 
ASI Former Employee Seeks Class Certification in WARN Act Suit
July 18, 2012
by Erica Terrini, eterrini@glass.com
A former ASI Ltd. employee is seeking class certification in a suit
in which he alleges that he and about 200 of his fellow co-workers
were terminated from the Whitestown, Ind.-based company upon its
closing without proper notification in accordance with the Worker
Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. Andrew Shepherd
originally filed
the suit in February 2012, and filed the motion for class certification
this month.
Shepherd's motion claims that "WARN Act cases are ideal for
class treatment because a violation necessarily causes injury to
at least 50 individuals." Likewise, he alleges that that all
232 of his fellow terminated employees were similarly affected and
are entitled to class treatment.
According to the motion, Shepherd also is pursuing class certification
"in order to avoid a mootness issue that may result from a
tender to the named plaintiff."
In his initial suit, Shepherd alleged that 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
claims he is pursuing compensation for those payments the company
failed to make in addition to other Employee Retirement Income Security
Act (ERISA) benefits.
ASI responded
to the suit in May, by denying Shepherd's allegations that the
company was legally obligated under the WARN Act to provide 60 days
advance written notice to its employees of its intention to close
the facility. While ASI did not deny the plant's
closing in December 2011, it did claim the decision to cease
facility operations came on behalf of the company's Pittsburgh-based
lender, PNC Bank.
At press time, the court had not yet ruled on Shepherd's request
for class certification.
|