For invitations to our events and updates on key legal issues and business concerns:
Please Click HerePosted on August 2, 2017 by Ruder Ware Alumni
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the concept of “employment-at-will” and determined that an employment-at-will provision in an employment contract superseded company policies that provided alternative procedures to be followed when investigating inappropriate conduct of an employee.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 District IV Court of Appeals, the Court […]
Posted on August 1, 2017 by Ruder Ware Alumni
The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) created controversy a couple of years ago when it ruled that handbook policies maintained by T-Mobile USA requiring employees to maintain a positive work environment were illegal because they could be seen as having a chilling effect on employees’ unionizing and collective bargaining rights. Last week, the U.S. 5th […]
Posted on August 1, 2017 by Ruder Ware Alumni
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 […]
Posted on July 17, 2017 by Ruder Ware Alumni
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 […]
Posted on July 13, 2017 by Ruder Ware Alumni
Wisconsin’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 […]
Posted on July 11, 2017 by Ruder Ware Alumni
On 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 […]
Posted on June 29, 2017 by Ruder Ware Alumni
In 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 […]
Posted on June 14, 2017 by Ruder Ware Alumni
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 independent contractor […]
Posted on June 2, 2017 by Ruder Ware Alumni
An 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 usually […]
Posted on May 31, 2017 by Ruder Ware Alumni
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 […]