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By October 23, 2023

When your days are consumed with running a business, it can be hard to look ahead towards tomorrow’s to-do list, much less towards a to-do list for something far in the future, like estate planning. If you’ve pushed off putting in writing what will happen to your business once you’re gone, it’s time to tackle that to-do list. Here are four items to consider when doing so:
1. The Importance of Having
Continue Reading Estate Planning Considerations for Business Owners

By October 23, 2023

As a collection and banking attorney, I am often asked whether (or when) I think collections will restart now that we are somewhat “beyond” COVID-19, although not fully. In my own practice I have seen an increase in demand letters to businesses and consumers for past due accounts or debts. Banks and businesses need to start collecting past due accounts and my sense is a slew of consumer and commercial collections are
Continue Reading Collections in a Post-COVID-19 World

What’s the best way to deal with office gossip and drama? The resulting conflict is hurting productivity and morale.
As we get to the other side of the pandemic and the interruptions COVID-19 caused in the workplace, employees are beginning to come back to work in person rather than working totally remotely. With that comes the age-old office drama issues.
Office drama and gossip can be minor, but left unchecked, they can lead to reduced productivity and morale, if
Continue Reading Nip Office Gossip & Drama in the Bud

Location: Hilton Garden Inn151401 Cty Rd NN, Wausau, Wisconsin

Presenters:
Sara J. Ackermann, Mary Ellen Schill, Nicole L. Stangl
<!–Nicole L. Stangl–>

Presentation

Ruder Ware’s Annual Employment & Benefits Law Conference will be held at the Hilton Garden Inn (map and directions) on Thursday, November 16, 2023.
7:30 a.m.    Registration
8:00 a.m.   Welcome & Introductions
8:15 – 9:00 a.m.Anatomy of the Deal:  Handling Due Diligence Like a ProPresenter:  Attorney Mary Ellen Schill
Due diligence. Data rooms. Human resources and
Continue Reading Annual Employment & Benefits Conference 2023

When an employer directs an employee to create a work that would trigger copyright protection, who owns the copyright? What if an employer has engaged the services of an independent contractor, who creates the work for the business? Although employers may not run into this situation very often, it has the potential to create big problems if they aren’t aware of the contours of this doctrine.
Copyright Protection Applies to Creative Works
Our federal copyright laws protect all “original
Continue Reading Copyright Ownership of Creative Works Made for Hire

On August 2, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (the “Board”) adopted a new standard for evaluating the legality of workplace rules under the National Labor Relations Act (the “NLRA”).  Employers in both unionized and non-unionized settings should review their employee handbooks and policies to ensure compliance with the new standard established in Stericycle, Inc., 372 NLRB No. 113 (2023).
As the Board noted, it is well established that the dominant purpose of the NLRA is to protect the
Continue Reading Time For Handbook Review

Kelli Thompson is pictured in this photo from 2011.Sept. 1, 2023 – Kelli Thompson, Wisconsin’s State Public Defender for the last 12 years, recently announced that she is stepping down from the agency, effective Oct 9, 2023.In her announcement, issued by the Wisconsin State Public Defender Office, Thompson said:It has been a privilege to serve as the Wisconsin State Public Defender. The role of public defender is critical to protecting the rights of clients and the principles of liberty,
Continue Reading Kelli Thompson Stepping Down as State Public Defender

The Corporate Transparency Act (the “CTA”) has been in place since 2020 when it was passed as part of the National Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2021; however, after a long administrative rulemaking process, the Beneficial Ownership Information (“BOI”) reporting requirements have only recently been finalized and will first become effective on January 1, 2024 (the “Effective date”). 

The CTA was enacted in response to the vast and increasing use of corporate entities and shell-companies by bad actors
Continue Reading FinCEN Finalizes Beneficial Ownership Information Reporting Requirements

The U.S. 7th Circuit Court of Appeals recently considered (and rejected) a “campaign of harassment” theory from a sheriff candidate. This decision demonstrates that an employer’s actions, while individually not enough to prove that an employer’s actions were motivated by the employee’s speech, collectively were enough to demonstrate a successful claim for retaliation. 
Facts
Kevin Deeren was a Trempealeau County Deputy Sheriff who announced candidacy for Trempealeau County Sherriff in late 2017. Deeren had applied for employment with the
Continue Reading 7th Circuit Affirms Dismissal of First Amendment Retaliation From Sheriff Candidate

Wisconsin businesses should think twice before assuming that hiring independent contractors relieves them of the obligation to pay unemployment insurance taxes. Wisconsin law requires payment unless an employer can prove at least six elements of a nine-factor test. As Amazon learned recently, Wisconsin liberally construes its unemployment insurance statute with the goal that all workers, even those believed to be independent contractors, are covered by unemployment insurance.
When is a Driver Also an Employee?
In a recent case involving
Continue Reading Hire Independent Contractors, But You Might Still Owe Unemployment Insurance Tax

The National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) continues to move the needle on its interpretation of the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) in favor of unions. For example, in Memorandum GC 23-02 entitled “Electronic Monitoring and Algorithmic Management of Employees Interfering with the Exercise of Section 7 Rights,” General Counsel Abruzzo outlined a new framework for protecting employees from intrusive or abusive forms of electronic monitoring and automated management that may interfere with Section 7 activity.
What Does the Memo
Continue Reading Surveillance in the Workforce: An Update From the NLRB

“Hark! Is that the step of my first client that I hear approaching my door?”

Lavinia Goodell, July 14, 1874

Immediately after being admitted to practice law on June 17, 1874, Lavinia Goodell took steps to open a legal practice. She had hoped to join Pliny Norcross and A. A. Jackson in their practice, but while Norcross was willing to allow her to share their offices, Jackson was not, so Lavinia told her sister, “I shall have to
Continue Reading “Hark! Is that the step of my first client that I hear approaching my door?”

The recent shared revenue bill negotiated, passed, and signed by the Wisconsin State Legislature and Governor Evers made statutory changes to regulating nonmetallic quarry operations. These changes balance local authority and the need for construction materials (e.g., gravel, crushed stone, and sand) while ensuring safety and regulatory consistency.
Local Regulation
Local political subdivisions may still enact nonmetallic mining ordinances requiring a conditional use permit or a nonmetallic mining license. Any new regulation requiring such permit or license will not
Continue Reading New Law Addresses Nonmetallic Mining Regulations

The State Bar Nonresident Lawyers Division board met and celebrated Wisconsin at the Milwaukee Annual Conference. Visit the
photo albums on the State Bar’s Facebook page for more scenes from the conference. ​
June 19, 2023 – More than 500 people recently attended the State Bar of Wisconsin’s Annual Meeting and Conference (AMC) at the Pfister Hotel in Milwaukee, including around 400 members and a record-setting number of state and federal judges.From the opening plenary session on “cancel culture”
Continue Reading Tips and Takeaways from the 2023 Annual Meeting and Conference