Class War: Workers fired Christmas Eve, paid with bad checks

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

http://www.theolympian.com/home/news/20040110/northwest/10393.shtml

BEND, Ore. -- When Northland Furniture called its employees to a Christmas Eve meeting, Betty Arnett said she and her co-workers thought they were getting Christmas bonuses. Instead, the company told them they were fired and handed out paychecks that bounced, Arnett said.

Arnett said her bank has suspended her checking privileges, charged her for passing bad checks and she now must find a way to pay for the Christmas presents she bought for her two small kids.

Jackson is concerned about his company 401(k) retirement plan.

Roy P. Disney, the grandnephew of Walt Disney, bought Northland in May 1997.

Company officials did not return calls and e-mails on Thursday.

[corporatewhore]

1. No war except class war!!!

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

4. kick

:bounce:

[Dude_CalmDown]

2. Now that's the Christmas spirit.

Jaysus

[unblock]

3. whiny liberals always trying to blame someone else

why can't these liberal workers take some personal responsibility for their own actions, here?

no one forced them to work overtime or take bad checks from their employers!

and if they're worried about this 401(k)s then they should have invested in something safe like halliburton!

sheesh!

[economic justice]

5. Cruel and Criminal

They should throw the book at the bastards. Simple as that.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

15. sounds good to me

I'd vote for that.

[Nikia]

6. Its bad, but don't assume that it was intentional

Sometimes, companies end up doing poorly. In this case, they must have had inept management if they couldn't have planned being able to pay everyone before laying them off. I don't know what the laws concerning this are. I believe that some states say that if the company is closing and in financial trouble that they have to pay their employees before any other creditors are payed.
I, myself, worry about my husband's paychecks, from the small business that he works for, because his boss is often paying him late.
My best friend's family faced financial hardship when his father was never payed for his last month of work when the business he worked for closed.
I hope these workers get their pay.

[camero]

7. It is a crime to pass a bad check

whether it's individual or corporate.

[htuttle]

13. Yes it is

And intentionally passing a bad check(s) over $500 is considered felony fraud in most jurisdictions. One count for each check.

And given that a business should be assumed to be aware of what is in it's bank account, I don't see how it couldn't have been intentional.

Throw the book at management. I know people currently in jail for doing far, far less serious things.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

14. "Throw the book at management"

I hope so, but I'm not going to bet the farm on it.

[ikojo]

8. This happened to workers in St Louis when a for profit

blood bank shut its doors. Those with direct deposit thought they were safe but they were not. A company can withdraw any funds deposited into your private bank account and that is what the blood bank did.

I seem to recall that the law supports the company (SURPRISED? I'm not) in that the employees become creditors if the company has declared bankruptcy. They must stand in line behind the creditors and hope the company has money to pay them.

Oooh I would be HOT. I am sure the executives got their pay. I feel NO pity for companies who do stuff like this. There is no excuse not to pay your workers.

[NavajoRug]

9. There's one error in your post . . .

I seem to recall that the law supports the company (SURPRISED? I'm not) in that the employees become creditors if the company has declared bankruptcy. They must stand in line behind the creditors and hope the company has money to pay them.

Technically, the employees DO become "creditors" of the company in that they have legitimate monetary claims against it. But by law, employees do not have to "stand in line behind the creditors" in any way. It's actually the other way around -- when a bankrupt company's assets are liquidated, the IRS will take whatever taxes are owed before any other creditors can be paid. After that (if there is any money left over), any employees who are owed wages will get whatever they are owed up. If there is anything left over after these two steps are taken, then the company's remaining creditors must figure out how they will be paid out.

[WhoCountsTheVotes]

11. they are also supposed to have adequate money for payroll

They are supposed to give notice BEFORE they run out of money to pay payroll - in fact, they even get a subsidy for it (at least in CA, not sure about here), so really there's no excuse.

[camero]

10. They should all be thrown in jail

I think this is another Enron-like case. I'm sure the execs got paid also. Makes me think twice about doing direct deposit.

[LTR]

12. Most likely outsourcing

The furniture case goods industry (wood and metal products) is quickly shifting to overseas production.

It's unbelievable how inexpensive the stuff becomes this way.

I suspect this because I have not heard of the company going belly-up (I work in the industry). Likely, the product will come from China and Malaysia.