Yellow faces legal fight related to recent layoffs

After recently administering significant layoffs and now facing potential bankruptcy, troubled Nashville trucking and logistics company Yellow Corp. is battling a class-action lawsuit from four former employees.

Filed in the United States District Court in the Middle District of Tennessee, the four plaintiffs in the suit allege Yellow management failed to provide proper notice (60 days) related to the layoffs and as required by U.S. Department of Labor regulations.

An unknown number of Yellow employees were laid off in late July (read here), with the company having previously been home to about 30,000 workers nationwide.

The plaintiffs — Ricky Adcock, Matthew Brewer, Michael Cottrell and Johnny Martinez — have filed the suit on behalf of all Yellow employees who had their jobs terminated on July 30.

The plaintiffs are seeking a court judgment including 60 days worth of wages and benefits, litigation costs and attorneys' fees “to the fullest extent” permitted under the federal WARN (Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification) Act, the lawsuit notes.

Nashville law firm Herzfeld, Suetholz, Gastel, Leniski and Wall is representing the plaintiffs. Focused on workers’ rights, the firm was created earlier this year via a split with partners of longtime Nashville law firm Branstetter, Stranch & Jennings (read here).

Though two additional lawsuits have been filed in Delaware related to the Yellow layoffs, the suit involving the four former employees is the only one brought by workers representing each of Yellow’s four operating subsidiaries, Joe Leniski, a member of the firm, emailed the Post.

“This lawsuit is a crucial step in protecting and enforcing the rights of the Yellow workforce, which is still reeling from this news," Leniski said. "Without exception, these layoffs were entirely foreseeable, and the required notice should have been provided for the benefit of these workers, their families, and the communities in which they live.”

Yellow officials could not be reached for comment regarding the lawsuit.