Class action suit seeks wages for miners after coal company bankruptcy filing

PIKEVILLE, Ky. (WTVQ) – A former employee of Blackjewel LLC coal company filed a class action lawsuit on Tuesday, in an effort to recover wages for employees, according to the Lexington Herald-Leader.

The suit claims that Blackjewel LLC broke a federal labor law by not giving workers 60-days notice before terminating their jobs, according to the newspaper report.

The company filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on July 1, 2019, and abruptly closed its two mines in Wyoming, affecting around 600-employees.

The company also has coal mines in Kentucky, West Virginia and Virginia and an estimated 1,100 workers.  It’s the sixth largest coal producer nationwide.

Employees say their paychecks are now bouncing or can’t be cashed, putting them in a crippling financial position.

The suit aims to force the company to pay 60-day wages and benefits to the workers.  If the suit is successful, the wages claim would go to the top of the list of unsecured creditors as others seek money from Blackjewel in its bankruptcy.

The attorney representing the former employees, Stuart Miller, of Lankenau & Miller, LLP, told the newspaper that any money earned from the class action lawsuit, would be separate from the bounced paychecks.

Stuart told the Herald-Leader that the case only has one plaintiff, David Engelbrecht, a former coal miner in Wyoming.

Miller asks other coal miners who have been impacted by the situation to contact his office in New York at 212-581-5005 or online by clicking here