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Case of the Month November 2025

Parties Reach $100K Settlement in Class Action, FLSA Violation Suit Against Lumber Company

Auestad v. Pukall Lumber Co. Inc.

Case Type:
Labor & Employment - Wage Disputes
Class Action

Specific Liability:
Sales assistant and other hourly-paid employees employed by a lumber company asserted that their employer failed to pay them overtime compensation and other wages in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Wisconsin's Wage Payment and Collection laws (WWPCL)

General Injury:
Monetary Damages

Jurisdiction:
State: Wisconsin
United States District Court, E.D. Wisconsin.

Related Court Documents:
Plaintiffs' collective and class action complaint: 2023 WL 12073932
Joint motion for final approval of settlement: 2025 WL 1654695
Final order: 2025 WL 1654766

Case Name:
Auestad et al. v. Pukall Lumber Co. Inc.

Docket/File Number:
1:23CV01213

Result Amount:
$100,000

Result Date:
February 07, 2025

Judge:
William C. Griesbach

Attorneys:
Plaintiffs: James A. Walcheske, Walcheske & Luzi LLC, Brookfield, WI; Scott S. Luzi, Walcheske & Luzi LLC, Brookfield, WI; David M. Potteiger, Walcheske & Luzi LLC, Brookfield, WI
Defendant: Chad R. Levanetz, Ruder Ware LLSC, Green Bay, WI; Nicole L. Stangl, Ruder Ware LLSC, Green Bay, WI

Result Type:
Settlement

Experts:
Plaintiff: Not Reported
Defendant: Not Reported

Breakdown of Award:
$100,000 to plaintiffs for damages

Summary of Facts:
Plaintiff Ashley Auestad, a resident of Eagle River, Wis., was reportedly employed as sales assistant for defendant Pukall Lumber Company Inc., a lumber company with its principal office located in Arbor Vitae, Wis. Auestad, who had reportedly been an hourly-paid, non-exempt employee with the defendant, asserted that she and other hourly-paid, non-exempt employees were not paid overtime compensation and other wages that were due to them in violation of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938 (FLSA) and Wisconsin's Wage Payment and Collection Laws (WWPCL).

In a complaint, plaintiff Auestad, on behalf of herself and others similarly situated, filed a class action lawsuit, arguing that the defendant had engaged in an unlawful compensation system that had failed to sufficiently compensate her and other hourly-paid, non-exempt employees through shaving time, by way of electronic timeclock rounding, from their weekly timesheets in order to remove pre-shift and post-shift work that was performed. The plaintiffs also argued that the defendant had failed to include all non-discretionary compensation, such as monetary bonuses and incentives, within their pay rates when calculating overtime compensation in violation of the FLSA and the WWPCL.

The plaintiffs further argued that the defendant's alleged actions in failing to pay them for compensable work performed was intentional and/or willful.

The defendant denied liability and disputed the nature and extent of the plaintiffs' claimed damages; however, the parties were able to reach a settlement agreement, in which the defendant agreed to pay a gross settlement amount of $100,000.

The parties subsequently filed a joint motion for final settlement approval, and in a final order, the court approved the parties' settlement agreement.

United States District Court, E.D. Wisconsin.

Westlaw Citation:
2025 WL 1807790