The Walker Agenda Is Still Working! Part CLIX

At the end of last year, Scott Walker's agenda and his laser sharp focus on job creation forced 550 people in central Wisconsin out of work at the Schield plant.  It was the second huge layoff in that region in two weeks.

To make things worse for those poor folks, Schield's lax security allowed crooks to steal the identities of many of the workers. Even after it happened, the company was not forthcoming with this information, allowing the victims to remain unaware and unable to take action to protect themselves.

It turns out that company did the workers another dirty trick by not even laying them off properly:

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development has ordered the owner of a former window and door manufacturing plant to pay employees more than $319,000 for failing to provide proper notice of when the plant would close.

Medford-based Schield Family Brands announced Dec. 8 that it planned to close the SNE Enterprises factory in Mosinee this year, eliminating about 450 jobs. Production at the Mosinee factory at 880 South View Drive ended in August.

SNE failed to give a 60-day notice or identify a specific closing date or 14-day period when mass layoffs would occur, all of which are required by state law, according to a copy of the DWD decision provided Tuesday by Gig Christenson, a union representative for the Carpenters Industrial Council based in Oshkosh. Christenson filed a complaint in February with the DWD arguing that SNE’s notice that the layoffs would occur between Feb. 7 and Aug. 31 was not specific enough.

The state agency ruled Nov. 1 that SNE must pay $319,335 that will be split by 109 employees affected by the layoffs. SNE also was ordered to pay the DWD $30,000 as a surcharge for failing to notify Mosinee Mayor Al Erickson 60 days prior to a mass layoff.

“They do (the notices) so people can plan their lives,” Christenson said. “This went on for six months. How can anyone plan?”

The money will range from $300 to $7,000 per employee based on when they were terminated, Christenson said.

Talk about adding insult to injury!

Remind me again, what was that Walker said about how companies are able to regulate themselves?

At least some of the workers will get a small bit of money, almost six months later. Not that is much compensation for the hell the company and Walker's agenda has put them through.