Ex-Entellium worker sues over layoff

Leif Jensen, who lost his job at Seattle-based Entellium last month, wants his severance check. And he's filed a lawsuit in King County Superior Court to get it.

Jensen, who was let go just before Entellium's former top executives were charged with fraud, alleges that he was pressured by acting Chief Executive Charles Miller to sign a separation agreement on Oct. 3. Jensen says that agreement led him and other workers to surrender their rights to wages. [Update: Although court documents refer to Miller as acting CEO, he says in an e-mail message that his title is vice president of operations.]

The former designer said he was given less than 30 minutes to review the document and was told that he would not be eligible for COBRA health insurance benefits if he didn't sign. Jensen -- whose wife is pregnant -- is the father of a 12-month-old son.

Like other employees, Jensen was terminated on Oct. 3 without notice.

"Plaintiff had no time or opportunity to review the document with any care or attention, as Defendant Miller informed him that it had to be signed immediately and that Plaintiff had to vacate the office within thirty minutes," the suit says. "During the period that Plaintiff was attempting to understand the document, Defendant Miller was leaning closely over his shoulder telling him to quickly sign."

Jensen and his attorney could not be reached for comment.

Filed Nov. 18, the suit names Miller, Entellium and the company's directors as defendants. Reached on his cell phone, Miller declined to comment about the suit.

"I think everything will be sorted out here shortly, so I don't have any comments," he said.

Entellium hit the wall in early October after the company's top two executives -- Paul Johnston and Parrish Jones -- abruptly resigned. A few days after the resignations, Johnston and Jones were arrested and charged with wire fraud for misrepresenting revenues at the venture-backed company. (Johnston remains in prison, while Jones has been released awaiting indictment.)

Miller, along with the board members, took control of the company after the resignations. According to the suit, they instituted a plan to cut staff in such a way that employees lost rights to wages.

"Plaintiff signed the agreement while under duress, without any meaningful opportunity to consult with any other person, and any consent was obtained by duress, misrepresentation and fraud," the suit says. It asks for a judgment in the amount of $11,250.

Jensen, who spent three years at Entellium, certainly isn't the only employee upset about the way the cutbacks were handled. A number of ex-Entellium employees say they didn't get severance, nor did they receive payouts for vacation time. Some have said they received nothing more than a few Entellium trinkets and mementos as parting gifts.

One former sales employee who asked to remain anonymous described the signing of the separation agreements in early October as a "pressure situation." Given just a half hour to review the document and collect belongings, the former employee said most people were in shock as they dealt with the situation.

"You don't really know what to do," said the former staffer. "It was difficult, to say the least."

Jensen's employment contract indicated that he could be eligible for two weeks severance if he worked at the company for more than 180 days, with each additional year of service accounting for another two weeks of pay.

Rumors have swirled recently that a bankruptcy filing or sale is imminent at the troubled Internet company, though Miller declined to answers questions about that possibility.

Jensen's suit also notes that Entellium, which has continued operations over the past two months, has redirected resources to its Malaysian offices. And it alleges that the board  -- which includes Jonathan Roberts of Ignition Partners and Pete Solvik of Sigma Partners --  is actively shopping for a buyer.