Ex-workers file suit against Wood Structures Inc.
A class action lawsuit filed against the parent company of Wood Structures Inc. alleges employees were not given severance and notice pay when the company closed unexpectedly last March.
Five former employees and the union representing most hourly employees at the company’s Saco and Biddeford locations filed the lawsuit against Roark Capital Group for damages arising from the plant’s closure. The suit, filed Sept. 8 in federal district court in Portland, seeks to hold the company liable for severance pay under the Maine Severance Pay Act and for 60 days’ pay under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
Attorneys Jeffery Young of McTeague Higbee in Topsham and Maria Fox of the Law Office of Maria Fox in Portland are representing the workers and union in the suit. The employees who filed the suit are Stanley “Duke” Bennett, Richard Howard, Susan Welch, Aaron Vance and Warren deWildt. They each worked at Wood Structures for eight to 37 years. The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Local 1996, also is named as a plaintiff.
Roark Capital, based in Georgia, bought Wood Structures in 2005. When it closed, the company employed about 180 workers and was one of the largest employers in York County. Roark Capital has since sold the company to Boise Cascade, which reopened the facility last summer.
Calls to Roark Capital seeking comment on the lawsuit were not returned by the Courier’s publication deadline Tuesday.
Wood Structures President Frank Paul informed employees on March 16 that the company was filing for bankruptcy and employees should go and not report to work until further notice. Two days later, employees were notified by letter of a “permanent layoff,” according to the lawsuit.
“The abrupt closure of Wood Structures affected not just the livelihoods of 180 employees but also the community as a whole. Especially with the parent company still solvent, it is not only unjust but also illegal to lay off employees without severance pay and without notice. Maine law required Roark Capital as Wood Structures’ parent company to provide workers with notice of the plant closing and a week of pay for every year of service,” Young said in a prepared statement.
Bennett, who worked at Wood Structures for 37 years, said in a press release he loved his job and was devastated when he was told to go home.
“I feel completely lost without my job and still haven’t been able to find other work,” he said.
Five former employees and the union representing most hourly employees at the company’s Saco and Biddeford locations filed the lawsuit against Roark Capital Group for damages arising from the plant’s closure. The suit, filed Sept. 8 in federal district court in Portland, seeks to hold the company liable for severance pay under the Maine Severance Pay Act and for 60 days’ pay under the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
Attorneys Jeffery Young of McTeague Higbee in Topsham and Maria Fox of the Law Office of Maria Fox in Portland are representing the workers and union in the suit. The employees who filed the suit are Stanley “Duke” Bennett, Richard Howard, Susan Welch, Aaron Vance and Warren deWildt. They each worked at Wood Structures for eight to 37 years. The United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America, Local 1996, also is named as a plaintiff.
Roark Capital, based in Georgia, bought Wood Structures in 2005. When it closed, the company employed about 180 workers and was one of the largest employers in York County. Roark Capital has since sold the company to Boise Cascade, which reopened the facility last summer.
Calls to Roark Capital seeking comment on the lawsuit were not returned by the Courier’s publication deadline Tuesday.
Wood Structures President Frank Paul informed employees on March 16 that the company was filing for bankruptcy and employees should go and not report to work until further notice. Two days later, employees were notified by letter of a “permanent layoff,” according to the lawsuit.
“The abrupt closure of Wood Structures affected not just the livelihoods of 180 employees but also the community as a whole. Especially with the parent company still solvent, it is not only unjust but also illegal to lay off employees without severance pay and without notice. Maine law required Roark Capital as Wood Structures’ parent company to provide workers with notice of the plant closing and a week of pay for every year of service,” Young said in a prepared statement.
Bennett, who worked at Wood Structures for 37 years, said in a press release he loved his job and was devastated when he was told to go home.
“I feel completely lost without my job and still haven’t been able to find other work,” he said.
Comments