Strauss Borrelli PLLC, a leading class action law firm, is investigating Sherwood Food Distributors d/b/a Harvest Meat Company and Western Boxed Meats regarding its recent mass layoffs in California, Colorado, Michigan, Ohio, and Oregon. The WARN Act is a federal law that requires certain employers to notify their employees, in writing, at least 60 days before a plant closing or mass layoff takes effect. As a result, we believe Sherwood Food Distributors’ employees may be entitled to sixty days of severance pay and benefits.
WHAT HAPPENED?
In February 2025, Sherwood Food Distributors announced that a mass layoff will be commencing across multiple states. The federal law, known as, the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, requires covered employers to provide 60 days’ prior written notice to employees, their representatives, and certain government parties in the event of a mass layoff or plant closing. However, Sherwood Food Distributors failed to provide at least 60 days’ notice before laying off around 1,500 employees and therefore potentially violating the WARN Act.
ABOUT THE WARN ACT:
The WARN Act is a federal law passed in 1988 by Congress that requires employers with 100 or more employees to provide a 60-day notice of significant layoffs or plant closings. This notice gives workers and their families time to prepare for job loss, seek new employment, and pursue training or retraining opportunities. The WARN Act aims to reduce the impact of sudden job loss on workers and communities by ensuring they have sufficient time to transition. Generally, employees must receive a WARN Act notice if they are laid off or if their hours are cut by 50% or more in any six-month period because of a plant closing or mass layoff. It is possible that a temporary layoff may still violate the WARN Act if it ends up lasting longer than six months.
Employers who do not follow the WARN Act rules, either by giving notice too late or providing unclear notices, may have to pay employees back pay and benefits for the time they were in violation.
If you or someone you know were laid off from Sherwood Food Distributors. We would like to speak with you about your rights and potential legal remedies. Please fill out the form below or contact us at 872.263.1100 or sam@straussborrelli.com
ABOUT SHERWOOD FOOD DISTRIBUTORS:
Sherwood Food Distributors, headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, is an independent distributor in the meat and food industry. It ships over 20 million pounds of food products on a fleet of over 250 trucks throughout Atlanta, Cleveland, Detroit, Miami, and Orlando. Sherwood services 8000 customers nationwide. In 2017, Sherwood Food Distributors merged with Harvest Food Distributors, located in San Diego, California.1
If you or someone you know were laid off from Sherwood Food Distributors:
We would like to speak with you about your rights and potential legal remedies. Please fill out the form below or contact us at 872.263.1100 or sam@straussborrelli.com.
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