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Please Click HerePosted on November 16, 2015 by Ruder Ware Alumni
Last week, Governor Walker signed into law almost fifty new bills, many of which affect local government units, schools, and private employers’ human resource departments. My intent over coming days and weeks is to provide a summary of some of the important new laws. As the title of this blog not so subtly hints, the […]
Posted on November 10, 2015 by Ruder Ware Alumni
A recent decision by the Second Circuit Court of Appeals has upheld the decision by the National Labor Relations Board that action taken by two employees on a Facebook page should be considered protected speech and therefore the employees should not have been terminated from employment. In this decision involving the Triple Play Sports Bar […]
Posted on November 6, 2015 by Ruder Ware Alumni
A recent decision by a federal judge in Chicago has upheld the right of the City of Chicago to require police officers to cover visible tattoos while on duty. The Chicago Police Department implemented a Department policy that banned the display of tattoos while on duty. The City said this policy was necessary to insure […]
Posted on October 28, 2015 by Ruder Ware Alumni
Last week I was asked to present, along with a panel of attorneys, to a group of law students. For a group of students facing a tough job market, the most common theme of the discussion related to the hiring process and how these students could maximize their likelihood of landing a job. The panel’s […]
Posted on October 21, 2015 by Mary Ellen Schill
Well, if you were hoping for a cost of living adjustment in the employee benefits part of your life, you aren’t going to get it from the 2016 qualified plan limits just issued by the IRS. Here are the new limits. Same as the old limits as you can see. According to the IRS, “the […]
Posted on October 20, 2015 by Ruder Ware Alumni
A recent news article reported that a trucking company has settled an age and sex discrimination charge filed by the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission over a strength exam that it used when hiring drivers for its business. The EEOC claimed that the strength test mandated by the company for truck driver applicants supported a claim […]
Posted on October 19, 2015 by Ruder Ware Alumni
In a grievance arbitration case, an employee of sixteen years, with no prior record of discipline, missed a mandatory one-hour staff meeting at work. Following an investigation, the private company suspended the employee for three days without pay. The union grieved and a hearing was conducted before a staff arbitrator with the WERC. The arbitrator […]
Posted on October 15, 2015 by Ruder Ware Alumni
Last month, a staff arbitrator with the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission (WERC) issued a grievance decision interpreting certain language in a collective bargaining agreement regarding past practices. The WERC is a Wisconsin state agency responsible for the oversight and enforcement of the state’s public and private sector labor laws, including the conducting of hearings throughout […]
Posted on October 13, 2015 by Ruder Ware Alumni
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals has affirmed a Labor and Industry Review Commission (LIRC) decision that denied additional benefits for an initially conceded injury based on the independent medical examiner’s (IME) review of comparative MRIs. David Dollar had pre-existing degenerative joint disease, as confirmed by a 2009 MRI. On June 23, 2011, while at work […]
Posted on October 5, 2015 by Ruder Ware Alumni
Recently, one of the National Labor Relations Board’s administrative law judges (“ALJ”) issued a decision that reminds would-be purchasers of unionized companies to proceed with caution before taking the plunge. The case is Riccelli Enterprises, Inc., available here: Riccelli_Decision. In Riccelli Enterprises, Inc., the ALJ was called upon to determine whether: (1) the purchaser of […]