Over a year after it closed, 84 former employees of Saint Catherine Medical Center in Fountain Springs received 60-day severance checks totally $400,000. The employees are members of the American Federation of State, County and Municipal Employees (AFSCME) union.
According to an article on the RepublicanHerald.com, the severance checks represents money that was owed to the employees through the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act. According to the website for the U.S. Department of Labor, the WARN Act requires employers with 100 or more employees to notify workers 60 calendar days before plant closings or layoffs.
Saint Catherine closed in April 2012 without any warning to employees, due to financial problems as well as violations of state and federal laws. Nearly 150 employees were left out of work. As a result of the closing, employees were entitled to 2 month’s salary.
According to the article, the union was also able to get pay that was owed to employees by the medical center earlier this year. Nearly $200,000 was distributed in March.