Calculating accurate wages and hours for employees remains a persistent risk area for Wisconsin employers, particularly those operating in construction and other job site–driven industries. While many employers understand the basic requirement to pay hourly employees for time worked, less obvious issues, such as travel time, pre- and post-shift activities, and overtime calculations, often create significant exposure. Missteps in these areas can quickly lead to costly claims, audits, or class-based litigation.
Overtime: the Baseline Obligation
Under Wisconsin law, most
Continue Reading Wage & Hour Traps on Wisconsin Construction Sites: Travel Time, Prep Time, and Misclassifications of the Workforce
Axley Attorneys Blogs
Latest from Axley Attorneys
High Conflict Divorce – The Costs, Challenges, and Options
Divorce is rarely an easy or straightforward process. Emotions often run high as families navigate significant changes involving finances, parenting, and the future. While some level of conflict is expected, prolonged and intense disputes can create consequences that extend far beyond the courtroom.
When thinking about the cost of divorce, people often focus on the most obvious and immediate expense: attorney fees. However, the hidden costs of a high-conflict divorce can be far greater, affecting mental and emotional well-being,
Continue Reading High Conflict Divorce – The Costs, Challenges, and Options
What Are Riparian Rights and Why Are They Important? (2026 Update)
Summer is in full swing across Wisconsin. Lakefront and riverfront property owners have their piers in, boats are on the water, and families are making the most of the season. It is also the time of year when disputes between neighbors begin to surface, most often over where a pier may be placed, and how each owner is permitted to access the water.
While the basic concept of riparian rights has not changed, recent developments make one thing increasingly
Continue Reading What Are Riparian Rights and Why Are They Important? (2026 Update)
Severance Agreements: Parting Ways Without Parting Claims
Employers who terminate an employee or mutually agree with an employee to part ways, may elect to, negotiate, or be obligated by an existing employment agreement to enter into a severance agreement with the departing employee. A severance agreement is an arm’s length agreement between an employer and departing employee that serves many purposes and is highly customizable, depending upon various factors (role of employee, employment status, reason for termination, length of employment, whether employer has a severance policy
Continue Reading Severance Agreements: Parting Ways Without Parting Claims
Wisconsin Supreme Court Restores Balance in Landmark Koble Housing Case
For a brief period in Wisconsin, owning rental housing carried significant legal risk. After the Court of Appeals decision in Koble Investments v. Marquardt, litigation spread across the state. In more than 60 cases, tenants invoked Koble, and class actions followed. What began as a single appellate decision quickly became a statewide liability issue for landlords.
The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s reversal did more than correct an error. It halted a cascade that was already affecting the housing market.
Continue Reading Wisconsin Supreme Court Restores Balance in Landmark Koble Housing Case
I Want to Start a Small Business in Wisconsin — Now What?
Deciding to start a small business is exciting, energizing, and often a little overwhelming. Whether you are turning a side hustle into something more, launching a long‑planned venture, or buying into an existing operation, this step is more than a career move: it is an investment of your time, money, and future. Many new business owners find themselves asking: “Do I really need a lawyer to get started?” While you are the expert on your idea and industry, experienced
Continue Reading I Want to Start a Small Business in Wisconsin — Now What?
Deed Theft in Wisconsin: What Property Owners Need to Know
In 2025, the FBI received more than 12,000 complaints of real estate fraud, resulting in over $275 million in losses. Wisconsin property owners are not immune, as industry professionals have reported a sharp increase in seller impersonation fraud. The consequences of deed theft are dire and can take months or years to unravel.
While deed theft has existed for decades, advances in technology, remote closings, online public records, and identity theft have made these schemes easier to execute and
Continue Reading Deed Theft in Wisconsin: What Property Owners Need to Know
ATVs & UTVs in Wisconsin: Considerations for Municipalities
The registration of all-terrain vehicles (“ATV”) and utility terrain vehicles (“UTV”) in Wisconsin has steadily increased in recent years. A comprehensive study conducted by Daniel Lee Consulting LLC indicated that among Wisconsin residents, nearly 380,000 ATV/UTV registrations were issued in 2023 alone. This figure included only recreational licenses/registrations (not commercial), further illustrating the continued growth in recreational ATV/UTV use. These recreational vehicles are being used more and more on Wisconsin’s trails and roads. Being educated about the law that
Continue Reading ATVs & UTVs in Wisconsin: Considerations for Municipalities
Wisconsin Court of Appeals Confirms Courts May Issue Temporary Injunctions Pending Arbitration
The Wisconsin Court of Appeals recently addressed a question of first impression concerning the scope of a circuit court’s authority when a dispute is subject to mandatory arbitration. In Herbal Aspect LLC v. Gish, the court held that a circuit court retains authority to consider and grant a temporary injunction to preserve the status quo, even after determining that the merits of the dispute must be resolved through arbitration.
The underlying dispute arose out of competing claims over ownership
Continue Reading Wisconsin Court of Appeals Confirms Courts May Issue Temporary Injunctions Pending Arbitration
Artificial Intelligence in Hiring: Innovation Meets Legal Risk
The use of artificial intelligence in the hiring process promises a level of efficiency that would have been impossible just a few years ago. Employers can now deploy artificial intelligence tools that parse through applications almost instantly, score candidates on a 1–5 scale with accompanying reasoning, automatically sort applicants into pools, and even scan LinkedIn and other social media profiles to supplement evaluations. Some software claims to reduce screening time by as much as 75%. Yet this technological leap
Continue Reading Artificial Intelligence in Hiring: Innovation Meets Legal Risk
Will the New NLRB Sever from Severance Agreement Precedents on Gag Clauses?
On December 28, 2025, the U.S. Senate confirmed President Donald Trump’s two nominees to the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), as well as his NLRB general counsel pick, restoring a quorum with a 2-to-1 Republican-to-Democrat balance on the 5-member NLRB, with the remaining 2 board spots vacant. Now that the NLRB can get to work for the first time since January 2025, and with a Republican majority for the first time since 2021, is it just a matter of
Continue Reading Will the New NLRB Sever from Severance Agreement Precedents on Gag Clauses?
Fairness is Personal: Estate Planning Lessons for Families with Unequal Assets
One of the most common issues that arises in estate and succession planning has little to do with taxes, documents, or legal mechanics. It’s family dynamics.
Parents often come into the process with the goal of being fair. But fairness is rarely as simple as dividing everything equally. When clients ask whether I think their plan is fair, I’m candid: my personal view doesn’t matter. What I can offer is perspective into how other families in similar situations typically
Continue Reading Fairness is Personal: Estate Planning Lessons for Families with Unequal Assets
Employer Options When FMLA Documentation Is Missing
If an employee takes sick leave but hasn’t completed and returned an FMLA form, can the employer lawfully terminate employment?
The Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) applies to all local, state, federal, and private sector employers who employ 50 or more employees for at least 20 workweeks in the current or proceeding calendar year. An employee is eligible for FMLA leave if they are employed by a covered employer, have completed at least 1,250 hours of work in the
Continue Reading Employer Options When FMLA Documentation Is Missing
Wisconsin’s 120-Hour Rule, Survivorship Marital Property, and Blended Families
When families blend through second marriages, later-in-life relationships, or remarriage after divorce, estate planning becomes more complex, and more important. This is especially true when one or both spouses have children from prior relationships.
A recent Wisconsin Court of Appeals decision, Sterling L. North v. Estate of William James North II, 2024AP1908 (Wis. Ct. App. Dec. 30, 2025) shows how a lack of planning can result in an unintended division of property between the spouses’ children, particularly when
Continue Reading Wisconsin’s 120-Hour Rule, Survivorship Marital Property, and Blended Families
Workers’ Comp Pay for Follow-Up Appointments: Employer Guide
Aside from initial treatment, does workers’ compensation cover nonexempt employees’ time off to attend follow-up appointments related to their injury?
Short answer: Missed work time may qualify for temporary disability or partial wage‑replacement benefits when the appointment is injury‑related and cannot reasonably be scheduled outside working hours.
By way of brief background, workers’ compensation is a no-fault insurance benefit that provides two core benefits for employees injured on the job: (1) medical care reasonably necessary to treat the injury;
Continue Reading Workers’ Comp Pay for Follow-Up Appointments: Employer Guide
WARN Act Notice Requirements for Seasonal Employers
When an employer transitions to a seasonal operation, questions often arise regarding the applicability of the Worker Adjustment and Retraining Notification Act (WARN Act) and whether such a change triggers the Act’s notice requirements. Understanding the WARN Act, including how it applies specifically to seasonal employment, is essential for employers to ensure compliance and safeguard employees’ rights.
What is the WARN Act?
The WARN Act requires certain employers to provide at least 60 calendar days’ advance written notice of
Continue Reading WARN Act Notice Requirements for Seasonal Employers