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http://www.cleveland.com/business/index.ssf/2010/03/inkstop_employees_to_get_most.html
600 FORMER INKSTOP EMPLOYEES TO GET
$660K IN WAGES BACK
Inkstop employees to get most of their back wages; former
directors chip in $660,000 to repay employees
WARRENSVILLE HEIGHTS, Ohio – More than 600 former employees of
InkStop Inc. may finally receive their last paychecks from the troubled
retailer – nearly six months after the ink-and-toner chain closed its
doors and locked out all its workers.The money to repay workers will
come from a $660,000 fund created and paid for by the 15 people on the
company’s board of directors, including founders Dirk and Dawn
Kettlewell.The proposed settlement filed late Monday in U.S. District
Court for the Northern District of Ohio, which still must be approved by
Judge Solomon Oliver Jr., would end up paying most workers about 82
percent of what they are owed in wages and overtime under the federal
Fair Labor Standards Act.In exchange for taking the payments,
the 629 employees would drop the two lawsuits they had filed against the
company’s board seeking back wages and other damages.The settlement
outlines how much each worker will get paid, up to a maximum of
$4,920.50. Store managers can get an additional $169.34 to settle claims
that they were asked to work unpaid overtime.Attorneys
representing the directors and company executives could not be reached
for comment on Monday. But in a joint statement issued by all sides,
they said the agreement “provides a fair structure through which the
employees can be paid . . . and the two lawsuits would be resolved.””I
think it’s the best possible result that could’ve happened,” said
Melanie Warren, an InkStop store manager in Cincinnati and one of the
first people to join the lawsuit after InkStop abruptly closed its
stores on Oct. 1.”It doesn’t make everybody whole, but it puts them on
the road to recovery. I am so proud of the employees who stood together
as one and showed that the little guys can truly be a voice. That’s
really what this was all about.”Carol Laskoski, assistant store
lead in Warrington, Pa., said that while she had been hoping for more,
“I’m happy with it, because at least we’re getting our money.”Jim
Varagona, a store manager in St. Louis, said: “I’ll believe everything
when I get the check in my hands.”I’m glad to see it come to an end, but
I’m a little disappointed that they’ve gotten away with what they have.
It would’ve been nice to see some more justice.”Attorney
Anthony Lazzaro of The Lazzaro Law Firm LLC, said: “It’s a great
settlement considering the circumstances,” because the employees will
get nearly everything they’re entitled to under federal wage laws from a
company that didn’t have any money.”Option B would have been to
litigate it for a year or two and hopefully get more,” but considering
the time and uncertainty associated with that, it was better to have
settled, he said.Attorney Jason Bristol of Cohen Rosenthal &
Kramer LLP added: “Our goal all along was to make sure that the
employees were compensated for the work that they performed.””The goal
of the settlement for both sides is to reach out to all affected
employees and have everyone included.”The amounts workers will get was
determined by U.S. Department of Labor calculations. The fact that
InkStop declared bankruptcy on Nov. 5 prevented workers from being paid
for unused vacation and sick days. Both Lazzaro and Bristol took half of
their usual fee in order to leave more money for the employees.Lazzaro
said it’s fairly unusual for directors to shell out their own money to
repay workers after a company goes under.If the court decides to approve
the settlement, notices would be mailed to former employees inviting
them to opt in and get repaid. If all goes as planned, employees could
get their checks in May.
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