GREENSBORO, N.C. — When employees of Klaussner Home Furnishings got to the end of their workday on Monday, August 7, 2023, they were told they no longer had jobs. The news came out of nowhere. The employees were told there would be no severance pay.
By law, companies the size of Klaussner need to alert employees, city/county leaders, and the Department of Commerce before they close. This is to give everyone time to get resources in place for employment and unemployment benefits. The WARN Act requires 60 days' notice, but that did not happen.
2WTK got the letter Klaussner sent on the day of the lay-offs. It states it is a WARN notice. WARN stands for Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.
In the letter, Klaussner lists the locations and the employees impacted. All total, the report to the state shows 884 jobs. In the WARN notice the company says "The lending source for the business has unexpectedly refused to continue to fund the company's operations."
Because the WARN Act requires employers to provide 60 days' notice and that didn't happen, can employees be compensated?
"Affected employees can file a lawsuit for back pay up to 60 days for the violation however, the Klaussner statement says their funding was pulled due to unforeseen business issues, so it would be very tough for employees to get damages in this circumstance," said Nicole Patino, Law Offices of Nicole Patino, PLLC.
While employees may not be successful in getting monetary damages, the WARN notice activates a Rapid Response team from the NC Department of Commerce to help assist workers with filing and job placement.