Wisconsin Department of Justice
Press Release

AG Kaul Announces Over $650,000 Settlement with SEMCO, Inc.

August 19, 2021

By - Aug 19th, 2021 09:37 am

MERRILL, Wis. – Attorney General Josh Kaul today announced a settlement with Merrill-based Semling-Menke Company, Inc (SEMCO), requiring the company to pay more than $650,000 to eligible employees after shutting down operations on December 31, 2019.

This settlement comes after the Wisconsin Department of Justice (DOJ) filed a lawsuit on behalf of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD), on February 1, 2021, alleging that the company failed to provide the required 60-days’ notice to employees before ceasing its business operations.

“With this resolution, substantial payments are being made to workers who lost their jobs when the business closed,” said Attorney General Kaul. “Thank you to those at DOJ and DWD whose work led to this excellent result for more than 130 Wisconsinites.”

“When an employer fails to give employees proper notice of a business closing, the negative impact of the lost jobs is compounded by the effects on families and communities,” said DWD Secretary-designee Amy Pechacek. “DWD welcomes this settlement on behalf of the SEMCO employees and will continue its work through the Job Center of Wisconsin and community partnerships to connect the affected workers with new opportunities.”

Eligible employees will receive checks of varying amounts, depending on wage calculations conducted by DWD. SEMCO mailed checks directly to eligible employees earlier this month.

During the 90 days following when the checks were mailed, SEMCO is required to attempt to re-deliver any returned check. At the end of the 90 days, Semco will give an accounting of completed payments to DWD.

Act 369 does not apply to this agreement because the amounts that DWD believes were owed to affected employees are being paid in full and the case is therefore not being “compromised or discontinued” within the meaning of the statute.

Press Release: https://www.doj.state.wi.us/news-releases/ag-kaul-announces-over-650000-settlement-semco-inc

NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.

Mentioned in This Press Release

Recent Press Releases by Wisconsin Department of Justice

Attorney General Kaul Sues Apple for Monopolizing Smartphone Market

Apple’s Broad-Based, Exclusionary Conduct Makes It Harder for Americans to Switch Smartphones, Undermines Innovation for Apps, Products, and Services, and Imposes Extraordinary Costs on Developers, Businesses, and Consumers

Leave a Reply

You must be an Urban Milwaukee member to leave a comment. Membership, which includes a host of perks, including an ad-free website, tickets to marquee events like Summerfest, the Wisconsin State Fair and the Florentine Opera, a better photo browser and access to members-only, behind-the-scenes tours, starts at $9/month. Learn more.

Join now and cancel anytime.

If you are an existing member, sign-in to leave a comment.

Have questions? Need to report an error? Contact Us