Sparta resident and attorney files huge lawsuit

NEWARK — When his employer, United Technologies Corporation, held out the carrot of a handsome stock award to employees who earned higher degrees and then stayed with the company for a period of time, Richard A. Grisafi of Woodcliff Lake decided to go for it.

Employed by UTC’s Fire and Security division in Montvale, Grisafi forsook his usual weekend pursuits and went to school nights, weekends, and holidays for three years, finally earning his Masters degree in May, 2010.

Since 1996, UTC, an American multi-national headquartered in Hartford, had promised 34,000 employees, including Grisafi, that unless they terminated their employment, their Stock Awards would convert to actual shares of UTC common stock — in Grisafi’s case, 141 shares. Under the plan provided to Grisafi, the period of time that he was required to stay with UTC was initially described as one year.

Later, UTC changed the plan to require employees to remain with the company for three years after receiving their Stock Awards. However, more than two years after Grisafi received his degree and the Stock Award (certifying that he would get his shares in three years unless he terminated his employment with UTC), the company laid him off as part of a reduction in force.

UTC refused to make good on its promise of common stock, claiming that Grisafi and all other employee scholars who had been laid off were disqualified from vesting in the shares. This refusal directly violated the schedule of terms UTC had earlier provided to induce them to enroll in the Employee Scholar Program. Grisafi hired Sparta resident Attorney G. Martin (Gary) Meyers, who today filed a class action lawsuit in the United States District Court (NJ) on behalf of Grisafi and a class in excess of 5,000 UTC Employee Scholars throughout the United States. The class includes all former UTC employees in the United States who from July of 2007 to the present completed degree programs under UTC’s Employee Scholar Program, were terminated without cause before the vesting periods of their stock awards were completed, and were denied their stock awards by the defendants.

Meyers, in the federal case fagainst United Technologies Corporation, demands a jury trial and seeks damages for Grisafi and all similarly situated UTC employees under the Employee Retirement and Income Security Act (ERISA) of 1974 and under applicable state law. According to Meyers, UBS Financial Services, Inc. is also named as a defendant because the Swiss-based corporation with US headquarters in New York acts as the administrator for the UTC Employee Scholar Program.

In addition to violations of federal law under ERISA, the lawsuit alleges that UTC and UBS breached their contract and violated their fiduciary duties to the plaintiff and all members of the class. Meyers’ suit further alleges that the companies violated the covenant of good faith and fair dealing, misappropriating the shares due the employees and unjustly enriching themselves.

UTC says that more than 34,000 employees have earned degrees under its Employee Scholar Stock Award Program. The lawsuit seeks compensatory damages with interest for the class, as well as punitive damages and attorneys fees for the plaintiff and class members.

Meyers said, “This is an example of the kind of corporate wrongdoing that tramples the rights of the individual employee. From time to time, corporations do have to downsize. But that does not entitle them to ignore the rights of their employees and break promises that have been made to them. In this case, they compounded their wrongdoing by retroactively changing the qualifying period and then denying shares to employees who were involuntarily terminated without cause.”

The Law Offices of G. Martin Meyers provides representation to clients in legal disputes with their employers throughout the United States. Meyers’ firm has a record of success in commercial litigation, including wins and settlements against major corporations such as TD Ameritrade, Harley Davidson, and Oracle. Learn more about the firm at gmeyerslaw.com.

You can reach Gary Meyers at his office or at 973-670-4464.