Foxtrot, Dom's Kitchen & Market notified State of Illinois a day after shutting down

CHICAGO (CBS) -- Foxtrot Market and Dom's Kitchen & Market abruptly went out of business a week ago Tuesday, but did not tell the State of Illinois until the next day, CBS 2 has learned.

The Illinois Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification (WARN) Act requires employers to notify workers of mass layoffs 60 days in advance.

Combined, nearly 350 people who had worked at Foxtrot and Dom's lost their jobs in Illinois, with hundreds more also losing their jobs at Foxtrot locations across the country.

Outfox Hospitality, the parent company for both stores, is already facing several lawsuits as a result. A federal lawsuit filed last week seeks class-action status for all Dom's and Foxtrot employees, and demands 60 days of severance pay and benefits for laid off workers.

Foxtrot and Dom's had announced a merger six months before the abrupt closures, under the parent company Outfox Hospitality.

The closures affected both Dom's locations in Chicago, and all 33 Foxtrot stores in Chicago, Texas, and the Washington D.C. area.

Delivery was halted, mobile apps went dark, and store credit cards were cut off. All Foxtrot and Dom's account credits and member perks were voided, effective Tuesday.

Some employees said they found out the stores had closed upon coming to work on Tuesday, April 23. Two young women working at a Foxtrot at Broadway and Diversey Parkway posted a TikTok video saying they found out the company was shutting down and they were losing their jobs in the middle of their shift.

They said customers were still inside at the time and were all asked to leave, and the store promptly went out of business — with a handwritten sign reading, "Closed for good."