Class-action lawsuits could make Michael Bloomberg’s failed presidential bid even more costly.
One of the 2020 Democratic dropout’s former campaign staffers started the process of gaining a court’s approval for a class-action lawsuit against the campaign. Donna Wood, who started the lawsuit, is one of many Bloomberg staff members who said they were promised jobs through November but were fired when the former New York City mayor dropped out of the race.
Wood filed the lawsuit on Monday in New York’s southern district court. One of her attorneys, Sally Abrahamson of Outten & Golden LLP, told NBC News that Bloomberg’s campaign broke promises made to workers and should be ordered to pay the staff members what they would have earned through November.
“The Bloomberg campaign had represented to folks they were going to keep people on through November, regardless of his candidacy, which is one of the reasons we think he attracted such talent,” Abrahamson explained. “He’s terminating, we believe, over 1,000 people at a time when we believe unemployment is likely going to be 20 or 30 percent, and they’re going to lose their healthcare.”
A Bloomberg campaign representative denied Abrahamson’s characterization of those who had been fired. The campaign claimed that all staff members were given severance pay and healthcare through the month of March. The representative also noted that healthcare plans had been extended through April because of the economic downturn caused by the coronavirus pandemic.
“This campaign paid its staff wages and benefits that were much more generous than any other campaign this year. Staff worked 39 days on average, but they were also given several weeks of severance and healthcare through March, something no other campaign did this year,” the representative said.
The campaign continued: “Given the current crisis, a fund is being created to ensure that all staff receive healthcare through April, which no other campaign has done. And many field staff will go on to work for the [Democratic National Committee] in battleground states, in part because the campaign made the largest monetary transfer to the DNC from a presidential campaign in history to support the DNC’s organizing efforts.”
Bloomberg did transfer $18 million to the DNC last week as he finalized the closing of his campaign. That transfer, however, did not result in direct job transfers for staffers.
In the lawsuit, the Bloomberg campaign is accused of fraudulent inducement and breach of contract. If the class-action status is granted by the courts, campaign workers who were fired would be considered plaintiff unless they opt-out individually. Another group of former aides filed a similar lawsuit on Monday, also arguing that employees were duped into taking jobs they believed would last nearly through 2020.
An attorney representing the other class-action lawsuit filed in New York’s Southern District Court, Peter Romer-Friedman of Gupta Wessler PLLC, also called for employees to be released from nondisclosure agreements related to their campaign work, saying, “The complaint speaks for itself. Although our clients would like to speak publicly about their experiences, they are potentially subject to a confidentiality and non-disparagement agreement with Mike Bloomberg 2020.”
He added, “We respectfully request that the Bloomberg campaign release our clients and the other field staffers from that agreement, even though it may not be enforceable.”
The former mayor has been dogged for using nondisclosure agreements in his businesses, including in some cases of alleged sexual harassment. Bloomberg did release three former employees to speak about sexual harassment after being badgered by his 2020 competitors.
Bloomberg’s staff was exceedingly well paid during his short campaign. He paid low-level staff members nearly double what was paid to similar employees in the White House campaigns for Sens. Bernie Sanders or Elizabeth Warren.
