Suit seeks pay from Canadian mining firm in Nev.
By: SANDRA CHEREB
Associated Press
08/04/09 10:50 AM PDT
RENO, NEV. — Five workers laid off last year from a northern Nevada mine have filed a civil lawsuit against a Canadian firm, claiming they were denied notice and severance pay, as well as medical and retirement benefits required under federal law.
The suit, filed last week in U.S. District Court in Reno, seeks class-action status for the roughly 400 employees at the Jerritt Canyon Mine in northeast Nevada who lost their jobs in August 2008.
Vancouver, British Columbia-based Queenstake Resources owns the mine 50 miles north of Elko through its subsidiary, Yukon-Nevada Gold Corp.
Reno lawyer Mark Thierman, co-counsel for the workers, said Tuesday that Queenstake had a responsibility under federal law to provide 60 days' severance pay.
The company also failed to make contributions to various employee benefit programs, he said.
"People have lost medical coverage because the company failed to make insurance payments," Thierman said.
He estimated benefits denied total around $6 million.
Besides the corporations, the lawsuit names Queenstake officers Robert F. Baldock, Graham Dickson and Shaun Heinrichs as defendants.
In a written statement, Dickson, Yukon-Nevada's chief operating officer, said the company plans to pay the workers.
"Basically, we have always intended to pay the employees' severance and medical when we have funds to do it," he said Tuesday. "We paid the first half last year and will pay the remainder as soon as we can."
The workers' lawsuit follows another civil suit filed earlier this month in Elko County by Salt Lake City-based Golden Eagle International Inc. That suit claims breach of contract.
Golden Eagle was hired in October to manage the Jerritt Canyon Mine's mill site and prepare it to start processing gold. Queenstake evicted the company in June after the Nevada Division of Environmental Protection ordered a shutdown until new mercury emission controls are installed.
Queenstake on its Web site has said new equipment is being installed and that mine operations may restart soon.
Jill Lufrano, spokeswoman for the state environmental agency, said attorneys for both sides are negotiating a settlement and conditions that would allow operations to resume.
"As far as we know, this process won't be completed this week," she said.
