WTOL.com - Toledo's News Leader | Lawsuit Says Company Took State Grants, Then Pulled Out
TOLEDO -- Some Toledo workers say a company came in promising big things, then sent local jobs overseas. That's why they've filed a lawsuit in Lucas County Common Pleas Court.
You may remember when Convergys Corporation came to town about five years ago to operate a customer service call center at the Southland Shopping Center. The lawsuit alleges that in 2000, Convergys received a $200,000 state grant to create 1,000 jobs paying about ten dollars an hour.
Convergys pulled out of Toledo in early 2004, after creating just 500 jobs that paid between $8 and $9 per hour. The suit alleges those jobs went to overseas call centers.
Local attorney Ben Konop and two former Convergys employees say they filed the lawsuit to get Convergys to pay back the grant money to the state of Ohio. Bob Lucius and Shannon Bosh also seek minimal damages in the suit. "Convergys, in the last three or four years, has given hundreds of thousands of campaign contributions to nearly every elected office holder in state government including [Ohio] Governor [Bob] Taft. They've given a lot of money to him. That's part of the reason the state of Ohio turned a blind eye," said Konop.
Lucius and Bosh want damages for the loss of the extensive job training they believe Convergys offered them as part of the employment deal. After months of umemployment, Bob and Shannon found other jobs that lack the pay and benefits they got at Convergys. Konop says other former Convergys employees may join the suit.
A spokesperson for Convergys Corporation in Cincinnati says the company has not seen a copy of the lawsuit, and cannot comment. However, the state of Ohio says Convergys claims to have trained over 900 workers in Toledo that those workers could carry with them to other jobs in Ohio. The state also says Convergys has paid back grant money when it could not meet its commitments.
Count on News 11 to stay on top of this story as it develops.
Posted by AEB
