On April 3, 2020, a former employee of Velodyne Lidar filed a class-action lawsuit against the company for layoffs supposedly related to COVID-19. The plaintiff, Benjamin Siers, filed the lawsuit in San Jose’s US District Court and claims that the autonomous vehicle technology company dismissed more than 140 employees with only one day of written notice.
According to the lawsuit, Velodyne “told employees that the layoffs were caused by the recent COVID-19 pandemic, but that representation is not consistent with Velodyne’s recent business activities.” In addition, the lawsuit points out that in the summer of 2019, Velodyne started to transfer production jobs overseas and took numerous outsourcing actions. Siers, who was a production engineer with the company, doesn’t believe that the COVID-19 pandemic caused Velodyne to layoff employees last month.
Plaintiff Claims Cuts Were Due to Outsourcing, Not COVID-19
In California, companies are required to provide 60 days of written notice of termination under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. Specifically, businesses must give advanced notice if termination is due to foreseeable circumstances. The members of the class seek “respective wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, accrued holiday pay, and accrued vacation for [the] 60 days following their respective termination.”
In mid-March, the company closed its Bay Area operations, which included around 500 employees, as a result of shelter-in-place orders. However, Velodyne said that it would “remain operational as we assess and meet customer needs by utilizing manufacturing centers globally that are currently open.” The company also scaled back its operations in China in December after they accused rival companies of stealing intellectual property.
Contact Our California Class Action Lawsuit Attorneys
When a group of employees shares a common complaint against their employer, they can seek a class-action lawsuit.
In California, class-action lawsuits hold employers accountable for wrongful actions against their workforce, protecting future employees from harm and compensating past or current employees.
At the Workplace Rights Law Group, our California class-action lawsuit attorneys passionately advocate for California workers.
With nearly 100 years of combined experience in employment law and millions of dollars recovered for our clients, we know how to take on companies like Velodyne Lidar.
If you are a current or former employee of Velodyne Lidar and want to join the class action lawsuit, give one of our attorneys a call at 818-446-1045 for a free case review.
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Theo Khachaturian
Theo is a trial & appellate lawyer whose practice has emphasized wage-and-hour class actions, business disputes, wrongful termination, discrimination, harassment, and intellectual property theft. He has tried civil cases and argued before various California Courts of Appeal.