MAKING THINGS RIGHT Employees of the shuttered Laser Spine Institute in Tampa, Fla., argue they are entitled to 60 days' worth of salary and benefits.

A class action lawsuit seeks millions in back pay and benefits for nearly 600 Laser Spine Institute (LSI) employees nationwide who lost their jobs without notice when the once-thriving chain of spine surgery centers abruptly ceased operations on March 1.

The suit, brought by 3 former employees but representing all former employees, claims that LSI of Tampa, Fla., violated the Federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act of 1988 because it didn't give employees at least 60 days' written notice of termination.

As we reported in our April cover story, the employees at 4 surgery centers in Tampa, St. Louis, Cincinnati and Scottsdale, Ariz., were stunned on March 1 when they learned the entire business was closing immediately. Most victims of the mass layoff were physicians, surgeons, nurses, consultants and business office staff.

The suit alleges that LSI, which is liquidating its assets, failed to pay its employees their respective wages, salary, commissions, bonuses, and accrued holiday/vacation/sick leave, failed to make 401(k) contributions, and failed to provide health insurance coverage and other employee benefits, all of which the plaintiffs claim should have accrued for 60 days. The plaintiffs are seeking an amount equal to the sum of all of those components, which likely adds up to several million dollars.

Joe Paone