ContractGlazing

Former ASI Employee Seeks Class Action Suit Against Company

A former employee of ASI Ltd. in Whitestown, Ind., has initiated a class action complaint against the company alleging that he and others were released from the company due to a plant closing but without proper notice required under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. Andrew Shepherd filed the suit “on behalf of himself and a class of those similarly situated” in the U.S. District Court for the Southern District Court of Indiana in late March.

The plaintiff alleges that he was an ASI employee until he was terminated as part of or as a result of a plant closing. “As such, the defendant is liable under the WARN Act for the failure to provide the plaintiff and the other similarly situated former employees at least 60 days’ advance written notice of termination, as required by the WARN Act,” alleges the complaint.

“On or about December 22, 2011, defendant ordered the termination of the plaintiff’s employment together with the termination of approximately 200 other employees who worked at or reported to the facility as part of a plant closing, as defined by the WARN Act, for which they were entitled to receive 60 days advance written notice under the WARN Act,” continues Shepherd’s complaint.

He further alleges that ASI “failed to pay [him] and the other similarly situated employees their respective wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, accrued holiday pay and accrued vacation for sixty (60) days following their respective terminations and failed to make 401(k) contributions and provide them with health insurance coverage and other employee benefits.”

Shepherd is seeking unpaid wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, accrued holiday pay, accrued vacation pay pension and 401(k) contributions and other ERISA benefits that he alleges would have been covered and paid under the “then-applicable employee benefit plans had that coverage continued for that period, for sixty (60) working days following the member employee’s termination.” He also is asking for attorneys’ fees and a trial by jury.

Neither ASI’s counsel, nor officials at ASI, had responded to requests for comment at press time.

ASI suspended operations on December 22, 2011, and allegedly resumed operations with new financial backing in mid-January.

International Painters Group Sues City Glass & Mirror, CBO Glass
The International Painters and Allied Trades Industry Pension Fund has filed complaints against both City Glass & Mirror in St. Petersburg, Fla., and CBO Glass of Alden, N.Y. Both suits were filed in late March.

The Fund alleges that City Glass had labor contracts with local labor unions or district councils affiliated with the Fund, and had agreed “to make full and timely payment on a monthly basis to the Funds, as required by the Labor Contracts, Trust Agreement and plan documents,” according to the complaint.

The company further alleges that City Glass “has failed to pay amounts due under the Labor Contracts, Trust Agreements and Plan from July 2010 through December 2011 in at least the sum of $51,815.76.”

City Glass officials declined to comment. At press time, the company appeared to still be actively in business.

The suit against CBO Glass includes two of the company’s officials, Gilbert DiMaio, president and CEO, and Paul F. Hogan, principal, and alleges that the company has “failed to pay amounts due under the Labor Contracts, Trust Agreements and Plan.”

“In order to resolve a delinquency, on or about November 14, 2011, Lawrence Gildersleve, vice president and CFO of CBO Glass, signed a promissory note on behalf of the companies pursuant to which the funds and companies agreed that the companies owed the fund $319,650.42 in contributions, interest and liquidated damages for the period of May 2011 through August 2011,” alleges the complaint. “ … Companies defaulted on the note by failing to submit the settlement installments and by failing to submit remittance reports and contributions for the period of December 2011 through February 2012.”

CBO Glass was ranked No. 7 on the recent USGlass list of top contract glaziers (see related story in March 2012 USGlass, page 24). CBO officials had not responded to requests for comment at press time.

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