Telltale Games sued by former employee for collective dismissals

A former employee of Telltale Games has filed a lawsuit against the company, alleging that the recent dismissal of more than 250 employees without warning or compensation is a violation of the AVID [Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notifcation] Act.

Available via Polygon, the lawsuit alleges that "the defendant violated the WARN act by failing to give the plaintiff and the class of employees in the same situation that he seeks to represent a written notice of At least 60 days, as required by WARN Act. " This class, if approved by the court, will include about 275 employees, including those who were fired and the reduced crew left in Telltale.

The action is "an amount equal to the sum of all the injured employees": unpaid wages, salaries, commissions, bonuses, accumulated vacation pay, accumulated vacation pay, superannuation contributions and 401 (k) contributions and other ERISA benefits for sixty days following the termination of employment of the member employee. "Interest, legal fees and any other relief that this Court deems just and appropriate" are also sought.

The WARN law requires companies of a certain size to prevent layoffs, but the situation is complicated by exemptions, including "unpredictable business circumstances" for which Telltale may be eligible. Rumor has it that Lionsgates was suddenly released from its funding deal with Telltale, leading Telltale to cancel its deal with Stranger Things with Netflix.

But Telltale's problem, as explained in this detailed analysis of the situation on GameDaily.biz, is that California has its own version of the WARN Act without an exemption from "unpredictable trade event". As Telltale is state-based, it could be sanctioned at the state level, even though it is exempt at the federal level.

The bottom line is that it's a complex legal situation that does not seem particularly good for Telltale and that will probably take a long time to unravel. The problem is complicated by the fact that Telltale, despite its near-annihilation, does not close technically yet. and CEO Pete Hawley tweeted Earlier this week, "to be clear, we are not closing in. As strange as it may seem, 25 of us will continue, predictable.I will make further comments in the coming weeks."

I contacted Telltale to get feedback on the lawsuit and ask if a cover of The Walking Dead: The final season will allow former employees of the company to be compensated and will update if I get an answer.