A Green Bay federal judge approved a settlement agreement Wednesday in a class action lawsuit filed on behalf of 1,426 Pierce Manufacturing employees.
The judge said Pierce Manufacturing's actions were a violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act before approving the $5.5 million settlement.
The case was over unpaid wages. The complaint was filed last February by employee Eric Ehmaan.
In the complaint, Ehmaan claims workers were not getting paid for 10 minutes of work time per day, which should have been counted as overtime.
According to Wisconsin law, companies must pay employees for breaks that are less that half an hour.
The judge said the complaint is fair and reasonable.
"I'm just happy it's over and ready to put it behind us and move on," one Pierce employee said.
That employee told NBC26 they do plan to continue working at Pierce Manufacturing.
NBC26 did receive a statement from Pierce Manufacturing's parent company Oshkosh Corporation.
"The U.S. District Court has approved a settlement in the matter. None of the class members filed objections to the settlement.
The Court concluded that the settlement was fair and reasonable to the class members and commended the parties on their efforts in reaching a fair settlement in an expeditious manner.
Pierce is pleased to move forward as we focus on growing our People First Culture and providing customers with exceptional products."
