Federal lawsuit seeks extra pay for laid-off nuclear plant workers

A former worker at SCE&G’s abandoned nuclear construction project has gone to federal court seeking extra wages and other benefits for himself and all of the 5,000 employees laid off July 31.

The lawsuit claims that the immediate end of salaries and benefits last month was improper because the project was shut down without the 60 days notice required under federal law to those who worked there, according to a federal lawsuit filed Tuesday by former employee Harry Pennington III.

It seeks to give each terminated worker compensation for the salary, health insurance, pensions and other benefits they would have received for another two months as required under federal law, according to the lawsuit.

The lawsuit does not specify a cost for the money allegedly owed. But Jack Raisner, one of Pennington’s lawyers, estimated the total for all workers could be in “the tens of millions. These were fairly well-paid jobs.”

Pennington worked for Fluor at the site for five years as a heavy-equipment operator, Raisner said.

The money is owed by Fluor Corp., a construction company helping to build the plant, along with its affiliate Fluor Enterprises and SCANA, the parent company of South Carolina Electric & Gas Co., according to the lawsuit.

“Although we will not comment on the details of pending litigation, we are confident that our company’s actions complied with all legal requirements,” SCANA spokesman Eric Boomhower said.

Fluor has no comment on the lawsuit, company spokesman Brett Turner said Thursday.

This story was originally published August 9, 2017 at 1:34 PM with the headline "Federal lawsuit seeks extra pay for laid-off nuclear plant workers."