United Furniture hasn't paid final employee paycheck, accrued benefits

A fourth WARN Act employee lawsuit filed against United Furniture Industries Inc. claims that most of the manufacturer's 2,700 workers have not been paid their final paycheck.

The complaint was submitted Tuesday on behalf of Dominick Alcantara and Mario Gonzalez in federal court for the Central District of California.

United made promotional- to mid-priced upholstered furniture in the U.S. under its brand and the Lane Home Furnishings brand, which it acquired in November 2017 from Heritage Home Group. The manufacturer also imported wooden bedroom and dining furniture.

United's board of directors shut the manufacturer down abruptly and without warning on Nov. 22. Employees were notified their jobs had been eliminated - effective immediately - in a company email sent at 12:42 a.m.

Although the majority of affected United workers are in Mississippi, it had five operations in the Triad and in California.

The most recent workforce count had a combined 245 employees affected in Archdale and Trinity, along with a combined 220 in Lexington and between 50 and 70 in Winston-Salem at its 401 E. Hanes Mill Road facility.

The California plaintiffs said "most employees were not paid for their final week ... and no employees were paid for their accrued paid time off."

The request for their final paycheck comes on top of the typical WARN filing in which a company agrees to pay 60 days' worth of wages and benefits as part of closing their business or a business operation.

The plaintiffs, as have those in two of the previous lawsuits, are requesting class-action status for all employees.

Besides the WARN Act, the California plaintiffs claim United violated the N.C. Wage and Hour Act and two California labor codes.

The N.C. law requires employers to pay final wages to discharged employees through the regular payroll method on or before the normal payday.

The California lawsuit claims that N.C. employees haven't been paid their final paycheck, accrued vacation pay or company-paid pension and 401(k) contributions.

Under the N.C. law, United can be liable for civil penalties of $250 per day per employee, up to a maximum of $2,000 per violation.

The other lawsuits were filed by Mississippi-based employees in the federal Northern District of Mississippi, where United's Okolona, Miss., headquarters is located.

Meanwhile, there has not been a federal bankruptcy protection filing by United as of Thursday.

WARN Act

The federal WARN Act requires employers to notify state economic officials and the mayor's office of the affected community of mass layoffs of more than 50 employees or a complete operational shutdown.

Commerce Department spokesman David Rhoades said the department has not received a WARN notice from United as of Thursday. Winston-Salem Mayor Allen Joines also said his office has not received a notice.

The act requires companies that are planning large job cuts to notify affected workers at least 60 days in advance.

The act provides certain benefits to laid-off workers, such as 60 days of pay and benefit contributions if the closing is immediate, as well as access to COBRA insurance benefits for 60 days.

It also triggers emergency employment and job-training services to affected employees from N.C. Commerce, though they can be provided without request.

However, the act lacks enforcement teeth.

Several studies have shown that it has lots of loopholes and virtually no enforcement authority from federal, state and local officials.

Employees must file a lawsuit in federal court to assert WARN rights, which has produced occasional success, such as in 2016 when former employees of the closed Yadkinville hospital were able to secure a settlement with the hospital's for-profit operator.

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