Unpaid Wage Obligations Follow Owner After Abrupt Shutdown: Owner Pays Nearly $2M a Decade Later
A California company closed without warning or final paychecks just over a decade ago. Now, its owner has paid nearly $2 million after years of state wage enforcement efforts.
The state’s Labor Commissioner’s Office recovered the money for 136 former employees of Capital Mailing Services, a printing and bulk mailing company that shut down in February 2016.
The state sued the company and its owner over unpaid minimum wages and failure to provide advance notice under California’s Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (Cal/WARN). The LCO also filed a fraudulent transfer action to prevent the company’s owner from transferring assets to avoid financial responsibility. The recovery includes a $1.3 million judgment upheld on appeal and about $688,000 collected through a separate enforcement action.
Under Cal/WARN, covered employers generally must give 60 days’ advance written notice before covered layoffs, relocations or closures. Failure to provide that notice can mean owing affected workers up to 60 days of back pay and lost benefits.
More info: CA DIR Release Number: 2026-84
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