Layoffs Herald a Heyday for Employee Lawsuits

By JONATHAN D. GLATER Published: January 30, 2009

First layoffs, then lawsuits.

More workers are being let go as corporate layoffs that began in earnest last year have accelerated in recent weeks. And more often, people are looking around and complaining that they have been unfairly or improperly dismissed.

Former employees of Lehman Brothers, for example, say they were not given the required 60 days’ pay before their jobs vanished, while Dell is being sued over allegations of age and sex discrimination against workers, in what lawyers say are growing choruses.