On July 1, 2015, we filed a lawsuit against Anna’s Linens, Inc. (“Anna’s Linens”), seeking to recover 60 days wages and benefits for former employees under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (“WARN”) Act and the California WARN Act. We contend that Anna’s Linens ordered mass layoffs on or about June 19, 2015, without providing its employees with advance written notice. The case was heard in the United States Bankruptcy Court for the Central District of California.
On March 14, 2016, the Court certified the WARN case as a class action, and notice of the class action was mailed to the members of the class on March 30, 2016. On March 30, 2016, the Debtor’s case converted from chapter 11 to chapter 7, and a chapter 7 trustee was appointed.
The parties agreed to settle the class action subject to Court approval. On October 13, 2020, after a hearing, the Court granted preliminarily approval of the settlement. The Court scheduled a fairness hearing for December 9, 2020 to decide whether to grant final approval of the settlement. A notice was mailed to each class member that month with information about the terms of the proposed settlement.
The Bankruptcy Court granted final approval of the WARN settlement on December 9, 2020. The Chapter 7 Trustee sought Bankruptcy Court approval to fund the WARN settlement.
The Anna’s Linens Trustee’s formal request to pay the $1.2 Million WARN Settlement as soon as it was practicable was granted by the Court on July 13, 2021. Settlement checks were mailed by the Settlement Administrator to eligible members of the WARN class on September 7, 2021. This interim distribution represented approximately 75% of the $1.2 million WARN settlement.
Settlement checks, for the second and final distribution, were mailed to eligible members of the WARN class on November 8, 2023.
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WARN ACT – CONTACT US
If this mass layoff affected you, Raisner Roupinian LLP can provide you with updated information regarding your rights in this case. Generally, the WARN Act requires companies to provide their employees with 60 days written notice in advance of a mass layoff or plant closing. In the absence of such notice, employers may be liable to each affected employee for 60 days wages and benefits.
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