Koster
ST. LOUIS (Legal Newsline) - Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster has reportedly reached a deal with some former US Fidelis workers, allowing them compensation for being laid off without proper warning.
The workers, who were laid off before US Fidelis filed for bankruptcy in 2010, later sued the company's estate.
They alleged violations of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, arguing they were laid off without proper warning and were entitled to compensation.
The federal law requires most companies with 100 or more employees to provide 60 calendar-days advance notification of plant closings and mass layoffs of employees.
The advance notice gives workers and their families transition time to adjust to the prospective loss of employment, to seek and obtain other employment, and, if necessary, to enter skill training or retraining programs that will allow them to successfully compete in the job market.
The Wentzville, Mo.-based company was once considered the nation's top seller of extended auto service contracts. However, accusations of illegal telemarketing ploys and selling worthless warranties led to its collapse in 2009.
According to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Koster had sought to exclude more than 350 former employees from a deal, claiming they, too, were party to the company's business practices.
However, a judge ruled in April that more than 550 ex-Fidelis workers would share in a $1.45 million settlement.
According to the Post-Dispatch, the company's chief marketing officer, a general sales manager and five sales managers will return any money they receive.
The settlement also allows the State to seek to block payouts for up to 20 former employees, the newspaper reported Monday.
From Legal Newsline: Reach Jessica Karmasek by email at jessica@legalnewsline.com.