On September 22, 2022, Wigdor LLP, filed a class action complaint on behalf of Taylor Ulmer seeking to recover wages stolen from her and her New York colleagues by their former employer StreetTeam Software, LLC, d/b/a Pollen. In 2023, Wigdor has now partnered with Diamond McCarthy, LLP, to expand the litigation to assert claims on behalf of a nationwide class of Pollen employees who were not only denied their wages but summarily dismissed in a mass layoff without proper compensation in violation of federal law.
The Amended Complaint can be read here.
Below is a summary of the allegations in the Complaint:
Pollen is a destination events company that specializes in the fields of travel, festivals, entertainment, experiences and youth culture. It markets itself as an invite-only marketplace using influencer marketing for experiences and events. The company partners with prominent brands such as Live Nation, MGM Resorts and Universal Music Group and integrates with ticket providers such as Ticketmaster, Eventbrite, Priceline and Stubhub. In April 2022, Pollen’s co-founders and president bragged that the company raised $150 million in funding from six well-known venture capital funds. This was in addition to the $100 million dollars it previously raised. Pollen apparently used this huge influx of money to pay for, among other things, the “housing” and “entertainment” expenses of the Company’s co-founders, Callum Negus-Fancey (Chief Executive Officer) and Liam Negus-Fancey (Chief Operating Officer). In June 2022, the Company stopped paying its employees. Nonetheless, it urged those employees to continue working, claiming that it was in the “final stages of negotiating a transaction” and promising that, once it did so, it would pay “all that you [the employees] are owed.” That never happened. Instead, Pollen dismissed its employees, after repeated inquiries about the late and missing paychecks.
Statement from Valdi Licul, Partner at Wigdor LLP:
“Every employee deserves to be paid for the hours they work. Stealing wages from employees and failure to provide notice of mass layoffs are serious violations of state and federal laws. We stand with ex-Pollen employees who have been cheated out of their fair wages by the company.”
Statement from Damion Robinson, Partner at Diamond McCarthy LLP:
“Pollen’s dedicated and loyal workforce made the company what it once was. Unfortunately, when things went downhill at Pollen, the company put its employees last. We look forward to helping them recover the wages they are owed.”