Employment lawyer Lior Samfiru with Rick Zamperin on Shopify class action suit

Interview Summary

Shopify is facing an approximately $130 million class action lawsuit after dramatically reducing severance packages. The suit alleges Shopify reneged on what was initially offered to many employees in its recent mass layoff due to a vague error or miscalculation. What are employees typically owed in the event of a mass layoff?

Lior Samfiru, an employment lawyer and national co-founding Partner at Samfiru Tumarkin LLP spoke to Rick Zamperin on 900CHML to discuss the suit the firm launched in detail.

Interview Notes

• Frequency of employers reneging severance: It is not common for employers to renege on a severance offer after an employee has already accepted it. It is not a legal practice and can lead to further consequences for an employer.
• Severance packages for terminated employees: Severance is based on a number of factors, primarily the age of an employee, their length of service and position. Severance can be up to 24 months of pay. In the majority of cases, employees are offered much less severance than they are actually owed.
• Refusing to accept severance: Employees do not have to accept an initial offer of severance by their employer. As most severance offers are inadequate, it is advisable for employees to seek legal advice from an employment lawyer before signing or accepting any documentation.
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    Severance pay for Shopify employees
• Next steps in Shopify class action: The court will have to formally certify the Shopify class action lawsuit in order for it to proceed. Hopefully, Shopify will adequately pay their former employees what they are owed.