UPDATE | 40 former Falcon workers meet with lawyers

AUSTINTOWN — More than 40 former Falcon Transport Co. workers met Wednesday with Cleveland attorneys who are considering whether to file a class-action lawsuit against the trucking company, which suddenly closed Saturday and laid off nearly 600 workers without prior notice.

"I have a few choice words for the owners," said Chris Bartels of Streetsboro in the parking lot of the Home2 Suites by Hilton in the township. "It still burns."

Bartels said the loss of his health insurance stings the most, as he pays for prescriptions worth about $4,000 per month.

Another worker, Ed McKean, said he's hoping for back pay. Some Falcon workers claimed they weren't paid for three weeks prior to the closure. An email sent to employees blamed that on malware that targeted the company's accounts.

Jay Kelley, managing partner of Elk and Elk of Cleveland, said it's still to early to say whether the firm will pursue a suit, as attorneys are still working to learn more about the abandoned workers' claims and where they intersect with statute.

Kelley said the most obvious claim could be a violation of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act, or WARN, which requires companies with more than 100 employees to give prior notice before a mass layoff. But the firm is still considering whether other causes for action would apply.

Falcon Transport Co.'s notice came by email Saturday night and left many of its truckers stranded throughout the country, as they were unable to purchase fuel through the company to return home.

Outside the hotel's main entrance, Zeke Haddle worked recruitment for R and J Trucking of Boardman, one of several firms looking to sign on now-unemployed Falcon drivers.

Haddle said the company is looking to fill between 12 and 24 positions. The company has already hired three former Falcon workers at its Lorain terminal.

Haddle said drivers with at least three years of experience are entitled to health insurance immediately upon hiring.