Some 280 former employees of the Colibri Group have filed a class action suit against the now-bankrupt company, charging it with violating the WARN Act when it shut down in January.

The suit was also filed against Colibri’s owners, Founders Equity and Phoenix Consulting.

The suit charges that, on January 15, Founders Equity petitioned a Providence court to force The Colibri Group into receivership. On January 14, Colibri CEO Jim Fleet sent an email to its employees announcing the closing. Many of the employees do not have access to computers of email, the suit says, so when they showed up the next day they saw a sign informing them the company had closed. This was the first notice they received of the closing, the suit says.

The plaintiffs seek back pay, penalties and costs as a result of the lack of notice required by the WARN Act.  The WARN Act requires employers to provide notice 60 days in advance of covered plant closings and covered mass layoffs.

JCK