Earth Fare faces lawsuit by employees

A Florida and a Tennessee employee of Earth Fare BB #:168468 are suing the retailer for not giving proper notice that they were losing their jobs.

According to a story in the Tampa Bay Times, the class action suits allege Earth Fare violated the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, which requires employers with more than 50 employees to give them 60 days’ notice ahead of closures and layoffs.

Earth Fare announced February 3 that is would close all stores, and “pursuant to the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN), all employees have been notified of the impending closure of the company’s stores and corporate office.”

Later in the week, the company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy after a deal with a group to buy 33 of its 50 stores fell through.

In its bankruptcy filing, the retail chain claimed more than $100 million in estimated liabilities and owed three produce companies more than $5 million each.