Just saw a quick blurb on the news. Interesting at least. The (now former) employees of Skybus are filing suit against the airline and I believe (I only caught part of it) are suing for 60 days salary since they were not notified of the airlines closure. I tried to find information on it, but it was filed in time to make the 6:00 news.
Sorry I don't have more information - I tried to search my local news outlets and there isn't anything up yet.
Posted by
Lakewood, Colorado
19099 posts
However many days salary the CEO gets, they should get at least as much. After all, it was his bad management that caused the airline to fail, not theirs.
Posted by
West Sacramento, California, USA
281 posts
I wouldn't bet on the employees prevailing in this suit unless they have a collective bargaining agreement with specific language regarding termination notification. Even then, they would have to line up with the other creditors in the bankruptcy court. As for the compensation if any that the CEO might have received, that would have been approved by the board, so it is unlikely the me too clause argument would be an option. This is one case where I would not point the finger at a CEO and executive perks, as this venture was dubious to begin with. I never thought Skybus had a route and schedule structure that could work in the current climate of air line operations. As we have seen with Frontier's experience this past week, cash flow and balance sheet analysis by wary banks and creditors can move an entity to the tipping point quickly. When you are still trying to get off the ground, as Skybus was, that fulcrum is a precipice and you have no safety margin.
Posted by
Columbus, Ohio, USA
258 posts
The employees are filing it under the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act which has language about needing 60 day notice for massive lay-offs. I don't think anything that Skybus did in the last days was right, but I don't really think the employees will win the suit either...
Here's a news story link:
http://www.10tv.com/live/content/local/stories/2008/04/16/story_skybus_lawsuit.html?type=rss&cat=&sid=102
Posted by
OP
Columbus, OH, USA
208 posts
Thanks for the link Kelly - when I looked after the 6:00 news there was nothing available yet. I switched to the news and missed the beginning of the story.
It will be interesting to see how this plays out. I feel bad for the employees and the unsuspecting passengers. I guess when oil's trading at $112/barrel and tickets are $10...something's gotta give.
Posted by
Freedonia
15087 posts
The employees won't win this one. The act says a company can't have a mass layoff without 60 days notice. That's a company that's still operating. Skybus is no longer operating. It went bust. Bankrupt. No more money.
They might be able to join a long list of creditors but they will not be at the top. U.S. Gov't will first collect whatever money they are owed, then the banks, major creditors, etc. Then, maybe, the employees.
And if there is no money, how are they going to get 60 days salary?