Little legal recourse for shut out ReBar employees
Brooklyn was dealt a sensational blow when popular restaurant, bar and wedding venue reBar abruptly shut its doors with only a trite email from owner Jason Stevens stating to employees: “ReBar is bankrupt and closed. Please dispose of your keys and do not enter the premises. Please forward to any staff not included.” Now out of a job, many former reBar employees are wondering where to turn.
“He left 35 people stranded, and most of us are parents,” Dina Thaverne told Gothamist. “It’s been good, but lately Jason has been dropping people like flies. No warning, no pink slips, no explanations,” Thaverne continued. The rashness of Stevens’ actions may not be fair; however, there is very little legal recourse for employees
“New York is an at-will employment state,” Brooklyn employment attorney Matthew Porges told the Brooklyn Daily Eagle. In New York, employees generally work at the will of the employer. An employee can be fired at any time without cause; Absent any harassment or discrimination charge against the employer, the employee is simply out of a job. “The reBar situation is difficult because the employees can be fired for any reason,” Porges confirmed. “What we have here is a group layoff.”