Layoffs
Laid-Off Employees File Class Action Against Heller Ehrman
Posted Oct 21, 2008 4:58 AM CST
By Debra Cassens Weiss
Three laid-off employees of Heller Ehrman have filed a class action suit that contends the law firm failed to follow federal and state laws requiring 60-day notification before layoffs.
The suit (PDF provided by Heller Highwater) claims Heller failed to pay its employees wages owed under the federal and California WARN acts, as well as California vacation laws and Heller’s own employee contracts, the Recorder reports. The law firm laid off most of its staff on the last two Fridays.
The named plaintiffs are a technology assistant, a business development manager and a professional services manager. The suit was filed in federal court for the Northern District of California by lawyers for the employment firm Nichols Kaster.
Labor lawyer Stephen Pahl told the Recorder in a prior story that there are exceptions to the notice requirement for sudden bankruptcies or dissolutions, but it is difficult to establish a dissolution is so sudden that the required notice cannot be given.
Updated at 12:47 p.m. to include the complaint.
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Comments
Ellen Barshevsky
Oct 21, 2008 5:35 AM CST
Wow. You would think that a LAW FIRM would know how to follow the LAW.
This is BAD. Do they not know the law? Or did they fire the lawyer that was SUPPOSED TO KNOW this stuff?
There are LAWS that require people to comply with the law, and that incluedes paying people some salary when they leave.
When my boyfriend was layed off from a job, he got 2 weeks salary plus HEALTH benefits, also. This was 3 years ago, and their was NOT even a CREDIT CRISIS. And he wasn’t even working for a LAW firm, either.
Now it is bad times, and lawyers need to follow the law. I vote to give these people their jobs back to settle the lawsuit. I thnk they will win, so I recommend a settlement along these lines.
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Jim L
Oct 21, 2008 6:00 AM CST
I think it is far too early to assess whether they followed the law or not, since I am certain not all the facts were reported for this article. And unfortunately, there are no jobs to give back to these employees—the firm has dissolved.
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Jerry
Oct 21, 2008 10:33 AM CST
Lawyers need to follow the law the way posters in forums need to follow the rules of capitalization. Make your point with language, not capital letters.
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anonymous
Oct 21, 2008 2:13 PM CST
Now I know Ellen Barshevsky is a pseudonym. Some of the comments attributed to the name simply cannot be made by a person with a law degree.
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Ian
Oct 21, 2008 5:38 PM CST
My eyes hurt now all I remember from the first posting was the word LAW. Did you just see L.A. LAW, or LAW & Order?......
Bottom line is there will be no liability found on the part of the firm. Even if found there is no firm in existence now.
It hurts to see so many attorneys trying to find jobs now. I knew it was gonna be tough but jeez this is just depressing. Somehow I knew this was coming eight years ago.
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QJC
Oct 21, 2008 8:17 PM CST
To be clear, the dissolution of Heller does not mean that it existed one second and, magically, suddenly was gone the next. Dissolution is but one of several steps required in terminating an entity’s existence.
A dissolved partnership is still liable for all obligations it incurred before dissolution. To a certain extent, it can be made liable for post-dissolution obligations as well.
The point is, with the right cause of action and the right circumstances, Heller can still be sued and held liable just as much as a thriving, non-dissolved law firm can.
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Heller employee
Oct 22, 2008 8:01 AM CST
This is an incredibly sad moment for all Heller employees. To say that most people loved the firm, their jobs and the people they worked with is an understatement. That being said, giving your employees 60 days notice and requesting that they continue to put the clients needs first, and then unceremoniously starting to walk them out the door within two weeks with less than 24 hours notice is just plain wrong. When you add in the fact that terminated employees had to wait for over a week for their final paychecks, which did not include their earned vacation pay (they may not get this at all); the fact that the firm has frozen the 401k plan so no money can be taken out (I also understand that the firm will be taking the administrative fees that they were supposed to be paying all along directly from each employees retirement account); it all adds up to dumping dedicated, hard working people onto the streets without access to any of the money that they have earned and no way to provide for their families. To add insult to injury, I understand that certain people in SF were given a heads up, they resigned, were paid for their accrued vacation, rolled their 401k plans over and were immediately rehired as consultants.
It is a very sad moment indeed when such a wonderful law firm that has given back so much to the community over the years can rake their dedicated employees over the coals without a second thought.
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Son of Ellen
Oct 24, 2008 9:56 AM CST
Wow. Ellen, just wow.
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Former Heller Lawyer
Oct 24, 2008 12:12 PM CST
First, I’m glad I left Heller when I did. Second, it sounds like the employees were treated horribly. Finally, who the heck is Ellen Barshevsky and does she have no life other than this?
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Iolanthe
Oct 24, 2008 1:51 PM CST
Isn’t Heller judgment-proof at this point anyway, having been dissolved? Even if there are assets available to the plaintiffs should they prevail, I assume they’d have to get in line with all the other creditors.
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r
Oct 24, 2008 9:03 PM CST
Worthless ingrates. Didn’t these fat cats charged $485 per hour and enjoy VIP seating long enough? No, they still want to feed at the trough some more! Hey fellas, they’re hiring greeters at Wal-Mart!! Maybe you won’t be able to send your kids to elite private schools and pay for your mansions aterall. Too bad! You’ll get no sympathy from me.
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df
Oct 25, 2008 1:14 AM CST
I have no idea of the merits (though my sympathy is with those laid off, it doesn’t necessarily mean Heller is liable!) but not surprisingly there are “Does 1-50” named as defendants. I only glanced at the complaint, but if allegations involving personal individual liability are proven, or any of the applicable laws make principals even of an LLP liable personally for unpaid wages, as is the case in some jurisdictions, then who cares if Heller itself is judgment-proof…
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Richard Dent
Oct 25, 2008 3:27 PM CST
I saw Brobeck skate, and fear Heller will too. Some people walked out with fat books of business and lush bank accounts, and are screwing the “little people” who helped them get there. Sorry to sound like an old guy, but this is another nail in the coffin of “professionalism.”
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