A former employee of Bill Heard Enterprises Inc, the country's largest chain of Chevrolet dealerships, has filed a lawsuit against the company alleging it broke federal labor law in September when it fired thousands of employees.
The lawsuit was filed in U.S. Bankruptcy Court in northern Alabama on Friday, and is seeking class action status for all people who were terminated without cause at the dealerships closed in Alabama, Florida, Georgia, Nevada, Tennessee and Texas and Arizona on or about September 24th.
The suit alleges that Bill Heard and approximately 24 associated companies violated the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which states that companies are to provide a minimum of 60 days notice in advance of firings, and continue to pay specified wages, salaries and benefits during the notice period.
Lawyers for the plaintiff say that filing the suit is "particularly tailored to optimize the employees' claims in the bankruptcy context."
