A group of Toys “R” Us workers who lost their jobs as the company went bankrupt will get some of the estate’s remaining cash to make up for severance pay that they were denied during the court case, according to representatives for the group, Bloomberg News reported. Bankruptcy Judge Keith L. Philips awarded $2 million to the workers, who were promised severance at the outset of the bankruptcy as part of a benefits plan that was later canceled as the restructuring unraveled. The retailer’s bankruptcy is in its final stages, and the focus is on distributing cash that was set aside for administrative claims. Those expenses typically include fees for advisers, lawyers and other parties that assist in winding down a company and they’re given high priority by the court for repayment in full. Former workers led by Ann Marie Reinhart Smith, a 30-year Toys “R” Us employee, filed a class action claim in 2018 to the bankruptcy court to ask that their severance claims get the same priority as administrative claims, seeking a bigger sum than the court ultimately approved.
