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In recent years, the U.S. Supreme Court has made major employment law headlines with its Bostock  decision (holding sexual orientation and gender identity are protected classes under Title VII) and Epic Systems decision (holding class-action waivers are enforceable against employees), among others. It looks like 2023 will be no different. In addition to taking up the rights of employers to sue unions for damages incurred during strikes and asking the Solicitor General to weigh in on what actions can…
Continue Reading Religious Accommodation in Employment Will Have Its Day at the High Court

​The U.S. Supreme Court has denied certiorari to an appeal of a decision from the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit that upheld the State Bar of Wisconsin’s mandatory status.

The U.S. Supreme Court’s decision on the petition for certiorari in File v. Hickey et al, 598 U.S. 22-95, was announced in an order issued on Monday, Jan. 23.

Schuyler File, a State Bar of Wisconsin member, filed a federal lawsuit challenging the State Bar’s mandatory status.
Continue Reading U.S. Supreme Court Won’t Hear Challenge to Mandatory State Bar

I confess that I enjoy some online things that Internet privacy and safety experts say I shouldn’t, like those AI-generated portraits and social media quizzes (I mean, how else am I going to know what kind of a potato I am if not through disclosing my mother’s maiden name and my high school mascot?).
I am also a master procrastinator. So, of course, when ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence chatbot under the OpenAI umbrella, went viral last month, I…
Continue Reading This Blog Title Was Not Written By AI

The use of remote work has increased considerably since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. More and more people have been able to work from home, and the ease of online communications has allowed employers to hire people located in other states or even other countries. The growing use of remote work has changed the way many businesses operate, and it has opened up a range of opportunities for both employers and employees. However, it is critical for employers…
Continue Reading Employment Law Issues to Be Aware of When Using Remote Workers

State v. Kelly A. Monson, 2022AP1438-CR, District 2, 1/18/23 (one-judge decision; ineligible for publication); case activity (including briefs)

There was reasonable suspicion to detain Monson and have her perform field sobriety tests.

Officer Kramer saw Monson’s car stopped in traffic a full vehicle length back from a stop sign, something “out of the ordinary” that “would indicate to a reasonable police officer that something was amiss.” (¶¶2, 15). Monson was “messing around with something in…
Continue Reading Officer Had Reasonable Suspicion to Detain Driver to Perform Field Sobriety Tests

Last month, President Biden signed the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (SECURE 2.0) into law. Building upon the original SECURE Act passed in December 2019, SECURE 2.0 significantly changes laws governing retirement savings. The primary focus of both pieces of legislation is to help Americans better save for retirement. While a comprehensive summary of SECURE 2.0 is beyond the scope of this article, the provisions most pertinent to estate, tax and retirement planning are discussed in detail below.
Increase…
Continue Reading SECURE 2.0 Act Brings Additional Estate Planning Opportunities

On December 29, 2022, President Biden signed into law the Omnibus Appropriation Act, 2023, which includes the SECURE 2.0 Act of 2022 (the “SECURE Act 2.0”). The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Act of 2019 (the “original SECURE Act”) included a number of legislative changes designed to encourage retirement savings and expand employee participation in retirement plans. The SECURE Act 2.0 again modifies the Internal Revenue Code (the “Code”) and the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974…
Continue Reading The SECURE Act 2.0: What’s In It For You?

In a year-end gift of sorts to tax professionals, payment processing companies, and individuals pursuing eBay and other small-transaction side hustles, the IRS has delayed a new transaction reporting requirement that some believed would cause confusion among taxpayers and tax preparers alike.
Many More Payments Were to Be Reported to the IRS
The new reporting requirement would have required companies such as Venmo, PayPal, eBay, and Etsy that process business-related payments to provide each individual who received more than…
Continue Reading IRS Postpones $600 Payment Processor 1099-K Reporting Requirement

On January 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) published a Notice of Proposed Rulemaking advancing a new rule that would effectively prohibit employee non-competition clauses with all employees and rescind existing non-competition clauses. All workers, whether paid or unpaid, and independent contractors, interns or volunteers would be covered. While there is nothing employers must do now, if the rule as proposed takes effect it will have a sweeping impact on the ability of businesses to limit the employment…
Continue Reading FTC Proposes New Rule Essentially Banning Employee Non-Competition Clauses: Is the End in Sight for Non-Competes?

The Federal Trade Commission (FTC) started the new year off with a bang when it announced in a press release on January 5, 2023 that it is proposing a new rule that would ban many employee non-compete clauses.

The press release follows a 3-1 vote by the FTC to publish a notice of proposed rulemaking in the Federal Register.  This indicates the first step toward adopting regulations but does not mean the regulations are final or binding at this…
Continue Reading FTC Announces Vote to Publish Proposed Rules that Would Ban All Noncompete Provisions Restricting Workers

The state of Wisconsin provides residents and visitors with many opportunities to enjoy the outdoors during the winter, including skiing or snowboarding at a variety of ski areas and resorts. However, these activities can be dangerous, and accidents can occur that may result in serious injuries. In these situations, injury victims may wonder whether someone else was at fault for the harm they have suffered and whether they can file a lawsuit against a ski area or another liable…
Continue Reading Can I File a Lawsuit for a Wisconsin Skiing or Snowboarding Injury?

Known generally as “Motions to Enforce,” Wis. Stat. section 767.471 provides a fast track to a hearing to enforce the physical placement order in effect in a family law action. Section 767.471 – formerly Wis. Stat. section 767.242 – was enacted as part of the Appropriations and Executive Budget Bill of 1999.

It is helpful to understand that motions to enforce are extraordinary motions. They carry with them specific procedural rules that are unique in family law, and, when…
Continue Reading Are Motions to Enforce Physical Placement the Best Remedy For Your Client?

State v. Steven W. Bowers, 2021AP1767-CR, 12/29/22, District 3 (recommended for publication; case activity (including briefs)

In this important decision addressing a novel Fourth Amendment issue, the court of appeals holds that Bowers had a reasonable expectation of privacy in the contents of his Dropbox account, despite the fact he (1) used his work email address to create the account and  (2) uploaded case files and shared them without permission. (Opinion, ¶43). The court further holds that…
Continue Reading COA Upholds Suppression of Evidence Obtained from Defendant’s Dropbox Account

Compliance concept on white papers
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One of the biggest challenges a compliance officer faces is establishing a strong commitment to creating a culture of compliance and obtaining recognition–there needs to be a compliance “tone from the top” of an organization.  There are numerous potential challenges to getting buy-in for this concept.  This can create frustration for compliance officers aware of the concept of compliance program effectiveness and the importance of a compliance culture beginning at the top of the organization.  A common potential challenge…
Continue Reading Compliance Officer Challenges and Commitment to Compliance Culture

ChatGPT is a new AI-powered chatbot that answers complex questions conversationally.  This remarkable tool that can assist with a wide range of tasks, from generating humanlike text to providing helpful answers to questions.  This raises huge implications for research, education, business, and much more. “So the best way to think about this is you are chatting with a omniscient eager-to-please intern who sometimes lies to you,” describes Ethan Mollick , Professor of Management at the University of Pennsylvania.  If…
Continue Reading ChatGPT Chatbot Can Write Anything from Student Essays to Legal Briefs

As another year concludes, a bit of reflection can be in order. For me, there is much to reflect on after completing one year of work as a new lawyer at a busy law firm. Amid the end-of-year deal closings, trademark applications, and other adventures in the practice of law, I wanted to close out the final entry of the OG+S blog for 2022 with a few lessons I learned from this year of work—forged from a mix of…
Continue Reading Reflections on a Year of Firm Practice