Labor & Employment Law Section | State Bar of Wisconsin

The Labor & Employment Law Section includes experienced and novice attorneys that regularly (or sometimes) practice in the arena of traditional labor and employment law. It includes all manner of workplace legal issues. The Section offers monthly CLE presentations on current issues in labor and employment law, has a listserv, plans social and networking events, and also organizes various labor and employment law programs with the State Bar of Wisconsin's PINNACLE Department.

The State Bar of Wisconsin offers its members the opportunity to network with other lawyers who share a common interest through its 24 sections. Learn more at http://www.wisbar.org/groups.

Website: https://www.wisbar.org/forMembers/Groups/Sections/LaborandEmploymentLawSection/Pages/Home.aspx
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Latest from Labor & Employment Law Section | State Bar of Wisconsin - Page 2

At the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, many employees around Wisconsin transitioned from a traditional office setting to working remotely from home. Since then, new questions have been raised by workers regarding which at-home injuries might be covered under the Worker’s Compensation Act.

The short answer is that most at-home injuries suffered in the course of an employee’s job duties are covered under the Worker’s Compensation Act. However, workers’ compensation insurers can be quick to deny at-home…
Continue Reading Worker’s Compensation in the Work-from-Home Era

This article was originally published in
Boardman Clark’s labor and employment blog, “Head’s Up,” and is published here with permission. The Wisconsin Fair Employment Act (WFEA) prohibits covered employers from discriminating against employees based on disability. Failing or refusing to reasonably accommodate an individual with a known disability is a form of disability discrimination. Disabilities are not always obvious, and it can be tricky to recognize when employees are making requests for accommodations. Employees are not required to use…
Continue Reading Court Clarifies When Employer Accommodation Obligation Occurs

For nearly 60 years, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 has firmly controlled and governed claims of workplace discrimination for millions of Americans. The formula is quite simple:

  • an employee has an adverse action taken against them;
  • because of their race, sex, religion, color, or national origin (protected category or class);1
  • resulting in damages.

    • The easiest case to make is one that is straightforward, when a single individual has a single protected characteristic that the…
    Continue Reading Workplace Discrimination: When Two or More Protected Classes are Involved

    As of July 31, 2023, the COVID-19 temporary flexibilities for Form I-9, Employment Eligibility Verification, no longer apply. U. S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) announced that employers must complete in-person physical document inspections for employees whose documents were inspected remotely during the temporary flexibilities by Aug. 30, 2023. Employers who previously utilized the flexibility provisions to conduct remote I-9 document review must now plan to verify, in person, the identity and employment eligibility documentation for those employees.

    Samantha Bethel


    Samantha

    …
    Continue Reading Employers: Form I-9 COVID Flexibilities Have Ended

    This article was originally published in
    Husch Blackwell’s Labor Relations Law Insider blog and is published here with permission. On May 1, 2023, the National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”) issued its decision in
    Lion Elastomers and United Steelworkers, making it more difficult for employers to discipline employees for outbursts and similar misconduct while employees are engaged in protected concerted activity under Section 7 of the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”). The NLRB in Lion Elastomers overruled the…
    Continue Reading NLRB Provides Employees Extra Leeway to Use Offensive Language

    This article was originally published in Husch Blackwell’s News and Insights blog and is published here with permission.

    Many companies have invested in and prioritized diversity, equity, inclusion, and accessibility (DEIA) initiatives over the past several years. And for good reason: DEIA initiatives have been proven to improve employee recruitment, retention, and morale, and to help mitigate risks associated with potential disparate treatment and discrimination claims by employees.

    Melissa Caulum Williams headshot Melissa Caulum Williams, U.W. 2007, is senior counsel with Husch

    …
    Continue Reading Best Practices for Navigating Legal & Political Guardrails Impacting Employer DEIA Efforts

    It is no secret that Jennifer Abruzzo, general counsel for the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB), has embarked on an aggressive, pro-labor agenda.1

    Among other things, she is looking for ways to streamline the organizing process for unions. With this in mind, G.C. Abruzzo has expressed her desire for the NLRB to revive what is known as the “Joy Silk doctrine.”2
    Context for the Joy Silk Doctrine
    At the outset, it is important to keep in mind…
    Continue Reading The Revival of Joy Silk: How Union Organizing Could Get Easier

    On Jan. 5, 2023, the Federal Trade Commission (FTC) released a
    Notice of Proposed Rulemaking (NPRM) to prohibit employers from entering or attempting to enter, maintaining, and/or representing to a worker that the worker is subject to, a non-compete agreement.1 The proposed rule is based on the FTC’s preliminary finding that non-compete agreements constitute an unfair method of competition and therefore violate section five of the Federal Trade Commission Act (FTCA). Section 5 gives the FTC broad authority…
    Continue Reading FTC’S Proposed Rule Seeks to Eliminate Non-Compete Agreements Nationwide

    This article was originally published in
    Husch Blackwell’s News and Insights blog and is published here with the author’s permission. Blog has been edited for publication on WisBar, with author approval. ​ Five years after the beginning of the #MeToo movement, sexual assault and harassment in the workplace remain an issue. According to the
    National Sexual Violence Resource Center, 81% of women and 43% of men report they have experienced some form of sexual harassment or assault in…
    Continue Reading The Speak Out Act and its Potential Impact on Employers

    Restrictive covenant law has changed dramatically within the last couple of years. A Wisconsin Court of Appeals’ decision in Diamond Assets, LLC v. Godina is the latest development in the state’s restrictive covenant laws.

    In Diamond Assets, the court’s decision provides three takeaways:

    • procedural guidance on motions to dismiss as they relate to restrictive covenants;
    • insight into whether employees can be restricted from soliciting prospective clients; and
    • guidance on the scope of information that may be lawfully restricted by

    …
    Continue Reading Diamond Assets: New Ground in Wisconsin’s Noncompete Law

    As the composition of the National Labor Relations Board (NLRB) changes from administration to administration, so do labor law standards, policies, and enforcement priorities of the board. With jurisdiction over virtually every private sector employer – small, mid-size, large, non-profit, etc. – the board’s movements have profound consequences for employers, employees, and organized labor. And even for public sector employers – which are not covered by the NLRA – the NLRB’s pronouncements are highly influential. In short, when it…
    Continue Reading National Labor Relations Board Changes: A 2022 Retrospective

    This article was originally published in Husch Blackwell’s Labor and Employment Law Insights blog and is published here with the author’s permission.

    While diversity, equity, and inclusion have slowly made their way to the forefront of many employers’ minds, two dimensions of diversity are often overlooked in these discussions –neurodiversity and ability diversity. More than 1 billion people, 15% of the global population, live with a disability. Thus, employers must ensure that neurodiversity and employees and applicants with…
    Continue Reading Creating Inclusive Workplaces for Neurodivergent and Employees with Disabilities

    Please note that any opinions expressed are those of the author alone and do not represent any position of the State Bar of Wisconsin or any State Bar section.

    Employers and employees all over Wisconsin are scrambling to determine the extent that lack of in-state access to legal abortions will impact the post-Dobbs1workplace.

    At first blush, the difference between obtaining an out-of-state abortion and obtaining a formerly-legal, in-state abortion may not seem stark. In either instance, a…
    Continue Reading The Post-Dobbs Workplace: How Wisconsin’s Lack of Abortion Access Impacts Employment

    ​

    Unemployment rates are down – way down. In April 2020, Wisconsin’s unemployment rate was 14.1%1 and the U.S. unemployment rate was 14.7%.2 In May 2022, Wisconsin’s rate was 2.8%, a record low, while the U.S. unemployment rate was 3.6%.3

    The Department of Workforce Development’s processing of unemployment claims today shows vast improvement as well. A year ago, it was not uncommon for the average amount of days between an appeal of an adjudicator’s determination to…
    Continue Reading Unemployment Update: The Pandemic and Beyond

    Many individuals are familiar with online video games, such as FIFA, Minecraft, Fortnite, and Last of Us that permit players to play and communicate with others online while seated at their Xbox or PlayStation consoles.

    Augmented Realty (AR) games, such as Pokémon-GO, superimpose a digital setting into the players’ own real environment, thereby incorporating virtual components into the real world and increasing the level of physical activity.

    With the advent of virtual reality (VR) games, increasing numbers of players…
    Continue Reading ‘That’s So Meta:’ Workplace Harassment Issues in a Virtual World

    Regardless of whether one identifies as pro-labor, pro-management, or somewhere in between, most would agree that the National Labor Relations Board is a political animal. Board doctrine often shifts to reflect the philosophy and goals of the political party in power at the time. Critics of the board accuse it of “flip-flopping.” Others more graciously refer to this phenomenon as “policy oscillation.” Policy oscillation is in full swing at the board. A Change of Leadership, A Change of Focus…
    Continue Reading ‘Policy Oscillation’ in Full Swing at the National Labor Relations Board