Employment
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Eligibility for Overtime Pay – Redo?
Recent action taken by the Department of Labor has started to signal the likely “redo” of the Fair Labor Standards Act regulations regarding overtime pay and which employees are eligible for overtime pay. The Department of Labor issued a Request for Information document that asks employers to respond to a series of questions on overtime pay eligib…
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Wisconsin Court Re-affirms Employment At Will Principles
A recent decision from the Wisconsin Court of Appeals has upheld the concept of “employment-at-will” and determined that an employment-at-will provision in an employment contract superseded company policies that provided alternative procedures to be followed when investigating inappropriate conduct of an employee. In a recent decision of the Distr…
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Right-to-Work Law Upheld
Without much fanfare, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the Wisconsin Right-to-Work Law. The Right-to-Work Law passed in Wisconsin is similar to a law passed in Indiana and holds that a company may not enter into a labor agreement with a union representing company employees that requires the employees to join the union or to have uni…
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Attempted End Run Around Wisconsin’s Exclusive Remedy of Worker’s Compensation Fails in Asbestos Litigation in the Seventh Circuit
Posted on July 13, 2017, Authored by Russell W. Wilson, Filed under Employment
Russell W. WilsonOf Counsel
Wausau OfficeWisconsin’s exclusive remedy of worker’s compensation has long been a bulwark against civil suits brought by employees (subject to a few narrow exceptions not applicable here). This bulwark has survived a creative attack in an asbestos case in Pecher v. Owens-Illinois, Inc. 859 F.3d 396 (2017), which was decided on June 6, 2017. The case involved …
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A Seemingly Important Win for Wisconsin Worker’s Compensation Insurance Carriers and Employers
Posted on July 11, 2017, Authored by Russell W. Wilson, Filed under EmploymentRussell W. WilsonOf Counsel
Wausau OfficeOn its face the decision of the Wisconsin Supreme Court in Flug v. LIRC, 2017 WI 72 (decided on June 30, 2017), is a clear, important win for the employer side in common injuries that involve pre-existing degenerative conditions. The general circumstances presented in Flug are familiar. In that case, a forty-three year old retail store supervisor…
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Wisconsin Supreme Court Rules on Appleton School District Open Meetings Law
Posted on June 29, 2017, Authored by Robert J. Reinertson, Filed under Employment
Robert J. ReinertsonAttorney
Wausau OfficeIn a unanimous and much-anticipated decision released today, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled that a committee of school personnel formed to review materials for a high school course under a procedure set forth in school board rules is a “governmental body” subject to the Wisconsin Open Meetings Law. The case (Krueger v. Appleton Area School Dist…
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Joint Employer Status Rebuffed?
Recent action by the Trump Administration has raised a new question regarding joint employer status and whether particular employees hired (individually or through a company) to provide work for another company should be considered an employee of the hiring company. The past Department of Labor issued various memos that indicated a crackdown on in…
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Forfeitures for Ordinance Violations - When Are They Excessive?
Posted on June 2, 2017, Authored by Robert J. Reinertson, Filed under EmploymentRobert J. ReinertsonAttorney
Wausau OfficeAn age-old problem faced by municipal officials is what to do about residents and landowners who fail to take care of their properties and allow junk, debris, and other unsightly items to accumulate. This often leads to citizen complaints and even health and safety issues. When municipalities take enforcement action against such properties, they …
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Protected Employee Must Notify Employer of Need for Time Off
A recent decision in the Northern District of California highlighted the importance of employers applying a consistent rule that employees must notify the employer if they are unable to report to work, even if the employee suffers from a disabling condition. In a recent decision, the Federal Court Judge held that a Company properly terminated an e…
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Unemployment Benefits Cannot Be Denied Based on Eight Cash Transaction Inadvertent Errors Out of 80,000 Transactions in a 21-Month Period
Posted on May 22, 2017, Authored by Russell W. Wilson, Filed under EmploymentRussell W. WilsonOf Counsel
Wausau OfficeThe Wisconsin Supreme Court has interpreted the meaning of “substantial fault” in an unemployment insurance case, which will be applicable in worker’s compensation cases, as well. The case is Operton v. Labor and Industry Review Commission, 2017 WL 1743039. In doing so the Supreme Court affirmed the ruling of the Wisconsin Court of Appeals, which…
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OSHA Extends Deadline for Electronically Submitting Worker Injury and Illness Records
Posted on May 18, 2017, Authored by Robert J. Reinertson, Filed under EmploymentRobert J. ReinertsonAttorney
Wausau OfficeThe Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) announced on May 17, 2017 that the deadline for employers with 250 and more employees to electronically submit information from their 2016 Form 300A to OSHA is being extended. Under the electronic reporting rule that went into effect on January 1, 2017, the original deadline was to be July 1…
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One Racial Slur Constitutes Harassment?
A recent decision from the Second Circuit Court of Appeals in New York has again opened the door to questions about hostile work environment and racial harassment. The particular question addressed in this court decision was whether one racial epitaph (use of the “n-word”) would support a claim for racial harassment and the creation of a hostile w…
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Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals Speaks Out on Employment Issues
Several recent decisions by the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals have set the tone for court decisions in the employment law field. The Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals covers a number of states in the Midwest, including Wisconsin, so the rulings are important for Wisconsin employers up to a point. The first decision involves sexual orientation.…
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Wisconsin Unemployment Insurance Benefits Upon Discharge for Absenteeism – the Employer’s Policy May Be More Generous, But Not More Restrictive, Than the Statutory Default
Posted on March 21, 2017, Authored by Russell W. Wilson, Filed under EmploymentRussell W. WilsonOf Counsel
Wausau OfficeThe Wisconsin Court of Appeals issued a decision in an unemployment insurance benefits case on March 8 that provides clarity where an employee is discharged for absenteeism. The case is Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development v. Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission, et al (2017 WL 946724). In doing so the court of appeals describe…
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Are You a Joint Employer? Watch Out for Potential Liability
Many businesses today use other entities to provide employees for their business operations. This type of structure is often viewed as a good way for a company to avoid many of the pitfalls of being an employer under state and federal laws. A recent court ruling has redefined what it means to be a joint employer and may cause companies to change …
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