Former Telltale Games Employee Files Suit Over Layoffs as Studio Closes

Telltale Games was most known for its cool “The Walking Dead” game that was launched in seasons. The game developer abruptly closed shop recently laying off hundreds of workers last Friday. One of those terminated workers has filed suit against the company alleging that Telltale violated California and national laws during its layoffs.

The class-action suit was brought by Vernie Roberts on behalf of himself and other laid-off employees. According to the suit, Telltale let the workers go “without cause” and without giving them the written advanced notice required by the WARN Act. That act specifies that companies with at least 100 full-time workers must notify employees 60-days in advance of any plant closings or mass layoffs.

A mass layoff is defined as letting 50 or more workers go in a 30-day period if that number is more than 1/3 of the workforce. California has even more stringent laws on its books. The complaint says that Telltale terminated the workers without any severance and the terminated workers are only receiving health benefits through the end of the month.

WARN Act violations carry significant financial penalties. The act also requires the company to shell out back pay and benefits for each day of the violation. That means Telltale could be on the hook for 60 days worth of pay and benefits for each of the estimated 275 workers let go. Telltale might have a way out according to reports, the WARN Act allows companies to lay off workers with no warning if caused by circumstances that weren’t reasonably foreseeable. However, California’s version of the Act lacks that provision reports Polygon.