William Joseph Somers, a West Bend resident working without counsel, sued Western States Envelope & Label Inc. and two of its human resources officials after he was terminated in November 2024. Somers claims the Butler, Wisconsin-based company failed to pay him for 10-15 minutes of pre-shift work he performed daily and subsequently fired him after he complained about the wage violations. The Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development later determined Western States owed Somers $1,034.05 in unpaid wages and bonus compensation.
Judge Ludwig found Somers stated viable claims under the Fair Labor Standards Act for both retaliation and unpaid overtime wages. "Given the proximity of the events, and the stage of litigation, a jury could plausibly infer that Somers's wage complaints caused the adverse action," Ludwig wrote in allowing the retaliation claim to proceed. The court noted that Somers had adequately alleged he engaged in protected activity by emailing human resources manager Rose Montalvo about wage concerns, that Western States took adverse action by extending his probation and terminating him, and that a causal link existed between the complaint and firing.
Ludwig observed the tight timeline between Somers's complaints and his termination, noting he "emailed Montalvo to again complain that he was not being accurately paid" on November 19, contacted the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development on November 20, and was fired on November 21. The court found this sequence of events sufficient to support an inference of retaliation at the screening stage.
The case reached Ludwig after the judge had previously dismissed Somers's initial complaint in February 2026 for failing to state a claim, but granted leave to amend. Somers filed his amended complaint adding Montalvo and human resources director Kevin Loy as individual defendants. The court was required to screen the pro se plaintiff's complaint under the in forma pauperis statute to determine whether his claims were legally sufficient to proceed.
Western States had argued through its time-rounding practices that Somers was not entitled to compensation for his pre-shift work, but Ludwig found Somers adequately alleged he "sometimes worked overtime because of his pre-shift work and was not compensated for that overtime." The court applied liberal pleading standards for pro se plaintiffs while noting the complaint must still provide sufficient factual matter to state plausible claims for relief.
Ludwig cautioned that Somers's case may face future complications given that he has already recovered some damages through the state agency proceeding. "If he has already been made whole, it may be that Somers's claims are barred; a litigant is generally not allowed to recover twice for the same loss," the judge wrote, though he determined the issue could not be resolved at the screening stage and allowed the claims to proceed.
The ruling allows Somers to pursue federal claims for FLSA retaliation and unpaid overtime against all three defendants, plus a Wisconsin state law claim for unpaid wages against Western States alone. The court ordered the U.S. Marshals Service to serve the defendants and directed them to file responsive pleadings within the time allowed under federal rules.