Nearly a dozen Star Tribune employees who took the company's buyout money learned last night that their five-figure checks will bounce if cashed.

Mike Bucsko, executive officer of the newsroom's Newspaper Guild, says company officials told between nine and 11 Stribbers that "their checks were not going to be honored. They're not going to go through."

It's a nightmare scenario for workers who gave up their jobs for a lump sum that could now be a lump of coal. Last year, bought-out Tribune Co. workers found promissory notes turned into unsecured bankruptcy claims after the Chicago Tribune parent filed Chapter 11.

Stribbers no doubt had that disaster in mind when they signed up for the buyout in the first week of January. Five to seven cashed their checks immediately upon receipt Jan. 9, and Bucsko says they got their money. He's not sure why those now holding the bag didn't do the same thing. At stake for all those bought out: the Strib's promise to pay three months of health insurance.

The problem could be a temporary one; Bucsko says the company has stated they want to honor the severance checks, but now needs court permission to do so. That could come today, when New York bankruptcy Judge Robert D. Drain will review the company's three-month plan to continue operations. The judge will weigh the company's proposed spending against the interests of workers — and creditors who may want as much cash as possible to be preserved.

If all goes completely to hell, skunked Strib workers could retain the option to rescind their buyouts; I think there's a two-week reconsideration period that would expire Jan. 23. But fewer buyouts could make more workers subject to layoffs.