Liberty Power Hit with WARN Act Class Action After Closure of Fort Lauderdale Facility

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A proposed class action claims Liberty Power Corp., LLC failed to provide workers 60 days’ notice before a mass layoff at the utility provider’s Fort Lauderdale, Florida facility last month.

According to the case, Liberty Power violated the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act by terminating the employment of approximately 95 workers in April 2021 as part of a “mass layoff” or “plant closing” without providing 60 days’ statutory advance written notice.

Liberty Power employed across multiple locations at least 100 workers, more than 50 of whom worked at the utility company’s Fort Lauderdale facility, the suit says. Per the case, the defendant ordered on April 18 a mass layoff or plant closing as defined under the WARN Act and terminated at least 33 percent of its workforce at the facility. 

The lawsuit alleges, however, that workers were not provided with 60 days’ advance written notice of the mass layoff as required by law and are therefore owed their respective wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, accrued holiday pay and accrued vacation time they would have received for the 60 working days following their terminations. The workers are also owed pension and 401(k) contributions and other employee benefits and medical expenses that should have been paid during that timeframe, the suit contends.

The plaintiff, who worked for Liberty Power until his termination without cause last month, adds that he and other employees were not paid for accrued but unused vacation time and commission payments they earned and were owed upon their terminations.

The lawsuit looks to cover anyone who worked at the defendant’s Fort Lauderdale facility and was terminated as part of the mass layoff and/or plant closing ordered by Liberty Power on or about April 18, 2021 and thereafter.

According to Bloomberg, Liberty Power is among the latest utilities companies to take a hit from the February winter storm that devastated Texas, a group that includes the now-bankrupt Griddy Energy LLC, who itself faces putative class action litigation over apparent price gouging during the storm.

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