Zirtual faces lawsuit for abrupt mass layoff

A lawsuit filed against Zirtual by employees who were allegedly terminated by the company without prior notice. The company provides a pool of virtual assistants for busy professionals for a fee. It has its main office in Las Vegas and employed virtual assistants all over the country.

Zirtual abruptly announced on Monday that it was closing. Employees, who did not know that the company was experiencing trouble, were shocked with the announcement through email. Most of the 400 employees were full-time workers. 

Led by Felice Martin, the employees filed a lawsuit against the company despite the announcement on Tuesday that Zirtual was already acquired by Startups.co.

The lawsuit faced by Zirtual is because of the suddenness of the termination. The company failed to give their employees a written notice of termination at least 60 days before the date of effectivity as stated by the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act.  The Act is true for companies who will lay off more than 100 employees. If the company fails to do so, employees can demand benefits and pay for up to 60 days. The total amount is still unknown as the payment would differ among employees.

Maren Kate Donovan, founder and former CEO of Zirtual, was said to have exhausted all means to capitalize the company but was left with no choice but to release the announcement of termination effective immediately.

In this article, Startups.co said that Zirtual simply stopped operations because it has run out of money. The page also features FAQs relating to the acquisition of Zirtual by Startups.co.

Startups.co is not included in the lawsuit but said that Zirtual will continue its operations on August 17.