City Pays $1 Million More in Firefighter Settlement
All told Milwaukee will pay $2.15 million to settle overtime payment lawsuits.
Milwaukee Fire Department fire engine. Photo by Jeramey Jannene.
The City of Milwaukee will pay $1 million to settle a legal claim by a class of Milwaukee Fire Department battalion chiefs and deputy chiefs who allege they were improperly underpaid for overtime. It comes on the heels of a $1.15 million settlement in 2023 for a different class of firefighters.
The lawsuit, with retired deputy chief and former union head Dave Seager serving as named plaintiff, alleged that the city improperly classified the battalion and deputy chiefs as exempt from overtime in the three years before it was filed in November 2024.
Seager retired from MFD in 2024 after 26 years with the city and was appointed as the Chief Public Safety Officer in Washington County. He was president of Milwaukee Professional Firefighters Association Local 215 from 2010 to 2017.
In a one-page letter, City Attorney Evan Goyke and assistant city attorney Lisa A. Gilmore recommended paying the settlement. The settlement is to be paid from the Damages and Claims Fund.
The Common Council unanimously approved the settlement without discussion Tuesday. The Judiciary & Legislation Committee did not discuss the lawsuit in open session before recommending adoption at its Feb 3 meeting.
The impacted chiefs were represented by attorneys Christopher J. MacGillis and Austin Felber.
The council paid out $1.15 million in 2023 to settle a similar overtime claim by other members of the fire department. Karl Kraai was the named plaintiff in that federal suit, which, according to a filing, impacted up to 700 employees. MacGillis and Kevin P. Todt were the listed attorneys on the 2020 federal lawsuit.
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