An attorney representing some of the steel mill workers laid off by Bayou Steel in LaPlace this week is questioning whether the company complied with federal law when notifying workers of the layoffs. Attorney Brent Barriere says employees were blindsided by the mass layoff.
“The WARN Act requires sixty days notice, failing which a worker is entitled to the number of days he did not receive. Effectively, here, there was no notice, so every worker should be recovering sixty days of pay,” said Barriere.
Barriere says he’s also working to have the bankruptcy case moved from Delaware to New Orleans.
“I think that there was a perception these workers would have difficulty protecting their interest if, as is the case now, they were faced with appearing in a courthouse 1200 miles from their home and at a time when they are not receiving a paycheck,” said Barriere.
The company owed more than $20 million to creditors upon filing bankruptcy. Barriere says there has been no indication by ownership or management that the company intends to fulfill its financial obligations to employees.
“We’re trying to protect amounts that may have been due as regular wages, retirement benefits, health benefits, vacation, and the like,” said Barriere.
The closure led to 376 being left without a job. St. John Parish is expected to lose about $1 million annually in tax revenue because of the closure.
