Suit Says Firm Failed to Give Notice of Layoffs

Four former employees of Landmark Roboshop Inc., a Valencia company that makes robots for amusement parks, filed a lawsuit against the company in U.S. District Court in Los Angeles, claiming that Landmark Roboshop violated a federal law requiring employers of 100 or more workers to give 60 days written notice to employees who are part of a mass layoff.

The suit, which seeks class action status, says that Landmark Roboshop laid off about 100 employees on or about June 13. The employees were given no notice and were paid only through that day, it says.

The plaintiffs ask in the suit that each terminated employee be awarded 60 days of regular pay, the equivalent of 60 days worth of benefits, and legal expenses. The damages per employee are likely to be less than $8,000 per person, the suit says.

Landmark Roboshop is partially owned by Landmark Entertainment, a Los Angeles company that produces motion pictures, theater productions and theme park attractions. Neither Landmark Roboshop nor Landmark Entertainment would respond to questions regarding the layoffs or the lawsuit.

An attorney for the plaintiffs said he believes Landmark Roboshop is still operating and now employs about 50 workers.