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LABOR & EMPLOYMENT LAW — 02/23/10

Milwaukee paid sick leave case referred to state supreme court

On February 18, 2010, the Wisconsin Court of Appeals asked the Wisconsin Supreme Court to take up the constitutionality of Milwaukee’s paid sick leave mandate.

In June 2009, Milwaukee County Circuit Court Judge Thomas Cooper ruled that the city’s paid sick leave ordinance, which provided up to nine paid sick days per year based on the number of hours worked and the size of the business, was “invalidly enacted and unconstitutional.” (Metropolitan Milwaukee Assoc of Comm v City of Milwaukee, Milwaukee County Circuit Court, No 08cv018220, June 12, 2009). 9to5, the National Association of Working Women, appealed Cooper’s ruling. The supreme court has been asked to decide whether the ballot question put before the voters of the City of Milwaukee complied with the statutory requirement that it contain “a concise statement of [the ordinance’s] nature” - whether voters were informed of the contents of the ordinance.

Milwaukee Circuit Court Judge Thomas Cooper declared the ordinance “invalidly enacted and unconstitutional.” While the court did not find the ordinance improperly enacted under state and federal preemption grounds, it determined that the ordinance’s reach “exceed[ed] its grasp,” as it was improperly enacted under Wisconsin’s Direct Legislation statute. The ballot question for the ordinance failed the statute’s requirement that it have “a concise statement of its nature” because of how it defined “employers within the city” and “sick leave.” The court also held that the ordinance’s provisions regarding relocation due to domestic or sexual violence or stalking and taking legal action to such matters were unconstitutional, as an invalid exercise of the city’s police powers.

Nearly 70 percent of who voters approved the referendum for paid sick leave in the November 2008 election.

For more information on this and other topics, consult CCH Employment Practices Guide or CCH Labor Relations.

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