Former Silver Airways Employees Demand Investigation After Unpaid Wages and Sudden Shutdown

Former employees of Silver Airways, which abruptly ceased operations earlier this month after running out of operational cash, are now appealing to the courts, saying they have been stiffed out of wages and other compensation owed to them prior to the airline's collapse on June 11.

Several employees have filed administrative claims in the Silver bankruptcy case, claiming that they have not received final paychecks, payments for accrued leave, or severance. They accuse the airline's senior management of “questionable practices” and are asking for an investigation into Silver's fiscal practices prior to its closure.

Starting on June 13, two days after Silver's sudden closure, letters began coming to Judge Peter Russin describing the abrupt nature by which the former staffers learned of the loss of their jobs. “We were not given any warning or official communication in advance,” wrote Irving Peña, who was employed as a ramp agent at the Fort Lauderdale-Hollywood International Airport. “I learned about the shutdown through a midnight email.” Mr. Peña says he is owed for the last two weeks of work before the airline's closure.

"Silver Airways has not provided any updates or issued our final pay since June 11," Mr. Peña wrote in his letter, requesting that Judge Russin investigate the matter. According to court records, at least six other former employees have made similar requests.