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Jenny Craig Employees File a Class-Action Lawsuit Claiming the Company Violated the WARN Act

The lawsuit comes two days after the company announced it would shut down and hundreds of people were laid off

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Jenny Craig employees are seeking to join a class-action lawsuit alleging the company violated federal and state WARN Acts, which require companies to give employees a 60-day notice ahead of any mass layoffs or facility closures. 

The lawsuit was filed in the New Jersey District Court on May 4, two days after the company sent an email to its employees announcing it would fully close. The WARN Act requires companies with 100 full-time employees or more to notify both the local and state governments, as well as its employees, 60 days before mass layoffs or closures. The complaint estimates hundreds of employees could be covered by the lawsuit.

Some Jenny Craig employees received a WARN Act notice on April 25. One week later, Jenny Craig told its employees it would close the entire company by May 5. 

In an FAQ note sent to Jenny Craig employees and obtained by NBC News last week, the company told the staff, “Legally, per the Warn Act, employees reporting to the Corporate Office and NJ centers are entitled to pay for the full Warn Act notice period. However, as the financial status of the company is still in flux, it is not clear whether the separation date may be before 6/24 for Corporate and 7/24 for NJ centers and could be as early as next Friday 5/5. If it is before the full Warn Act notice date, we may not be in a position to continue payments to the employees for the full warn notice period.”

The FAQ note also told employees that they may not be paid for the full 60 days from the WARN Notice if the company chose to shut down before then, which the company ended up announcing a few days later.

Read the full story at NBCNews.com 

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