Skip to main content

(414) 276-2850

Business Law Blog

Archive of: Human Resources

DOL ISSUES NEW OVERTIME RULE

Posted by Attorney David McClurg in Employer-Employee Relationship, Human Resources, Labor Relations / Comments

On March 7th, 2019, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) unveiled a long-awaited replacement to an Obama era rule (blocked by a federal court in November, 2016) that would have increased the salary level required for exemption from federal overtime regulations from $455/week ($23,660/year) to $913/week (over $47,000/year), and added over 4 million U.S. workers to the ranks of those eligible for overtime pay. Under the proposed replacement rule, the ...

Read More

Supreme Court Holds that an Employer’s Actual Knowledge of Link Between an Employee’s Disability and Misconduct Resulting in Termination is Required to Prove Disability Discrimination

Posted by Attorney David McClurg in Employer-Employee Relationship, Human Resources, Labor Relations / Comments

An employer can be held liable under the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act if it takes an adverse action (including termination or other disciplinary action) against an employee “because of" the employee's disability. One of the most vexing problems for employers arises when, after terminating an employee for misconduct or rule violations, the employee claims that the conduct leading to the discipline was “caused by" their underlying disability. This has been ...

Read More

The NLRB Returns Some Sanity to the Evaluation of Workplace Policies

Posted by Attorney David McClurg in Employer-Employee Relationship, Human Resources, Labor Relations / Comments

Under President Obama, the National Labor Relations Board issued a series of decisions finding a range of workplace policies to be unlawful because employees might “reasonably construe" the rules to restrict rights protected under the National Labor Relations Act (the “Act"). Rules found to “violate" the Act included rules requiring “civility" and restricting the use of recording devices in the workplace, prohibitions against defamation and many more.A “newly constituted" NLRB ...

Read More

Supreme Court Upholds Class Action Waivers in Employment Arbitration Agreements

Posted by Attorney David McClurg in Employer-Employee Relationship, Human Resources, Labor Relations / Comments

The major employment-related news this month was the U.S. Supreme Court's decision, in a case one involving Wisconsin-based Epic Systems, that class action waivers included in arbitration agreements relating to employment disputes are enforceable. The Court has, based on the provisions of the Federal Arbitration Act, consistently upheld the validity of arbitration agreements in a variety of contexts over many decades. However, the National Labor Relations Board and several federal ...

Read More

Court Decision Casts Doubt on Use of Incentives to Encourage Participation in Wellness Programs

Posted by Attorney David McClurg in Human Resources, Labor Relations / Comments

The use of biometric testing and health risk assessments in connection with wellness programs arguably violates the ADA's restriction on employment related medical examinations unless the inquiry is “job-related and consistent with business necessity." However, the Act allows such examinations and the collection of medical information as part of an “employee health program" as long as the employee's participation in the program is “voluntary" – a term the Act leaves ...

Read More

Appellate Court Restricts Wisconsin's "Substantial Fault" Disqualification Standard for Unemployment Benefits

Posted by Attorney David McClurg in Human Resources, Unemployment Law, Unemployment Disqualification Standards / Comments

The Wisconsin Court of Appeals recently narrowed the scope of the "substantial fault" disqualification standard, added to Wisconsin's Unemployment Act in 2013, by broadly interpreting the exceptions to that standard.

Read More

STATE BUDGET BILL SUBSTANTIALLY CHANGES WISCONSIN’S UNEMPLOYMENT LAWS

Posted by Attorney David McClurg in Human Resources, Business Management / Comments

The 2013-2015 biennial budget bill, recently enacted as 2013 Wisconsin Act 20, included many significant changes to Wisconsin’s unemployment insurance (“UI”) law. Although some of these changes took effect immediately after the effective date of the Act 20 (such as increasing work search requirements from 2 to 4 contacts per week) most will first apply to unemployment determinations issued or appealed on or after Jan. 5, 2014.  Several of the ...

Read More

In its First Ruling on a Social Media Policy, the NLRB Rules a Portion of Costco’s Policy Unlawful

Posted by Attorney Roger L. Pettit in Human Resources, Technology / Comments

On September 7th the NLRB, in Costco Wholesale Corporation and United Food and Commercial Workers Union, Local 371, Case 34–CA–012421, upheld the administrative judge’s ruling that some of Costco’s employee handbook policies violated Section 8(a)(1) of the National Labor Relations Act (“Act”) but disagreed with the judge that Costco's social media policy was lawful.Among the rules the NLRB, in agreement with the judge, found unlawful were the following:(a) “unauthorized posting, ...

Read More

FMLA Update: 7th Circuit Rules in Favor of Employee, By Barbara Halpin

Posted by Attorney Roger L. Pettit in Employer-Employee Relationship, Human Resources / Comments

On August 9th, the 7th Circuit in Pagel v. TIN, Inc. overturned the district court’s granting of summary judgment for an employer in an FMLA leave case which now enables the employee to take it to trial.  The Plaintiff, Pagel, claimed that his employer violated the FMLA by interfering with his right to take leave under the Act and then retaliated against him for taking the leave.Pagel, a salesman for ...

Read More

7th Circuit Affirms Jury's Verdict that School District Violated the ADA by Failing to Accommodate Seasonal Affective Disorder, by Barbara Halpin

Posted by Attorney Roger L. Pettit in Human Resources / Comments

The 7th Circuit recently affirmed a jury's decision that a Wisconsin school district violated the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) for not accommodating a teacher's seasonal affective disorder.The teacher, Renae Ekstrand, sued the Somerset Wisconsin school district for failing to accommodate her disability.  Initially, the jury held in favor of Ekstrand and subsequently the district moved for judgment as a matter of law challenging the sufficiency of the evidence.  The district court denied the district’s ...

Read More