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More Planning Tips for Individuals Under New Tax Act

Posted on February 5, 2018 by and

As Shanna Yonke mentioned in her January 22, 2018 Legal Update The New Tax Law Provides Estate Planning Opportunities, President Trump signed the Tax Cuts and Jobs Act into law on December 22, 2017.  The Act (officially, Public Law 115-97) is the most sweeping tax legislation to be enacted in decades.  It is broad in scope, […]

Wisconsin Employers: Have You Had Your Non-Compete Agreements Reviewed Recently? Recent Court Case Invalidates Non-Solicitation Under WI law!

Posted on January 30, 2018 by

What WI employers need to know:  Wisconsin employers must immediately revise their non-compete agreements so as to comply with this recent decision.  Contact Mary Ellen Schill or Sara Ackermann of the Ruder Ware team to assist you!! The Wisconsin Supreme Court has ruled that an employee non-solicitation agreement is unenforceable if it unreasonably restricts the […]

Finding the Right Employee for Your Business

Posted on January 29, 2018 by

Employers today are struggling to fill vacant positions that are needed to meet customer needs.  The struggle is a combination of finding potential employees with the skills needed for the particular position and with the skills that make a good worker such as the ability to work in a team environment and use good communication […]

Ruder Ware Attorney Provides Comments on Ag Lending Market

Posted on January 26, 2018 by

Chris Seelen, a member of Ruder Ware’s Banking and Financial Institutions Focus Team, recently provided comments on Wisconsin’s ag lending market for Wisconsin Public Radio.  The WPR story focused on new federal court data that shows the Western District of Wisconsin had the highest number of farm bankruptcies in the country last year.

Western District of Wisconsin Ranks 1st in the Nation in Chapter 12 Farm Bankruptcy Filings in 2017.

Posted on January 24, 2018 by

Low grain and milk prices have negatively affected Wisconsin’s ag economy for a few years now.  As further evidence of the financial stress on Wisconsin farmers, the national bankruptcy statistics show that, in 2017, more Chapter 12 farm bankruptcy cases were filed in the Western District of Wisconsin than in any other district in the […]

The New Tax Law Provides Estate Planning Opportunities

Posted on January 22, 2018 by

Shortly before Christmas, Congress approved and President Trump signed into law the Tax Cut and Jobs Act.  The new law increases the federal estate, gift, and generation-skipping transfer tax exemptions from $5 million to $10 million, adjusted for inflation.  The inflation-adjusted exemption amount for 2018 has not yet been released by the IRS, but commentators […]

Mental Health Disabilities – What to Do?

Posted on January 18, 2018 by

We are seeing a growth in disability claims based upon mental health conditions which is very troubling for employers because it is hard to understand whether an employee actually has a mental health condition and it is certainly hard to quantify how that condition impacts the performance of the employee.  A recent decision from the […]

Settling Discrimination Complaints in Wisconsin

Posted on January 17, 2018 by

A recent decision from the Wisconsin Labor and Industry Review Commission has placed a cloud over the settlement of discrimination complaints in Wisconsin.  The cloud may not be very dark, but it is a matter that needs to be considered by employers when they pursue an effort to settle a discrimination complaint brought by an […]

What Does New Employee Handbook Standard Mean?

Posted on January 12, 2018 by

Attorney Bob Reinertson wrote recently about a decision of the National Labor Relations Board that significantly changed how the NLRB will review workplace policies and employee handbooks to determine whether they are in compliance with federal law.  The issue has always been that workplace policies (normally included in an employee handbook) may not interfere with […]

Using Prenuptial Agreements to Protect the Family Farm

Posted on January 8, 2018 by and

The family farm is a special asset. The family may have worked hard through decades, maybe even generations, to accumulate and develop the farm’s land, equipment and livestock. The children may be grown and successors to farming operations. The older generation may be worried what would happen to the farm if a child were to […]