Paramount Faces Class Action Lawsuit Over Layoffs Without Warning

The Paramount Global company is facing litigation this week and after deploying a round of layoffs without warning, former employees have pressed a lawsuit.

The proposed class action lawsuit was introduced to the New York federal court on Thursday. The lawsuit alleges “Defendants Paramount Global (“Paramount”) CBSInteractive Inc. (“CBS Interactive”) (collectively “Defendants”) terminated the employment of Julian Hagins (“Plaintiff” or “Hagins”) and more than 300 other employees who worked at and/or reported to their headquarters at 1515 Broadway in Manhattan (“Headquarters”), as well as other operating locations in close geographic proximity to Headquarters” without the proper 90-day advanced notice required since the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN) was ratified in 1988.

The latest round of layoffs were conducted on September 24 according to The Hollywood Reporter, and phase two of layoffs was intended to “cut 15 percent of its U.S.-based workforce” to cut $500 million in costs for the company. Co-CEOs George Cheeks, Brian Robbins and Chris McCarthy said in a memo “we are working to accelerate streaming profitability while at the same time adjusting to the evolving landscape in our traditional businesses.” The latest round of layoffs reportedly completed 90% of the company’s planned layoffs.

The company’s layoffs breached the NY WARN act by not giving employees the allotted 90-day notice required in the WARN Act, and because Paramount layoffs aren’t “the result of a plant closing” the company can end up responsible for complying with the NY WARN Act’s demands, which are “the employer shall provide that employee with 60 calendar days of wages and benefits.”

In a statement, Paramount denied the allegations and the lawsuit’s basis with “Paramount employees entitled to Federal or State WARN notice receive it.” Fans looking for more information on this developing issue can see the entire lawsuit here .