Toys 'R' Us owners will hand out $20 million severance to employees

[laserhaas]

Last edited Tue Nov 20, 2018, 01:13 PM - Edit history (1)

Source: CNN Business

Link to tweet

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Two of the former owners of Toys "R" Us have agreed to pay $20 million to help laid-off employees.

Bain Capital and KKR, private equity firms that owned part of the toy retailer, set up a severance fund to pay former workers who lost their jobs when the company closed its stores.

The third owner, real estate firm Vornado, did not join the fund, and did not immediately respond to request for comment.

Toys "R" Us filed for bankruptcy a year ago with plans to stay in business. But in March the company's creditors forced it to go out out of business, and the 31,000 remaining employees did not get severance payments.

Read more: https://www.cnn.com/2018/11/20/business/toys-r-us-severance-fund/?fbclid=IwAR3EUGMX0wFlGd3ScH4pPEb1QJARqojaXHyWJugFTw7c_Ylf1OcGTJ7BmC0

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I was the CEO of eToys.com; which I've alleged Bain Capital stole.

Here's a link to my D.U. article referencing my 2013 DailyKos article that Toys R Us was going bankrupt after we stopped Bain Capital taking Toys R Us public.

Where I said;

.....Bain's Toys R Us (that owns the stolen Kay Bee, FAO Schwartz and eToys) - has just informed everyone that the company is permanently cancelling the Toys R Us IPO (because good public servants are now "watching&quot .
http://finance.fortune.cnn.com/...

BUT - of course - Toys R Us has that "bankruptcy" option that is the REAL RICO Romney Gang's way of doing business. You can't blame them. If you know you could steal City Hall, because you own a federal prosecutor, you guarantee yourself NO Loss with a bankruptcy that stiffs all the creditors. (Like Traub did with Petters Ponzi stiffing Ritchie Capital on Polaroid and then giving Polaroid for free back to Traub).

FORTUNATELY - we have good reporters on the case. Rmuse is a journalist with PoliticusUSA.com and he just published this recent story asking the question "IF" (it should be when) - is Toys R Us going to file bankruptcy.

[apnu]

1. This amounts to about $645 per employee (nt)

[laserhaas]

27. There about. Thing is $400 per week, times 9 times 30,000

Is $108 million plus.

It irks me that some are claiming this is a great victory.

[4du]

2. $20,000,000 for 31,000 employees $650 each

Not such a big deal

[Turbineguy]

3. How much did did Bain, KKR and Vornado loot

from Toys R Us?

Romney used to call it "harvesting profits".

[MontanaMama]

17. Exactly.

DU's laserhaas predicts Romney will run for the WH in 2020. I believe him. Romney is dangerous and will finish the looting of our treasury. We ain't seen nothing yet in terms of tax cuts.

[laserhaas]

24. IMO - looting will begin as soon as Mitt is placed upon

The Senate Committees he is seeking.

Romney is a Racketeer of the highest order; and his goals are greed & power.

[MontanaMama]

28. There you are!

With you 1000%. He’s a predator.

[laserhaas]

30. Hmmmm! What is the term.for Wall Street predator?

.i know - Racketeer

That be Pittens

[Chicago1980]

4. Pathetic...

And I'm betting separate from CEO bonus pay?

$645 isn't a month's rent in most places.

If I made $15 per hour, I'd have to work 43 hours, or a week...

It's something, but it's truly nothing in comparison.

[haele]

7. It covers one missing paycheck or that week waiting for unemployment to kick in. :(

If that's the best they can get, it will at least give them a week's breathing room to get a new job.
It's definitely not enough, but it's more than most retail workers or managers will get when the vultures are picking apart the company carcass.

Haele

[laserhaas]

13. Here's the thing - won't Unemployment lay claim to that money

It all sucks.

[Massacure]

18. It depends on the state and how the employee pays out the money

Some states do not hold severance pay against you. Some states do not care if you receive a lump sump severance but do if you receive a weekly one. Some states will consider a lump sum as only one weeks worth of waves. Some states will take the lump sum and divide it by your weekly wage and withhold benefits for that long.

[laserhaas]

23. There's more to all this than meets the eye

I'll check the docket

[mastermind]

5. well isn't that special

[Racerdog1]

6. Bain Capitol

Mitt Romney at it again. Gotta love that fucking asshole.

[laserhaas]

8. I've been fighting, trying to indict Mitt, for 18 years

Now the fruk'r is a Senator

Link to tweet

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[Just a Weirdo]

20. He will be indicted soon

And a death curse has been inflicted on him. He wont last a week in the Senate.

[laserhaas]

21. Say What!

If only such were true!

[SWBTATTReg]

9. Really. Mitt R. must be getting ready to run for office! nt

[laserhaas]

12. Exactly! - He knows nothing can stop him.

Romney is - Above the Law!

[Javaman]

10. fucking mittens and bain. pocket changes to those fuckers.

mittens is a fucking piece of shit. bain just did less than the very least they could do to help these people and the court had to force them to do it.

bain not only feasts upon the lives of the living, they also choose to cut up the dead remains they leave behind to sell to human rendering plants.

they are fucking evil.

on edit: if this money (20 million) is divided equally among the 31000 that didn't get any severance package, that comes to, wait for it: $645 and change per person. we, as a nation, should be fucking appalled.

[Perseus]

11. Another Bankruptcy brought to you by Mitt Romney

What a leech Bain Capital is...

[LittleGirl]

14. I think it's great news!

Why such sour posts? Yes, It sucks that they didn't get much but something is much better than nothing! And they Won!
Take it.

[marble falls]

15. Sounds like a whole lot mpre than it is. Almost meaningless.

[laserhaas]

16. Thing is, the law was violated. The WARN Act mandates 60 days

The thing is, what Bain Capital may say they are gifting - still may not meet the WARN Act requirements.

As stated by experienced counsels at White & Williams
https://www.whiteandwilliams.com/resources-alerts-Top-Four-WARN-Mistakes.html

SEVERANCE PAY CONFUSION
Employers under WARN generally do NOT get credit for providing severance pay required under a preexisting severance plan

[tammywammy]

19. Toys R Us did provide a WARN Act notice

https://www.bna.com/toys-us-layoff-n57982090293/

In a March 15 bankruptcy motion announcing it will close all its stores, Toys “R” Us said it would hand or over-night mail 60-day notices to all of its employees. The company also said it developed a “budget that ensures that all employees will continue to be paid in the ordinary course for no fewer than 60 days.”

[laserhaas]

22. Okay, let's say this is true and I bite (which I don't)

To begin with, we need a copy of the "direct" written notice to each employee.

I've conversed with 100s of TRU employees; and none of them have ever heard of the "Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification" ACT - notice.

Additionally, WARN Act compliance is not limited to hourly wages. Benefits are also an issue.

Furthermore, there are other issues (in pari delicto)

Last thing Bain & KKR would be accused of, is being magnanimous. The $20 million is highly likely a settlement effort to head off a greater cost.

$400 per week times 9 weeks times 30,000 equates to $108,000,000.00

Something doesn't smell right, here!

[tammywammy]

25. Copy of letter

https://mobile.twitter.com/hcpeterson/status/975814658094518276

https://mobile.twitter.com/jamieson/status/976967961914290176?lang=en

[laserhaas]

26. Already have that letter (which - btw - is inside your Link)

But, I'm telling you, none of the hundreds of employees I've talked to, ever heard of the WARN Act, or remember receiving such a letter.

It could be that TRU home office had it posted in break room (which is insufficient)

Also could be that being a generic (not person specific) is insufficient ( need to find an expert on that one).

I looked at the inside links in the story LINK you provided, to see if anything was different. There's "some" employee I.D. s listed that the article claims received the "generic" / at all Team letter.

But that is likely to be insufficient.

http://src.bna.com/xhN

[laserhaas]

29. Finally, a TRU employee remembers receiving the letter

But....

Link to tweet

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