Implementation of Wisconsin Act 10 is Blocked Again by Dane County Circuit Court
2011-03/30 Dean R. Dietrich                                                              Printer Friendly PDF Version

After a day of hearing on Tuesday, Dane County Circuit Court Judge Maryann Sumi again issued a court order stopping the implementation of Wisconsin Act 10 (the Budget Repair Bill) pending further court proceedings, including a further court hearing on Friday.  At the same time, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals refused to authorize the withdrawal of a motion filed by the Attorney General’s Office seeking to appeal the initial ruling by Judge Sumi.  The Court of Appeals said that the request for an appeal was certified to the Wisconsin Supreme Court, and only the Wisconsin Supreme Court can decide whether or not to allow that interim appeal to continue.

Judge Sumi, in her follow-up decision on Tuesday, made it very clear that her decision stands and blocks the implementation of any of the provisions of Wisconsin Act 10.  In a brief written decision, Judge Sumi stated:

Secretary of State Douglas La Follette, in his official capacity, is hereby ENJOINED from designating the date of publication for 2011 Wisconsin Act 10, or any further implementation of 2011 Wisconsin Act 10, including but without limitation publishing in the official State newspaper, pursuant to Wis. Stats. § 14.38(10)(c), until further order of the Court.

The impact of this ruling is to prevent the Secretary of State from publishing Wisconsin Act 10 and thereby establishing an effective date for this legislation.  As a result, Wisconsin Act 10 is not considered binding and effective as of this date.  Further clarification may occur on Friday after a second day of court hearings.

What this means to local government units and school districts based upon Judge Sumi’s order:

• The changes in Wisconsin Act 10, including employee contributions to WRS are not effective or binding, and municipalities/school districts are not required to begin seeking the employee contribution from employee wages unless that is required under the provisions of a Labor Agreement.  The municipality/school district may be required to go retroactive to a certain date, depending upon how the court rulings are made.

• Local governments could enter into a new Labor Agreement with a local union, and most likely, that Labor Agreement would be valid and binding upon the municipality and the local union and not be in violation of the collective bargaining restrictions in Wisconsin Act 10.

Ruder Ware will continue to monitor the legal proceedings and provide you with updates as new events occur.  Action could be taken by the Wisconsin Supreme Court to review the decision of the Circuit Court judge and change some of the legal basis for some of the conclusions we have made.

Please feel free to contact Dean R. Dietrich, the author of this e-alert, or any of the attorneys in the Local Government & School District Focus Team of Ruder Ware:  Jeff Jones, Chris Toner, Steve Lipowski, Randi Osberg, Ron Rutlin, or Mary Ellen Schill if you have questions in regard to this update.

© 2011 Ruder Ware, L.L.S.C. Accurate reproduction with acknowledgment granted. All rights reserved.
This document provides information of a general nature regarding legislative or other legal developments. None of the information contained herein is intended as legal advice or opinion relative to specific matters, facts, situations, or issues, and additional facts and information or future developments may affect the subjects addressed.