 
Former ASI Employee Seeks Class Action
Suit Against Company
April 5, 2011
by Sahely Mukerji, smukerji@glass.com
A former employee of ASI Ltd. in Whitestown, Ind., has initiated
a class
action complaint against the company alleging that he and others
were released from the company due to a plant closing but without
proper notice required under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining
Notification (WARN) Act. Andrew Shepherd filed the suit "on
behalf of himself and a class of those similarly situated"
in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District Court of Indiana.
The plaintiff was an employee of the defendant until he was terminated
as part of, or as a result of a plant closing ordered by the defendant,"
alleges the complaint. "As such, the defendant is liable under
the WARN Act for the failure to provide the plaintiff and the other
similarly situated former employees at least 60 days' advance written
notice of termination, as required by the WARN Act."
"On or about December 22, 2011, defendant ordered the termination
of the plaintiff's employment together with the termination of approximately
200 other employees who worked at or reported to the facility as
part of a plant closing, as defined by the WARN Act, for which they
were entitled to receive 60 days advance written notice under the
WARN Act," alleges Shepherd in the complaint.
ASI "failed to pay the plaintiff and the other similarly situated
employees their respective wages, salary, commissions, bonuses,
accrued holiday pay and accrued vacation for sixty (60) days following
their respective terminations and failed to make 401(k) contributions
and provide them with health insurance coverage and other employee
benefits," the complaint further alleges.
Shepherd is seeking unpaid wages, salary, commissions, bonuses,
accrued holiday pay, accrued vacation pay pension and 401(k) contributions
and other ERISA benefits that he alleges would have been covered
and paid under the "then-applicable employee benefit plans
had that coverage continued for that period, for sixty (60) working
days following the member employee's termination." He also
is asking for attorneys' fees and a trial by jury.
In an interview with USGNN.com, Shepherd further alleges
that the company has changed its name in an effort to avoid the
suit.
"[ASI has] now changed [its] name to Façade Tek and
put [the] company in Lauren Shook['s] name," says Shepherd.
Shook is former ASI owner Ken Smith's daughter, he says. "[They]
told the employees that the cases would be discharged due to this
happening."
Deborah J. Caruso, partner with Dale & Eke of Indianapolis,
represents Façade Tek. Caruso denies this allegation. "ASI
is not changing names," she says. "Façade Tek is
a separately-formed incorporation that recently formed in Indianapolis."
Neither ASI's counsel, nor officials at ASI, could be reached for
comment at press time.
The company has filed two motions requesting an extension of time
to respond to the complaint, both of which have been granted by
the court. Currently the company is due to answer the complaint
on April 18.
ASI suspended
operations on December 22, 2011, and allegedly resumed
operations with new financial backing in mid-January.
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