Former Employees Sue Sprout Over Unpaid Wages

▤ Summary

The lawsuit, which seeks class action status, was filed July 8 in U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of New York by the law firm Menken Simpson Rozger LLP on behalf of plaintiffs Nathaniel Agudelo of Florida and Helen Owens of New Jersey. The lawsuit states that both Recovco and Sprout are incorporated in Delaware but have offices at 90 Merrick Ave. in East Meadow, N.Y. “Upon information and belief, at all relevant times, Corporate Defendants operated as a single integrated enterprise and held themselves out as Recovco and Sprout interchangeably,” the lawsuit states. The lawsuit also states that Strauss, “directed various other individuals not to pay the outstanding wages owed to the terminated employees,” and “directed the closure of Defendants’ business and the non-payment of all employees’ paychecks from New York.” Sprout abruptly closed on July 6 following a short, virtual meeting held via Microsoft Teams at 4:30 p.m. Company President Shea Pallante hosted the meeting, informing the company’s more than 300 employees, “So, it’s with heavy heart I come to you to announce that Sprout is closing its doors today. The lawsuit states that the action has been filed on behalf of the two plaintiffs, Agudelo and Ownes, “and all similarly situated current and former employees pursuant to the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and, specifically, the collective action provision of the FLSA, to remedy violations of the wage and hour provisions of the FLSA by Corporate Defendants that have deprived Plaintiffs and others similarly situated of their lawful wages.” The lawsuit also cites violations of the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act), claiming the defendants failed to provide the required notice of a closing or mass layoff. Under New York state’s more strict version of the WARN Act, companies are required to provide 90-days written notice of a closing or mass layoff.

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