SEMCO. Imageg courtesy: WAOW TV
MERRILL, WI (WSAU) — Wisconsin Attorney General Josh Kaul announced that the state has won over $650,000 in past-due wages to employees who were still working at a Merrill manufacturing plant.
Around 140 former employees of SEMCO, Inc will receive checks totaling $682,864.90 for wages owed after the company abruptly closed its factory on December 31st, 2019. Kaul and others determined that due to the company’s size and number of employees, they should have given at least 60-days’ notice before ceasing operations.
Kaul made the announcement at the Lincoln County Courthouse on Thursday morning, joined by Department of Workforce Development Secretary-designee Amy Pechacek. “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,” Pechacek said. “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.”
SEMCO says it has mailed checks to those employees that were impacted by the closure. They will have a 90-day period to attempt to deliver any returned check, and at the end of that 90-day period will report all completed payments to the DWD.
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