sales allegedly lead the company to announce a “majority studio closure”.

“We released some of our best content this year and received a tremendous amount of positive feedback, but ultimately that did not translate into sales,” CEO Pete Hawley wrote in a Twitter post.

Following the widespread game company layoffs, Telltale reported that they would retain 25 employees to help fulfill obligations to the board, but the potential for future games is unsure and a full closure is anticipated.

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

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