Boston, MA | July 24, 2023
Fulfillment company sued for firing over a hundred workers with no warning over the holidays
Billerica-based Fulfillment America, Inc., with a history of labor infractions, once again faces workers’ claims of violating rights.
The staffing industry has shifted from providing temporary workers
during seasonal changes in labor needs to providing year-round labor. While many temps work alongside a company’s own employees doing the same work, they are much more likely to be victims of workplace abuses.
Fair Work PC and non-profit Justice at Work joined forces to represent workers, who have been supported by the Massachusetts Coalition for Occupational Safety and Health (MassCOSH), in a class action filed last Thursday (7/20/2023) at the United States District Court for the District of Massachusetts. The complaint details how more than 100 staffing agency employees were fired by Fulfillment America when it abruptly cut ties with the staffing agency that for many years supplied it with workers. The complaint alleges:
-More than 100 workers were fired on or around New Year’s Day 2023 without adequate notice as mandated by the WARN Act;
-Workers merely received a text message stating that effective the following day their services were no longer needed;
-Workers were not timely paid final wages due at termination in violation of the Massachusetts Payment of Wages Act; and
-At all times relevant to the complaint, the terminated workers were jointly employed by the staffing agency and Fulfillment America.
Despite many years of loyal service and dedication to Fulfillment America, getting paid only minimum wage, over 100 workers were left to enter 2023 without work and not knowing how they would provide for themselves and their families.
Lucia Guardado, one of the terminated employees, states: “I worked for Fulfillment America for over ten years, and on New Year’s Day 2023 I received a message that I was being let go. This was right after the busy holiday season when we worked incredibly hard to help Fulfillment America through the holiday rush. The months following the firings were full of anxiety, sadness, and stress as we did not know how we would provide for our families, pay rent, and pay bills. MassCOSH listened to us and taught us about our rights and because of their support, we have stood up for ourselves. We will continue to fight and we are grateful for the support we have received during this difficult time.”
“These loyal workers abruptly learned their lives were being upended while celebrating the holidays with their families,” said Fair Work Attorney Oz Vazquez. “Fortunately, federal and Massachusetts law gives them tools to enforce their rights, and we’re honored to be part of the team working to make sure they receive justice.”
Francisca Sepulveda, Immigrant Worker Center Director for the Massachusetts Coalition of Safety and Health(“MassCOSH”), where the terminated workers learned of their rights and were connected with legal support, adds: “Although MA has laws that provide certain protections to workers employed through temporary agencies, most workers are frequently experiencing wage theft, discrimination and predatory fines that cut into their paychecks. This is an essential industry that is rapidly growing, providing over $160 billion to the U.S. economy. Many companies depend on temporary workers to get through busy seasons because of the flexibility and low costs associated with their labor. It is time to update our laws and strengthen the legal protections for temporary workers so companies that benefit from cheap labor are held responsible when using their power over working people unjustly.”
For general inquiries, please contact Francisca Sepulveda at [email protected] or Pablo Carrasco at [email protected].
Justice at Work is a Boston-based legal nonprofit founded in 2011 to support workers in low-wage jobs in exercising collective power. Justice at Work envisions all people realizing their voice and power on the job to ensure fair pay, safety, and dignity. To work toward that vision, we strengthen organizing by providing labor and employment legal services, training, and strategic guidance to workers’ organizations.
POSITION OVERVIEW:
Justice at Work is seeking a dynamic candidate to partner with the Executive Director to oversee our legal programming. The successful candidate will be:
1. Directly knowledgeable of the challenges and opportunities facing immigrants and other people of color, including Black and Indigenous workers, in low-paying jobs.
2. A strong bilingual communicator. (We currently work closely with worker organizations whose members speak Spanish, Portuguese, Mayan K’iche, Cape Verdean Creole, and Haitian Creole.)
3. Committed to social, racial, and economic justice and to Justice at Work’s mission.
4. Experienced with worker centers and/or other community-based organizations that support workers in low-paying jobs.
5. Versed in representing workers at government agencies and in court on employment and labor matters, and with enough experience/vision to imagine and pursue creative enforcement and/or litigation strategies.
6. Competent supervising other legal staff, including lawyers, paralegals, and law students.
7. Able to lead meetings, both externally with ally organizations and internally, including facilitator-rotating team meetings, such as our Dignity for All Committee, aimed at building our team’s capacity to deepen our support of Black and Indigenous worker organizing.
8. Licensed to practice law in Massachusetts, able to waive into the jurisdiction, or willing to sit for the next Massachusetts’ bar.
RESPONSIBILITIES WILL INCLUDE:
Overseeing Legal Services, Training, and Strategic Legal Counsel for Worker Center Organizers and Members (75%)
1. Meeting with the Executive Director to strategize and plan our programmatic work.
2. Partnering with the Executive Director to oversee the performance of our legal work and joining our programmatic staff in providing the following:
a. Legal intakes of worker grievances, and advice,
referral and/or representation for those workers.
b. Drafting, filing and litigating complaints with government agencies and in
court.
c. Researching employment, labor and immigration law.
d. Counseling groups of workers and their organizations engaged in actions to
improve conditions at specific workplaces or across industries.
e. Performing policy advocacy with government labor agencies and legislative
bodies on behalf of, and in coalition with, worker centers and their allies.
f. Training worker center members and staff on workplace-related laws,
including occasional evenings and Saturdays.
Overseeing Programmatic Administration and Supporting Development (25%)
1. Strategizing development of and helping to maintain a network of government, private and legal aid legal resources to support worker centers.
2. Supporting the recruitment and supervision of our programmatic staff, as well as legal fellows and law students.
3. Engaging with staff and partners to determine how to maximize impact through data reporting and helping to ensure programmatic info is complete.
4. Supporting legal program fundraising and development, including targeted grant writing and reporting as well as meetings with foundations and individual and organizational donors.
Position will report to the Executive Director.
COMPENSATION and BENEFITS:
The base salary range for this position is $70,000 to $90,000, commensurate with experience. Justice at Work also offers a generous benefits package that includes a retirement plan (up to 4% employer match; health insurance (80% employer paid); paid vacation, sick, personal time, and parental leave; some flexibility in scheduling; and a paid sabbatical after seven years of service.
TO APPLY
Interested individuals should submit a resume and letter of interest, highlighting relevant experience, via email to [email protected], Attention: Thomas Smith. This position will remain open until filled.
Justice at Work is an equal opportunity employer. We are committed to hiring staff reflective of the communities we support. Women, individuals with disabilities, LGBTQ individuals, people of color, and people who speak English as a second language are encouraged to apply.
