PHILADELPHIA- Arrow Trucking Co. is being sued by a Philadelphia attorney on behalf of the 1,400 former employees laid off right before Christmas last week, many of whom were truck drivers left stranded at truck stops due to cancelled fuel cards.

Philadelphia attorney Charles Ercole filed a class action lawsuit Dec. 29 against Arrow Trucking for violating the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act, as well as state wage payments laws, for its failure to give 60 days notice prior to closing and for bouncing paychecks prior to closing.

The Dec. 21 shutdown of the Tulsa-based operations resulted in the layoff of all employees, including the fleet manager, James Cooey.

"This is the most egregious violation of the WARN Act and state wage payment laws that I have seen in my practice," Ercole said in a Dec. 29 statement. "The hardship imposed on these employees is outrageous and we intend to vigorously prosecute this action."

Ercole took on the case based on a class action complaint brought forth by former employees Jeffrey Smith, Timothy Kleck, and Jay Heath. Click here to read the 14-page document.

Since the controversial shutdown of the company was made public, Daimler Truck Financial, which provides equipment financing for the majority of Arrow's fleet, announced it would provide stranded Arrow Trucking drivers a Greyhound Bus ticket or $200 for personal transportation to ensure their safe arrival back home.