(C) Wisconsin Watch
This story was originally published by Wisconsin Watch and is unaltered.
. . . . . . . . . .



Contribution paves way for SDC to pay some employees [1]

['Meredith Melland', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow', 'Class', 'Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus', 'Display Inline', '.Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Where Img', 'Height Auto Max-Width', 'Vertical-Align Bottom .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Coauthors.Is-Layout-Flow .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar', 'Vertical-Align Middle .Wp-Block-Co-Authors-Plus-Avatar Is .Alignleft .Alignright']

Date: 2024-08-26

The Social Development Commission’s Main Office, at 1730 W. North Ave., remains closed after the agency abruptly shut down in late April. (Photo by Meredith Melland)

Editor’s note: This story has been updated to clarify the type of funding SDC is receiving from Unite WI and how many employees will be impacted.

The Social Development Commission is using funding from Unite WI to pay former employees who are owed wages for the pay period of April 15, according to SDC attorney William Sulton.

Here’s what we know

SDC and its Board of Commissioners have been working to find ways to pay employees for owed wages since the agency suspended operations in late April, and laid off its employees in late April, Sulton said.

Unite WI, which partners with many community organizations and trains community health workers, is contributing $47,000 to the SDC as part of its emergency response plan, said Bria Grant, executive director of Unite WI.

“It’s to cover salaries for individuals that were in some of those direct service positions or supervising some of the staff who served as community health workers, doing some of the on-the-ground supportive services to clients and community members,” Grant said.

The SDC plans to pay 33 employees who are owed wages for the pay period of April 15 and has mailed checks for six employees to the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development, Sulton said.

Sulton said the SDC had not received part of the funding that Unite WI pledged when it sent out the first six payments for the April 15 payroll.

“There isn’t some other funding source that SDC has that could pay it, outside of insurance,” he said.

SDC sends check to DWD

The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development received checks from the SDC for six employees last week, said Jennifer Sereno, assistant deputy secretary of the department.

SDC had not received part of the donation that Unite WI pledged when it sent out the first six payments for the April 15 payroll, according to Sulton.

“We’re working as quickly as we can to cover the costs that we agreed to cover,” Grant said.

Wage claims filed

Some SDC employees have filed claims against the SDC with the Labor Standards bureau of the Department of Workforce Development.

There are 34 complainants who have filed wage claims against SDC as of Aug. 20, Sereno said, with current wage claims standing at $134,466.30.

In addition to the April 15 payroll, SDC owes some employees for a second April payroll, Sulton said.

Some employees have also claimed they are missing wages from March because when the SDC started to face payroll problems, the commission decided to pay employees with lower positions first.

What’s next?

As payments come in from the Social Development Commission, Department of Workforce Development staff will need to verify and match individual payments made by the employer to employee wage claims, Sereno said.

The department will communicate with employees as their claims are processed.

Here’s more on the SDC

SDC is taking steps to pay its former employees

Three months since closing, SDC still owes money

Tax appointments for former SDC clients will close at IRS office on July 24

‘It’s heartbreaking’: Residents, vendors left in limbo after SDC’s closing

SDC’s inconsistent meeting notices raise transparency concerns. Here’s what you need to know

What you need to know about the SDC’s closing

Meredith Melland is the neighborhoods reporter for the Milwaukee Neighborhood News Service and a corps member of Report for America, a national service program that places journalists in local newsrooms to report on under-covered issues and communities. Report for America plays no role in editorial decisions in the NNS newsroom.





















[END]
---
[1] Url: https://milwaukeenns.org/2024/08/26/donation-paves-way-for-sdc-to-pay-some-employees/

Published and (C) by Wisconsin Watch
Content appears here under this condition or license: Creative Commons BY-ND 4.0 Intl.

via Magical.Fish Gopher News Feeds:
gopher://magical.fish/1/feeds/news/wisconsinwatch/

You are viewing proxied material from magical.fish. The copyright of proxied material belongs to its original authors. Any comments or complaints in relation to proxied material should be directed to the original authors of the content concerned. Please see the disclaimer for more details.