Anchor Sues After Being Laid Off
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An AccuWeather broadcaster who was laid off because of the COVID-19 pandemic has filed a lawsuit against the company arguing that decision was a violation of her contract. T
he two-count, 33-page lawsuit filed by senior television broadcaster Laura Velasquez is seeking to recoup unpaid salary and several lost benefits. Velasquez says she signed a five-year contract with AccuWeather in September 2017.
The only basis for early termination written into Velasquez’s contract was job performance, but she received an email April 1 saying she was laid off through at least May 31 “due to a significant adverse change in business conditions because of COVID-19,” her attorney Scott Etter wrote.
Velasquez was not to be paid while she was laid off, though her benefits were set to continue, Etter wrote. She contested the “unlawful and inappropriate” decision two days later.
“It is extremely unfortunate that we find ourselves in the midst of a global pandemic, and while I do not doubt that the pandemic has caused AccuWeather to change and amend the way it conducts business ... it does not allow AccuWeather the right to unilaterally effectuate a change to an otherwise valid and enforceable contract,” Etter wrote in an email to the company.
Velasquez accused the company of breaching the contract and violating the Wage Payment and Collection law. AccuWeather declined to comment about the lawsuit or how many other employees may have been laid off.
