A former employee at Endicott Interconnect filed a federal lawsuit against the company on Tuesday, claiming it had violated state and federal worker notification laws during a recent round of layoffs. Mark Shreder filed the lawsuit on behalf of himself and other former workers, saying EI did not provide the proper notice required under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act when it laid off 250 to 300 workers in September and October. The lawsuit seeks damages, including 90 days’ wages and benefits, and is also seeking court approval as a class action. The class action status would allow other former employees to join in the legal proceedings without separate lawsuits being filed. The lawsuit alleges that EI had laid off employees on a rolling basis without giving advance notice required under the WARN Act. State and federal law requires an employer to file notice if 50 or more jobs are lost within a 30-day period. Layoffs within a 90-day period are also presumed to be together unless the employer can prove they were the result of two different circumstances.
