NEWS RELEASE: Avakian: Wage Security Fund can help Geo Gentry Wholesale Nursery employees who never received paychecks

[Burr, Charlie]

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For Immediate Release
February 19, 2014
CONTACT: Charlie Burr, (971) 673-0788

Avakian: Wage Security Fund can help Geo Gentry Nursery employees who never received paychecks
"Our Wage Security Fund helps workers make ends meet when a business closes its doors or files bankruptcy," says Avakian

Portland, OR-The Bureau of Labor and Industries (BOLI) will investigate wage claims from 28 employees who say that they never received paychecks totaling more than $70,000 from Leo Gentry Wholesale Nursery, Labor Commissioner Avakian announced today.

The Damascus wholesale nursery retailer filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy earlier this year.

The company's former employees may be eligible for the state's Wage Security Fund, a tool that helps employees receive wages earned during the 60 days preceding a business closure if the employer is financially unable to pay. BOLI may pay a maximum of $4,000 to an individual worker.

Commissioner Avakian encouraged any nursery employee with a potential wage claim to contact BOLI's Wage and Hour Division.

"I want employees to know that there are resources for them even if a company files for bankruptcy or otherwise becomes insolvent," said Commissioner Avakian. "We can help workers recover wages and make ends meet when they don't receive paychecks to which they are entitled."

Preliminary payroll reports indicate that the company, which also operated Eagle Creek Nursery, employed more than 150 people in December.

Oregon is one of only two states in the county to have a Wage Security Fund.

The fund is financed through a diversion of three cents per $100 of the state's employment tax paid for one quarter (three months) every odd-numbered year. After BOLI distributes payments from the Wage Security Fund, the agency seeks to recover the wages owed from the business or its successor. An Oregon Supreme Court decision earlier this year (Blachana v. BOLI) supports the agency's ability to collect wages owed from a successor to a closed business that has registered with the state under a new name.

For more information about BOLI's efforts to protect workplaces and support Oregon employers, visit http://www.oregon.gov/BOLI.

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Charlie Burr
Communications Director
Bureau of Labor and Industries
800 NE Oregon St., Ste. 1045
Portland, OR 97232-2180
(971) 673-0788 wk.
(503) 913-5407 cell.

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