Roughly 170 employees from Allstate Sales Group’s Holmdel, N.J. headquarters were among the estimated 500 workers laid off in the company’s abrupt shutdown on August 29, 2025, now at the center of a WARN Act class action lawsuit.
Just one week after broadband infrastructure company Allstate Sales Group, Inc. (ASG) abruptly froze operations and delayed paychecks, leaving an estimated 500 workers jobless, a federal class action lawsuit has been filed in the U.S. District Court for the District of New Jersey.
The complaint, brought by former ASG Vice President of Electrical Sales Joseph Horling on behalf of himself and other terminated employees, alleges that ASG and its top executives, CEO Anthony Tepedino and President/COO Patryk Mielnicki, violated both the federal Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act and New Jersey’s stricter Millville Dallas Airmotive Plant Job Loss Notification Act (NJ WARN).
Sudden closure leaves hundreds without pay
On August 29, 2025, ASG sent employees an email from its HR department stating that “due to unforeseen challenges with our funding partners, we are facing financial constraints” and asking workers to “pause work until further notice.” As Wireless Estimator previously reported, the shutdown blindsided employees, many of whom were already facing delayed paychecks before the company ceased operations.
ASG, a significant infrastructure contractor providing engineering and construction services for telecom and technology projects nationwide, employed approximately 170 full-time workers at its Holmdel, N.J., headquarters and hundreds more at field sites.
WARN Act allegations
The lawsuit alleges that ASG failed to provide the legally required advance notice of mass layoffs or plant closures:
-
Federal WARN Act requires 60 days’ notice before a mass layoff.
-
New Jersey WARN Act requires 90 days’ notice and mandates severance equal to one week of pay per year of service, plus four additional weeks if notice is not given.
Horling and the putative class are seeking 60 days’ worth of back pay and benefits under the federal law, as well as statutory severance under New Jersey law.
Executives named personally
While the federal WARN Act applies only to ASG, the complaint also names Tepedino and Mielnicki individually under the NJ WARN Act, alleging they directly oversaw the company’s decisions leading to the mass layoffs.
A timeline of misdirection
On July 9, ASG told employees that, per ADP’s new processing setup, salaried paydays would move to Tuesdays; on July 28, Payroll blamed a one-day ADP processing delay. By August 25, the explanation shifted to finance: Payroll warned of an “unexpected funding delay with our bank partners,” followed on August 27 by a “funding shortfall.” After hours on August 28, staff were told ASG was “working to resolve [payroll] with our funding partners.” The August 31 memo said the funding partner froze access to all accounts, directed employees to file for unemployment, and—according to employees—did not address unpaid wages, PTO, holiday pay, benefits deductions, or company equipment.
That August 31 memo also disclosed—for the first time to many employees—that ASG had sought outside investors earlier in the year and that its funding partners rejected those offers as “undervaluing” the company. Employees say this undercuts prior assurances of “transparency” and evidences weeks of known liquidity stress preceding the shutdown and missed payrolls. ASG has not responded to questions about WARN notices, unpaid compensation, or next steps.
Broader industry context
The lawsuit is the latest blow to an already strained wireless-infrastructure contracting sector. ASG’s collapse underscores the financial fragility of mid-sized contractors who often face “take-it-or-leave-it” pricing structures imposed by carriers. As Wireless Estimator noted in its earlier coverage, these pressures have led to a string of bankruptcies, closures, and layoffs across the industry.
If successful, the class action could require ASG to compensate hundreds of former employees with back pay, benefits, and severance costs that could compound the company’s financial crisis.
