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Please Click HerePosted on December 3, 2010 by Ruder Ware Alumni
It is a well settled law in Wisconsin that an at-will employee may be terminated for any reason unless the termination violates public policy as expressed in the Constitution, a statute, administrative rule, or other enactment. Recently, the Wisconsin Supreme Court addressed a situation in which an at-will employee claimed that she was illegally terminated […]
Posted on November 23, 2010 by Mark D. Munson
December 2010 may be one of the best times to use a grantor retained annuity trust (or “GRAT”) to transfer assets to children and grandchildren free of gift taxes. The reason is that based on current tax rules, it is assumed that assets transferred to a GRAT in December 2010 will yield an annual return […]
Posted on November 15, 2010 by Ruder Ware Alumni
The American with Disabilities Act (“ADA”) requires employers to make reasonable accommodations for qualified employees with disabilities. Although the ADA does not mandate that an employer grant a leave of absence to an employee with a disability, such a leave in certain cases may be necessary to comply with the ADA’s reasonable accommodation requirement. Thus, […]
Posted on November 12, 2010 by Ruder Ware Alumni
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) recently filed an unfair labor practice complaint against a Company alleging that the Company has an overbroad Internet and blogging policy that interferes with an employee’s right to engage in protected activity. In a complaint filed against American Medical Response of Connecticut, Inc., the NLRB has alleged that the […]
Posted on October 28, 2010 by Mary Ellen Schill
The Internal Revenue Service has announced the cost-of-living adjustments for the various qualified retirement plan limits. Note that all of the limits shown below are unchanged from 2010, because the relevant cost-of-living index for 2010 is less than the cost-of-living index for 2009, the basis for the cost-of-living increases. Qualified Plan Limit Cost-of-Living Adjustments 401(k) […]
Posted on October 27, 2010 by Ruder Ware Alumni
The Federal Wiretap Act governs illegal recording of communications. A violation of the Federal Wiretap Act is when a person illegally intercepts an oral communication or intentionally uses or discloses the contents of an oral communication with knowledge that it was illegally intercepted. Recently, the Seventh Circuit Court of Appeals, whose jurisdiction covers Wisconsin, ruled […]
Posted on October 25, 2010 by Mary Ellen Schill
Prior to the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act of 2010 and the Health Care and Education Reconciliation Act of 2010 (“Health Care Reform”), employers were not required to report on an employee’s Form W-2 information about the cost of employer-sponsored health coverage. Health Care Reform added the requirement that such information must be reported […]
Posted on September 8, 2010 by Sara J. Ackermann
A new law will take effect January 1, 2011, that increases the enforcement authority of the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (the “DWD”) related to the classification of workers as either employees or independent contractors. The law affects employers and employees as each are defined pursuant to the Wisconsin employment regulations, minimum wage law, workers’ […]
Posted on September 8, 2010 by Sara J. Ackermann
President Obama has signed Executive Order 13496, Notification of Employee Rights Under Federal Labor Law. Pursuant to this order, the Department of Labor issued its final regulations which contain important requirements for employers with federal government contracts and subcontracts. The regulations pertain to employee rights under the National Labor Relations Act and require both notice […]
Posted on August 3, 2010 by Ruder Ware Alumni
You have likely heard of the Wisconsin Supreme Court’s decision issued on July 16, 2010, in Schill v. Wisconsin Rapids School District, 2010 WI 86 (7/16/10). In this decision, the Supreme Court ruled that Wisconsin’s Public Records Law does not require the disclosure of employee personal e-mails that are sent and received by a public […]