Two employees of the south Philadelphia oil refinery that caught fire last week have filed a proposed class action lawsuit over the company's plans to close the facility.

Employees Nathan Rutkowski and Martin Harper filed the lawsuit against Philadelphia Energy Solutions in the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Pennsylvania on Friday. According to the 21-page complaint, PES, which operates several refineries in Philadelphia, is expected to lay off more than 1,000 employees July 1.

The company was the subject of national attention after an explosion occurred June 21 at its facility in the Girard Point neighborhood. The facility, which is one of the largest oil refineries in the country and is part of a 150-year-old industrial complex, was quickly engulfed in flames.

The lawsuit, which was filed by Chimicles Schwartz Kriner & Donaldson-Smith attorney Benjamin Johns, alleges the PES failed to provide employees with adequate notice about the layoffs, which allegedly violates both the Philadelphia code and the Workers Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act. The proposed class action is being brought on behalf of all other potentially affected employees and seeks recovery of back pay and benefits.

“PES knew that terminations were anticipated within a week following the June 21 fire, but failed to provide employees and state and local authorities with advance notice (much less the statutorily-mandated back pay) required under the WARN Act,” the complaint said. “By failing to property disclose impending mass layoffs and provide the statutory notice required by the WARN Act, PES precluded employees from looking for other work and/or making contingent plans while PES continued to operate unabated.”

According to the docket, the lawsuit has been assigned to U.S. District Senior Judge Michael Baylson of the Eastern District of Pennsylvania.

The complaint contends that the fire and explosions were foreseeable, given that the plant handled highly volatile chemicals and there have been numerous fires at similar facilities in recent years, including other fires at PES facilities. The complaint also cited the company's bankruptcy, saying its closure was foreseeable from a business perspective as well.

However, according to the complaint, PES filed a WARN notice with the state Department of Labor and Industry listing 1,024 affected jobs, including more than 600 union members. The complaint said the company began terminating employees “en masse” the same day, with the expectation that the layoffs would be completed by July 1.

Johns told The Legal that despite the warning that the refinery was having difficulties, the mass layoffs “crystallized” the claims.

“This is obviously a very emotional case,” Johns said. “A lot of people are devastated by this. A lot of families. We thought long and hard about some of the issues and defenses, and we believe we have a good and compelling case.”

A spokeswoman for the refinery did not immediately return a call seeking comment.