LANCASTER COUNTY, Pa. — Employees of Retreat Behavioral Health are still trying to figure out the next steps after losing their jobs.
Workers were officially notified of their termination through a company email on June 27, despite the email saying their positions were eliminated before that date.
The announcement came after the unexpected deaths of the company’s CEO and CAO.
Anna Ramos from Lancaster County Workforce Development Board says nearly 300 employees were impacted.
“So, what happens is an individual is considered what’s called a ‘dislocated worker,’ so as dislocated workers there’s a lot of services that are available for free and sometimes individuals just don’t know that,” Ramos explained.
The board became involved after communicating with the state’s rapid response services coordinator.
“When that happens, they usually reach out to the local workforce development boards and then we put together a team of services and that would include the PA CareerLink,” Ramos said.
Trevor Monk, the press secretary of the PA Department of Labor and Industry, provided FOX43 with the following statement:
“At this time, the Department of Labor & Industry (L&I) Rapid Response Team is in the initial planning and coordination phase with the employees affected by the sudden closure of both retreat behavioral health locations in Pennsylvania, which includes compiling a list of impacted employees.”
A Lancaster County judge also appointed a receiver to oversee the company that owns Retreat Behavioral Health.
According to court documents, the order was given to ensure former employees receive insurance coverage and are paid for their most recent pay period.
Meanwhile, the development board is connecting people to resources from PA CareerLink of Lancaster County.
“What we are doing right now is ensuring that individuals know their rights and making sure that everybody has filed for unemployment and that they know the PA CareerLink is here and that there are resources here to help them,” Ramos said.
Ramos says her team and the state are expected to hold a meeting for employees later this week, but no time or location has been announced.
The Department of Labor also opened a Wage and Hour investigation into the company’s sudden closure, but no new information was available.