AmeriSave Mortgage Corp.’s laid-off employees are suing the lender in a class-action lawsuit. They claim that the lender disparaged workers after a mass termination, and that it owes them millions of dollars. Eleven plaintiffs claim that a class of 140 workers impacted by the lawsuit is entitled to damages exceeding $43million. Plaintiffs also claim that AmeriSave falsely informed third-party industry professionals, recruiters, and hiring managers that putative classes members had been terminated due to ‘not getting the job done’ or ‘not meeting performance goals’,” wrote David Syme, Syme Law Firm. The original complaint was filed in November. It includes $26M in unpaid and future wage, $2M in Worker Adjustment and retraining notification penalties, $7M for emotional distress, and $26M in unpaid and future wages. Friday’s AmeriSave spokesperson stated that the company does not comment publicly on litigation pending. Attorneys for the parties did not return requests for comment. The lender, which is based in Atlanta, closed its wholesale channel last Oct. and laid off unspecified numbers of workers. According to public records, no WARN was filed in California. This violates state law claims by former employees. AmeriSave is accused of firing a large number of workers who were hired within the past three months. Despite management’s earlier suggestion that the firm had a $1.5 million “war chest” to protect it from market woes, the move was made. Syme wrote that they claimed the upcoming “rough times” would eliminate competition and place AmeriSave in an advantageous position. This explanation was actually used by AmeriSave as a ‘feature, benefit’ and a recruiting tool. “AmeriSave also falsely indicated that employees who were terminated for cause in Nationwide Multistate Licensing System Records. Some workers only discovered this when their new employers notified them. Syme explained that while it is common to fire employees for lack of production, it is not considered “for cause”. He wrote that this type of notation can lead to speculations about whether the true cause was rape, sexual harassment, workplace violence, theft, or any other serious or even criminal issues. The lender allegedly also told recruiters similar lies, stating that the fired employees “had not gotten the job done.” According to the suit, AmeriSave laid off employees similarly in 2011. Counsel claimed that it could produce witnesses to support the claim. AmeriSave was established in 2002. It last February claimed it had funded over $36 billion in nearly 130,000 refinances, and purchase loans for 2021. Many of the more than 20,000 mortgage professionals who were laid off last year in the industry have also filed WARN and unpaid wages complaints. However, the AmeriSave suit contains some more serious allegations. Last week, a federal bankruptcy judge granted class-action status for former employees of First Guaranty Mortgage Corp., who allege WARN violations during the firm’s sudden shut down last June. Sprout Mortgage’s shutdown in July last year allegedly caused the ex-workers to be burned. They are also reportedly close to settling their wage claims.