The lawsuit alleges that Aurora Health Care, Inc. (“Defendant”) did not pay all required overtime and straight time hours to individuals who worked as hourly paid employees for Defendant during the period of August 14, 2017 through December 31, 2021. Defendant denies any liability and maintains that it has acted in accordance with governing laws at all times. The Court has not determined who is right and who is wrong.

Even though the parties believe their respective claims and defenses are strong, they have agreed to settle the case. The Court still has to decide whether to grant final approval of this settlement.

A class action is a lawsuit where one or more persons sue not only for themselves, but also for other people who have similar claims. In class actions, one court resolves the issues for all class members who do not opt-out of the class.

In this case, Class Members include those individuals who worked for Defendant in Wisconsin and were compensated, in part or in full, on an hourly basis at some point during the period of August 14, 2017 through December 31, 2021.

The attorneys representing the Settlement Class (“Class Counsel”) have analyzed and evaluated the merits of the claims made against Defendant in this lawsuit. Class Counsel also have analyzed and evaluated the risks of continued litigation, including that there may ultimately be no recovery whatsoever, or a recovery that is less favorable and that would not occur for several years. Class Counsel is satisfied that the terms and conditions of this settlement are fair, reasonable, and adequate and that this settlement is in the best interest of the Settlement Class.

Defendant denies the material allegations of the claims and maintains that Settlement Class Members were compensated properly in accordance with applicable law. Defendant further contends that, if litigated, this lawsuit does not meet the requirements to proceed as a class action and that Defendant has meritorious defenses. Defendant, however, also recognizes the distractions and costs involved with litigation and has therefore agreed to this settlement.

Pursuant to the terms of the Settlement Agreement and Release between Plaintiffs and Defendant (“Settlement Agreement”), Defendant has agreed to create a settlement fund that will be used to make payments to all Class Members who do not properly exclude themselves from the class.

Defendant agreed to provide a gross settlement amount of $8,750,000 to settle this litigation and all potential claims of the Settlement Class, including costs, attorneys’ fees, service awards, and settlement administration costs (the “Gross Fund”). The “Net Fund” is the remainder of the Gross Fund after deductions, payments, or allocations for the Settlement Administrator’s fees and costs, Court-approved attorney’s fees and costs for Plaintiff’s counsel, and any Court-approved service awards.

Each Settlement Class Member who does not opt-out of the settlement in accordance with the Settlement Agreement is entitled to a payment, before applicable taxes, equal to the greater of (i) a pro-rata amount of the Net Fund based on the number of Eligible Work Weeks worked as an hourly employee during the relevant periods set forth above (an Eligible Work Week is defined as any and all weeks during which a Settlement Class Member performed any compensable work for Defendant as an hourly-paid employee and worked forty (40) or more hours); or (ii) $30.00.

If you do not wish to participate in this proposed settlement, and you want to keep the right to sue or continue to sue Defendant on your own for alleged unpaid wages, then you must take steps to exclude yourself from this lawsuit.

If you intend to exclude yourself, you must mail, email or fax a written statement that: (i) unconditionally states your intention to opt-out, such as, “I opt-out of the settlement in the Aurora wage case”; (ii) includes your name, address and telephone number; and (iii) contains your signature (an “Opt-Out Statement”). To be effective, your Opt-Out Statement must be mailed, emailed or faxed to the Settlement Claims Administrator no later than March 10, 2023.

If you exclude yourself from the lawsuit and settlement, you will NOT be allowed to object to the settlement as described below and you will NOT be entitled to receive a payment from this settlement.

James X. Bormes and Catherine P. Sons of Law Office of James X. Bormes, P.C., Thomas M. Ryan of Law Office of Thomas M. Ryan, P.C. and Patrick J. Schott of Schott, Bublitz and Engel, S.C. have been designated as legal counsel to represent you and the other Class Members. These lawyers are called Class Counsel. You will not be charged separately for these lawyers. Their fees are being paid from the Gross Fund. If you wish to be represented by your own lawyer, you may hire one at your own expense.

The Court will hold a Fairness Hearing on April 6, 2023 at 8:30 a.m., at the United States District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin, 517 E. Wisconsin Avenue, Courtroom 425, Milwaukee, WI 53202. At this hearing, the Court will consider whether the terms of the settlement are fair, reasonable, and adequate. If there are objections, the Court will consider them. The Court may also decide how much to pay to Class Counsel. You do not have to attend the Fairness Hearing, but you are welcome to do so at your own expense. After the hearing, the Court will decide whether to approve the settlement. We do not know how long these decisions will take.