Buffalo, NY (WBEN) After four WNY Friendly's locations were among 23 shuttered suddenly Sunday, Senator Chuck Schumer wants to know if the corporation followed the law in informing employees of the abrupt closure.
"No matter how you look at it, the way these abrupt closures and sudden firings went down was anything but friendly to Upstate workers," says Schumer. "As a major corporation, Friendly's must adhere to federal laws that provide their employees with necessary updates when their employment is in imminent danger, but it doesn't look like that happened here. Or maybe there was a way to skirt those rules? Bottom line, people have a lot of questions, including me, and the feds should provide some answers. This kind of unannounced, mass layoff shouldn't happen to any worker without fair notice, so it is up to the feds to investigate the manner by which Upstate workers were notified of layoffs and determine if better employee protections are needed within the service industry. If the latter is true, I will be the first to pursue a legislative fix in Congress."
Schumer said the Friendly's restaurant closures across Upstate New York were a shock to both employees and customers, and cited numerous media reports across Upstate documenting the situation. Schumer urged the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) to investigate if any WARN laws were skirted and to determine whether or not service workers in corporate service employment need better protections. Schumer said that if an investigation determines service worker protections in corporate structures require reforms, he will be the first to raise the issue in Congress. Schumer said it does not appear Friendly's Corporation filed any notices with the federal government, but that given the aggregate number of workers impacted, they likely should have notified the feds.
"When a worker takes a job, they are often mandated to provide a two-week notice upon quitting. Friendly's should have to live by that same kind of standard, anything less is both unfair and irresponsible," Schumer added.
The WNY locations affected were:
· Amherst (4350 Maple Road)
· Blasdell (3540 McKinley Parkway)
· Jamestown (10 S. Main Street)
· Williamsville (6651 Transit Road)
Schumer said that while each of the Friendly's locations didn't necessarily cross the 50 employee threshold, when grouped together, the locations far exceeded it. Schumer explained this mass restaurant closing Upstate begs questions as to whether the Friendly's Corporation abided by their legally-binding WARN Act obligations, and if they did not, how exactly the company was capable of skirting their vital obligations. Therefore, Schumer urged the Department of Labor to thoroughly investigate the matter and quickly inform Congress of any findings related to whether the Friendly's Corporation acted illegally in abruptly shutting down the Upstate restaurants. If not, Schumer vowed to investigate and work to close any potential loopholes in WARN Act that enable corporations, like Friendly's, to abruptly close operations. The senator argued that no hardworking resident of Upstate New York should suffer the same fate as the Friendly's workers who showed up to their job in the morning, only to learn that their workplace had been closed overnight.
Schumer's letter to U.S. Secretary of Labor, Alexander Acosta appears below
Dear Secretary Acosta:
I write today on the heels of abrupt and mass layoffs at Friendly's restaurants across Upstate, New York. Just days ago, workers across fourteen New York locations arrived at their jobs only to be told to close the restaurants—for good. This type of corporate decision likely should have triggered a notification with your agency, but all signs point to your agency being as in the dark as Friendly's employees themselves.
Across Upstate, Friendly's, headquartered in Massachusetts, has been an iconic staple; a place to bring the family to enjoy a meal. Each restaurant employed managers, wait staff, cooks and cleaning crews. While it is no secret the corporation has had its share of struggles, the sudden closures and layoffs this past weekend seem to be a potential violation of federal workplace law that should be investigated. A simple chronicling of the news will detail locations across the State felled by the same narrative: abrupt closure and shocked employees.
For many of America's service workers employed by larger corporations, this kind of news is troubling. The circumstance raises questions about federal protections now on the books—laws designed to ensure corporations 'WARN' workers of imminent layoffs, so those workers can make appropriate plans in their own lives and for their own families. A cursory look into Friendly's reveals that the corporation did not notify your agency of this past weekend's layoffs, and that perhaps they skirted current laws in a way that might be legal, but is certainly not friendly.
Therefore, I urge your agency to query the Friendly's Corporation and investigate the manner by which service workers were notified of layoffs. A request like this is a bare minimum appeal for workers who were shocked to arrive at their jobs and abruptly told to close up shop. Workers are expected to provide employers with an industry standard 'two-week notice' upon quitting. These same workers should trust that their employers adhere to the same kind of agreement. It's only fair.
Please feel free to contact me should you have any questions regarding my request for answers as it relates to Friendly's layoffs. And thank you for your willingness to serve at an agency that stands as a symbol of worker rights and protections.
Sincerely,
U.S. Senator Charles Schumer
