The saga continues for the now-shuttered Rogue Ales & Spirits. A former employee has filed a lawsuit alleging that Rogue violated the WARN Act by terminating employment for at least 300 people without appropriate notice.
Background. On November 14, 2025, we reported that Rogue Ales & Spirits abruptly shut down operations at all of its pubs and its brewery. Next, on November 26th, we followed up with more details about exactly what happened: bankruptcy due to more than $16 million in debt.
Foreground. On January 20th, Brewbound reported that Kevin Large, a former employee at Rogue, filed a class action lawsuit alleging that Oregon Brewing, Rogue Ales & Spirits’ parent company, violated the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act). The class action lawsuit alleges that at least 300 individuals had their employment terminated without proper notification. The WARN Act requires employers to provide 60 days’ notice of plant closures and layoffs affecting 50 or more people.
Brewbound reports that the lawsuit seeks a jury trial, class certification, a declaration that Oregon Brewing violated the WARN Act, attorneys’ fees, a civil judgment, and first-priority status for unpaid wages and benefits, among other remedies. A pretrial conference in the case is scheduled for February 17.
In December 2025, a similar lawsuit was filed in Texas by a former Pabst employee alleging the company failed to file a WARN notice before laying off employees when it shut down its San Antonio office. The proposed class-action lawsuit was filed on December 9, but was voluntarily dismissed on December 17.
Meanwhile, back in Oregon, there’s more to the Rogue Ale & Spirits saga. A legal tug-of-war is playing out between the largest creditor and the bankruptcy trustee. You can read about those messy details on Brewbound.
