Van Hollen
WATERTOWN, Wisc. (Legal Newsline) - Almost $73,000 in compensation has been recovered for employees of Sustainable Groundwater Services, which closed earlier this year.
Thirty-three former employees of Sustainable Groundwater Services will share in the $72,898.65 in back wages owed to them following legal action by the Wisconsin Department of Justice and the Department of Workforce Development.
Eligible workers, under the state's Wage Payments, Claims and Collection laws, are entitled to payment of as much as $3,000 in unpaid wages before most other creditors can be paid. The 33 former workers will be eligible for either the full amount claimed or $3,000, whichever is the lesser amount.
"It is clear in Wisconsin that laws protecting the rights of workers to compensation must be followed," state Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen said.
"The Wisconsin Department of Justice represents the Department of Workforce Development in enforcing the law when violations unfortunately occur."
Sustainable Groundwater Services, which was placed into receivership under the Chapter 128 state bankruptcy provision on February 13, had a wage lien and a claim in the receivership placed upon it at the request of the Department of Workforce Development. The claim was made for unpaid vacation benefits, medical bills and other deductions.
John M. Wirth, the court appointed receiver for Sustainable Groundwater Services, and the state agreed to the payments, which were approved by Dodge County Circuit Court Judge Steven G. Bauer.