Former Employees Sue Oklahoma Trucking Company; File Claims with State

Former employees of Tulsa, Okla.-based Arrow Trucking Co. have sued the company after it suddenly suspended operations and laid off workers.

The federal lawsuit claims Arrow violated laws that govern mass layoffs and business closures. Philadelphia attorney Charles Ercole, who is representing more than 30 former Arrow employees, filed the lawsuit Dec. 28 in U.S. District Court in Tulsa.

The ex-employees say that under federal law, companies must give a 60-day notice for mass layoffs. The lawsuit also alleges the company failed to pay employees, reimburse their expenses or former medical insurance premiums to carriers in the weeks before the shutdown.

The company and its CEO, Doug Pielsticker, are named as defendants in the lawsuit. Pielsticker has released a statement saying the company is negotiating with its principal lender.

Mary Bebout, a senior labor compliance officer with the Oklahoma Department of Labor’s Tulsa office, said that Arrow Trucking Co. employees also have filed 30 claim forms with the agency. About 480 Arrow Trucking employees have contacted the department to inquire about recovering unpaid wages.

Bebout says some of the claims are for final paychecks, while others are for bounced checks and final wages or for unpaid vacation pay and insurance premiums that were deducted but not paid in for coverage.

Tulsa-based Arrow Trucking suspended operations on Dec. 23 and laid off employees, stranding many of them who were scattered across the country.

Information from: Tulsa World, http://www.tulsaworld.com