Post a Job
Thelen has identified about 240 potential former associates and staff members who could assert claims alleging that the firm violated the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act by failing to pay its employees adequate wages and vacation time in light of its Dec. 1, 2008, demise, according to court documents filed in a lawsuit this week. Bergman v. Thelen, No. 3:08-cv-05322 (N.D. Calif.).
Thelen announced its dissolution on Oct. 30 and laid off most of its employees on Nov. 30.
The suit, filed on Nov. 24 by three former associates and one former staff member, alleges that, under the WARN Act, Thelen should have paid its employees their salaries, bonuses and other compensation, plus allowed for 401(k) contributions and health insurance coverage, during the 60 days following the initial announcement of its dissolution. The employees also are seeking unpaid vacation pay.
If successful, the plaintiffs, who are seeking class certification, could obtain an award of "several million dollars," according to the recent documents, which were filed in preparation for a case management conference set for March 3. In a list provided by Thelen, attached to the documents, about 240 former employees -- 60 associates, 20 counsel and 163 staff members -- are identified as putative members of the class.
Steven Blum, a partner at Los Angeles-based Blum Collins, who represents the plaintiffs, said that list doesn't include California employees, who could number hundreds more. He said he plans to add two more named plaintiffs, both in California, as part of a first amended complaint filed next week. "The effect of the amended complaint will be to add a California subclass," he said.
Wayne Flick, a partner in the Los Angeles office of Latham & Watkins, who represents Thelen in the suit, did not return a call for comment. In the documents, Thelen maintained that the layoffs were the result of unforeseen business circumstances and that notifying its employees would have hampered its ability to obtain financing.
