COVID-19 Litigation
The numerous class actions filed in the wake of the COVID-19
pandemic continue to work their way through the courts. In this
section, we highlight some of these recent decisions and provide
updates on some of the trends that have been developing.
Employee WARNs That COVID Is Not a Natural Disaster
Benson v. Enterprise Holdings Inc., et al., No.
6:20-cv-00891 (M.D. Fla.) (Jan. 4, 2021). Judge Dalton.
Judge Dalton denied Enterprise's motion to dismiss a class
action by rental car employees claiming that Enterprise violated
the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act by
"dismissing themwith little to no notice"due to the
COVID-19 pandemic. The court rejectedEnterprise'sdefensebasedon
theWARNAct'snoticeexception, which exempts employers from the
notice requirement if a"mass layoff is a direct result of a
natural disaster."JudgeDalton ruled that"Defendants'
facilities or staff didn't disappear overnight, suddenly wiped
out.
