Workers dismissed by bankrupt Art Van Furniture Inc. are demanding that private equity owner Thomas H. Lee Partners pay back money they contributed to their own flexible spending benefits accounts that was lost in the chain’s liquidation, Bloomberg News reported. The workers forfeited as much $525 each when they lost access to cash in their flexible savings accounts and health care savings accounts as part of the retailer’s liquidation, according to a copy of a letter to T.H. Lee reviewed by Bloomberg News. It’s the latest instance of workers pushing for better treatment in retail bankruptcies, which has been forcing lenders and private equity owners to rethink their assumptions about the costs of dismantling a company. Art Van went bankrupt in March, putting about 4,500 people out of work. T. H. Lee created a $1 million hardship fund following worker protests over the earnings and benefits they lost, but the workers group said the payment amounts to about $400 per person and is “woefully inadequate.” The employees asked for $1,500 each to cover three months of out-of-pocket health insurance coverage so they could weather the coronavirus pandemic, plus the return of any unused funds in their flexible spending accounts and the removal of a cap that excludes anyone who earned more than $99,000 a year.
