Source: http://www.lwm-info.org/619/Employees
Timestamp: 2019-04-25 07:52:01+00:00

Document:
263R1. Discusses Wisconsin Fair Employment Act limitations on use of arrest and conviction records in employment and alcohol licensing decisions. 11/30/04.
272R1. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exempts employees of recreational establishments, such as municipal swimming pools, golf courses and beaches, that are open less than eight months a year from federal overtime and minimum wage requirements. 29 U.S.C. Sec. 213(a)(3). Such employees are also exempt from state overtime provisions. Wis. Adm. Code DWD sec. 274.08(2). However, such employees are not exempt from state minimum wage laws. 5/31/02.
272R2. The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) exempts employees of recreational establishments, such as municipal swimming pools, golf courses and beaches, that are open no more than seven months a year or that qualify under a seasonal receipts exemption from federal overtime and minimum wage requirements. 29 U.S.C. Sec. 213(a)(3). With the exception of 16- and 17-year olds, such employees are also exempt from state overtime provisions. Wis. Adm. Code DWD sec. 274.08(2). However, such employees are not exempt from state minimum wage laws. 2/27/10.
286. Reviews state law prohibiting trespass of lands, sec. 943.13, Stats., and its applicability to municipal employees and officials who need to enter private property for the purpose of performing their official duties. 6/30/97.
287. Summarizes Wisconsin's New Hire Reporting Program which requires municipal employers to report specific information regarding all newly hired employees to the Department of Workforce Development. (3/31/98).
288. Employers are not required to provide employees with health insurance but if it is provided, insurance must be provided to all eligible employees. The law defines an "eligible employee" as "an employe who works on a permanent basis and has a normal work week of 30 or more hours." Section 632.745(1)(a), Stats. (3/31/98).
289. Discusses when on-call time is considered compensable under the Fair Labor Standards Act and summarizes the leading cases of Theune v. City of Sheboygan, 67 Wis.2d 33, 226 N.W.2d 396 (1975) and Armour & Co. v. Wantock, 323 U.S. 126 (1944). 6/9/98.
290. Reviews two U.S. Supreme Court cases involving employer liability for sexual harassment. The Court held that employers are subject to vicarious liability to a victimized employee for an actionable hostile environment created by a supervisor with authority over the employee. When no tangible employment action is taken (the employee is not demoted, fired, etc.), the employer may affirmatively defend by proving that (a) the employer exercised reasonable care to prevent and correct promptly any sexually harassing behavior, and (b) the employee unreasonably failed to take advantage of any preventive or corrective opportunities provided by the employer or to avoid harm otherwise. Faragher v. City of Boca Raton (Fla.), 66 U.S.L.W. 4643 (U.S. June 26, 1998) and Burlington Industries v. Ellerth, 66 U.S.L.W. 4634 (U.S. June 26, 1998). 6/30/98.
292. Reviews a recent unpublished court of appeals decision upholding the City of Racine's residency ordinance along with other cases upholding municipal residency requirements. Peterson v. City of Racine Police and Fire Commission, No. 98-0094 (Wis. Ct. App. Jan. 13, 1999). 1/29/99.
293. Municipal retirees who are covered at the time of retirement by collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) which provide for municipal payment of retirees' insurance benefits have no vested right in those benefits continuing when the CBA expires unless the agreement or some other provision indicates that the retirees' rights in having the benefits continue are vested. Roth v. City of Glendale, Case No. 97-3467 (Ct. App. Feb. 23, 1999); recommended for publication. 2/28/99.
294. The federal Family Medical Leave Act (FMLA) applies to all local governments regardless of the number of employees employed. However, an employee is eligible for leave under the federal FMLA only if he or she is employed at a worksite where 50 or more employees are employed by the municipality within 75 miles of that worksite. Therefore, municipalities with less than 50 employees need not grant leave to their employees under the federal FMLA. The Wisconsin FMLA applies only to municipalities and other employers employing at least 50 individuals on a permanent basis. 8/18/99.
295. Municipalities and other public employers may unilaterally require employees to use accumulated compensatory time (comp time) at the employer's convenience. Christensen v. Harris County, No. 98-1167, 2000 WL 504578 (U. S. May 1, 2000). 4/28/00.
296. There is a presumption that municipal retirees who are covered at retirement by collective bargaining agreements (CBAs) providing that the municipality will pay for the retirees' insurance benefits, have a vested right in those benefits continuing, in the absence of contractual language or extrinsic evidence indicating otherwise. Roth v. City of Glendale, 2000 WI 100, reversing 224 Wis.2d 800, 593 N.W.2d 62 (Ct. App. 1999). 7/31/00.
297. Employees of amusement or recreational establishments, including municipally operated golf courses, swimming pools, beaches, summer camps, skating rinks and zoos, are exempt from the minimum wage and overtime pay requirements of the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) if the establishment is not open for more than seven months in a calendar year or its average receipts during any six months of the preceding calendar year do not exceed one-third of its average receipts for the other six months of the year. 29 U.S.C. Sec. 213(a)(3). 8/31/00.
299. Comprehensive overview of the Americans with Disabilities Act's reasonable accommodation requirement. 9/30/00.
300. The FLSA and Wisconsin law permit public employers to use compensatory time off in lieu of overtime when it is provided for under a collective bargaining agreement, employment agreement or memorandum of understanding. If a local government's practice prior to April 15, 1986, was to pay existing employees comp time, that practice suffices as an "understanding" permitting the use of compensatory time for those employees. A public employer may require, as a condition of employment, that an employee accept comp time in lieu of overtime but the agreement must be arrived at before the employee begins work. 1/31/01.
301. Summarizes the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA), 38 U.S.C. Sec. 4301-4333, and Wis. Stats. sec. 45.50, which guarantee members of the uniformed services who leave municipal employment for a period of military service certain rights with regard to reemployment and benefits. 9/30/01.
302. Drug testing constitutes a search under the Fourth Amendment and must be reasonable. Suspicionless drug testing is only considered reasonable when the government can demonstrate "special governmental needs, beyond the normal needs for law enforcement, and those needs outweigh the privacy expectations of individuals subject to the search and it would be impractical to require a warrant or some level of individualized suspicion in the particular context." Discusses National Treasury Employees Union v. Von Raab, 489 U.S. 656 (1989), Skinner v. Railway Labor Executives, 489 U.S. 602 (1989), Vernonia School Dist. v. Acton, 515 U.S.646 (1995) and Chandler v. Miller, 520 U.S. 305 (1997). 11/30/01.
303. Explains pros and cons of adopting employee handbook and personnel policies and offers suggestions regarding what provisions municipal employers might want to include in a personnel handbook as well as sample language. Discusses employment-at-will and how to avoid unintentionally altering employment-at-will relationship. 3/31/02.
304. Firefighters who work uneven number of hours per week but are required to work set number of hours per pay period do not work a "fluctuating workweek" within the meaning of the Fair Labor Standards Act and a municipality must pay overtime at rate of time and one-half for such employees and agreement between municipality and firefighter's union that required full reimbursement of paramedic training costs if firefighter left employment within three years of training is valid under Wisconsin law. Heder v. City of Two Rivers, No. 01-4118 (7th Cir. Jul. 10, 2002). 8/31/02.
305. Discusses employee benefits in general, with emphasis on health insurance and health insurance continuation requirements under COBRA and state law, cafeteria plans, paid and unpaid time off, and participation in the Wisconsin Retirement System. (Marion C. Smith). 8/31/02.
306. Reviews the final regulations from the U.S. Department of Labor, termed the "FairPay Rules," which affect what are commonly referred to as the white collar exemptions from overtime for executive, professional and administrative employees under the Fair Labor Standard Act. The comment summarizes the new minimum salary requirements and the new tests for determining whether employees are exempt under the executive, administrative or professional exemptions as well as the new exemptions for certain computer employees and highly compensated employees performing administrative, professional or executive duties. Also summarizes new provisions which give employers more flexibility in imposing unpaid disciplinary suspensions on exempt employees and offer employers that are trying to comply with the new regulations a "safe harbor." 7/30/04.
307. City did not violate police officer's constitutional rights by terminating his employment after officer sold videotapes of himself engaged in sexually explicit conduct. Officer's expression, although unrelated to his employment, was contrary to police department's regulations and harmful to the functioning of the police force and did not qualify as a matter of public concern meriting application of the balancing test set forth in Pickering v. Board of Ed. of Township High School Dist. 205, Will Cty., 391 U.S. 563 (1968) and further explained in Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138 (1983). City of San Diego v. Roe, 543 U.S. ___ (per curiam, Dec. 6, 2004) rev'g 356 F.3d 1108 (9th Cir. 2004). 12/10/04.
308. Effective June 1, 2005 Wisconsin's minimum adult wage increases to $5.70 per hour, and the minimum wage rate for minors and opportunity employees increases to $5.30 per hour. 7/29/05.
310. Legal comment reviews status of volunteers under Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and advises municipalities to ensure that any payments to individuals volunteering their services to the municipality do not convert the volunteers to "employees" who are subject to the Fair Labor Standard Act's (FLSA's) minimum wage and overtime provisions. Volunteers are individuals who perform hours of service for a public agency for civic, charitable, or humanitarian reasons, without promise, expectation or receipt of compensation for services rendered and who offer their services freely and without pressure or coercion from an employer. An individual employed by a public agency cannot volunteer to perform the same type of services for that agency that he or she performs as part of employment. Volunteers cannot receive compensation for their services, but may be paid expenses, reasonable benefits, a nominal fee or any combination thereof. 1/31/07.
311. Volunteer firefighters cannot receive compensation for their services but can be paid expenses, reasonable benefits, or a nominal fee or any combination thereof without being converted to "employees" who are subject to the Fair Labor Standard Act's (FLSA's) minimum wage and overtime provisions. Legal comment reviews status of volunteers under FLSA and Department of Labor (DOL) Wage and Hour Letter stating that DOL will presume a fee is nominal as long as the fee does not exceed twenty percent (20%) of what the public agency would otherwise pay to hire a full-time person to perform the same services. 1/31/07.
312. Wisconsin Administrative Code sec. DWD 270.11(1)(c), which establishes an overtime pay requirement for 16 and 17 year-olds, is applicable to publicly-employed 16 and 17 year-olds and such public employees are entitled to overtime pay irrespective of the amusement and recreational establishment overtime exemptions established by Wis. Admin. Code sec. DWD 274.04 and the federal Fair Labor Standards Act. 5/30/07.
313. Comment reviews development and current status of primary legal standards that control analysis of First Amendment free speech protection for public employees through discussion of Pickering v. Board of Education, 391 U.S. 563 (1968), Connick v. Myers, 461 U.S. 138 (1983), Garcetti v. Ceballos, 126 S. Ct. 1951 (2006) and other significant court decisions. Comment updates Employees 256A. 9/28/07.
314. Summarizes the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (USERRA), 38 U.S.C. secs. 4301-4334, and Wis. Stat. sec. 21.79, which guarantee members of the uniformed services who leave municipal employment for a period of military service certain rights with regard to reemployment and benefits. Updates Employees 301. 12/7/07.
315. The class-of-one theory of equal protection recognized in Village of Willowbrook v. Olech, 528 U.S. 562 (2000), does not apply in the public employment context in light of the unique considerations applicable when the government acts as employer as opposed to sovereign. Engquist v. Oregon Dept. of Agriculture, 2008 WL 2329768 (June 9, 2008). 6/30/08.
316. Legal comment explains factors used to determine whether a worker is an independent contractor or an employee and the potential penalties an employer faces for misclassifying a worker that is legally an employee as an independent contractor. Diane M Juffras. 10/31/08.
317. Article discusses constitutional implications that may arise when a municipal employer seeks access to employee phones and other communication devices provided by the municipality and encourages municipalities to create policies to govern employee expectations of privacy in e-mail and other communications on employer-owned devices and to preserve the municipality's ability to monitor electronic communications. (Article by Leader and Marino and reprinted from Jan/Feb 2009 Municipal Attorney.) 11/30/09.
318. The First Amendment Establishment Clause prohibition on government promotion of or affiliation with any religious doctrine or organization is violated when the government compels its employees to attend meetings where a religious organization engages in religious proselytizing. Milwaukee Deputy Sheriff's Association v. David A. Clarke, Case No. 08-1515 (7th Cir. Dec. 4, 2009). 12/30/09.
319. Discusses issues raised by employees' use of electronic media such as blogs, or social media like Facebook, Twitter and MySpace during both work and personal time and the potential for intersection of the two. Suggests the need for employers to draft a "social media" policy to lay some ground rules . (Donna Eich Brooks) 1/1/10.
320. Government employer audit of law enforcement employee text messages on pager provided by employer to employee did not violate employee's Fourth Amendment rights where, assuming but not deciding that the employee had a reasonable expectation of privacy, employer audit was "justified at its inception" by legitimate non-investigatory work purpose and reasonable in scope given limited manner of conducting audit that avoided over-intrusiveness and that such employee has diminished expectation of privacy in on-duty communications due to reasonable expectation of ongoing legal scrutiny and employer's policy that pager communication would be subject to employer audit. Ontario v. Quon, No. 08-1332 (U.S. Jun. 17, 2010). 6/30/10.
321. Note reviews SCR 23.01 and SCR 23.02, the new Wisconsin Supreme Court rules which define the practice of law and regulate the unauthorized practice of law by nonlawyers and highlights exceptions to unauthorized practice of law rules of interest to municipal officers, employees and consultants. 12/31/10.
322. Firefighter employee injured during a basketball game while on duty and while being paid, suffers compensable injury under the Wisconsin Workers Compensation Law. City of Kenosha v. Labor and Industry Review Commission, Appeal No. 2010AP883 (Ct. App. Mar. 16, 2011) (recommended for publication). 3/31/11.
323. Legal comment reviews 2011 Wisconsin Act 10 (Budget Repair Bill) requirement that municipal employers create civil service system or grievance procedure that addresses employee discipline, employee termination and workplace safety. Written by Nancy Pirkey. 5/31/11.
324. Describes collective bargaining law changes made by 2011 Act 32, including 1) repeal of provisions allowing police officers and fire fighters access to arbitration as an alternative to the statutory disciplinary process involving the police and fire commission; and 2) making the design and choice of health insurance plans by the municipal employer for public safety employees a prohibited subject of bargaining. Also describes modifications made by 2011 Act 32 to 2011 Act 10. 6/30/11.
325. Municipal employers can prohibit employees licensed or authorized to carry concealed weapons from carrying concealed weapons or certain types of concealed weapons during employment but may not prohibit those licensed or authorized to carry concealed weapons from carrying or storing a weapon or certain weapons or ammunition in the licensee’s own motor vehicle, regardless of whether the motor vehicle is used in the course of employment or driven or parked on property used by the employer. 8/31/11.
326. A divided WERC held that a police association’s attempt to bargain over a health insurance plan’s deductibles was prohibited by Wis. Stat. sec. 111.70(4)(mc)6 which prohibits bargaining over “the design and selection of health care coverage plans” and the impact of such design and selection on employee wages, hours and conditions of employment. WPPA & Eau Claire County, Dec. No. 22662 (WERC, 2/12). 2/29/12.
327. Differential collective bargaining rights of general public employees and public safety employees under Act 10 are rationally related to legitimate government interest in preventing strikes by essential public safety employees and do not violate the Equal Protection Clause of the U.S. Constitution. W.E.A.C. et. al v. Scott Walker et. al, Case No. 11-cv-528 (W.D. Wis. Mar 30, 2012). 3/31/12.
328. State law that imposes unprecedented majority of entire membership recertification vote requirement for general public employee unions but does not require the same of public safety employee unions is not rationally related to legitimate government interest and violates the Equal Protection Clause and may violate the First Amendment of U.S. Constitution. W.E.A.C. et. al v. Scott Walker et. al, Case No. 11-cv-528 (W.D. Wis. Mar 30, 2012). 3/31/12.
329. State law prohibiting all union dues collection by public employers for general public employee unions but does not impose same limitation on public safety employee union dues collection violates the Equal Protection Clause and First Amendment of the U.S. Constitution. W.E.A.C. et. al v. Scott Walker et. al, Case No. 11-cv-528 (W.D. Wis. Mar 30, 2012). 3/31/12.
330. Legal comment summarizes Wisconsin’s Worker’s Compensation Act, codified in Chapter 102 of the Wisconsin Statutes. (Attorney Charles Palmer, Michael Best.) 6/30/12.
331. Explains how municipal employers can ensure that volunteer emergency medical technicians and firefighters will not be subject to the state and federal minimum wage laws when responding to calls or during on-call time. 9/30/12.
332. A public school’s reputation, adherence to district policies, and finances are matters within a school principal’s oversight and when a principal reports on these matters she speaks about matters that directly affect her area of responsibility, which means such speech is made as a public employee rather than private citizen and, therefore, is not shielded by the First Amendment from the school district’s negative response. McCardle v. Peoria School Dist. 150, ___ F.3d ___ (7th Cir. Jan 31, 2013). 2/28/13.
333. Legal comment summarizes factors used to determine whether someone working for local government is properly classified as employee or independent contractor and explains that misclassification can result in substantial headaches and penalties. 3/31/13.
334. Legal comment summarizes key provisions of the Affordable Care Act (ACA), including the Play or Pay penalty provisions which were postponed until 2015, and explains the methods for calculating whether the municipality employs enough people to be covered and, if so, which employees must be offered coverage under the law. Comment also summarizes ACA obligations that affect all employers regardless of size. (Attorney JoAnn Hart). 7/31/13.
335. Legal comment by Attorney Glorily Lopez, Murphy Desmond, explains details for complying with the Immigration Reform and Control Act of 1986’s requirement that all U.S. employers, including local governments, follow specific guidelines to verify the identities and employment eligibility of workers including completing Form I-9 Employment Eligibility Verification for every new hire. Comment reviews I-9 government audits, and penalties for I-9 non-compliance as well as defenses to I-9 non-compliance. 9/1/13.
336. Anti-Defamation League article summarizes requirements of Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964 which prohibits employers from discriminating against individuals because of their religion in hiring, firing and other terms and conditions of employment, and requires employers to reasonably accommodate the religious practices of employees or prospective employees unless to do so would create an undue hardship upon the employer. 9/30/13.
337. Second part of two-part legal comment by Attorney JoAnn Hart on the Affordable Care Act (ACA) focuses on methods by which municipal employers covered by the Employer Shared Responsibility provisions, also known as the Play or Pay penalties, can determine which employees must be offered coverage in order to avoid penalties. Comment summarizes an option called the “look-back” method which allows large employers to use an averaging method and treat employees as covered or not covered based on the results of the averaging for a set period of time. Comment also briefly reviews ACA provisions that affect all employers regardless of size. 12/1/13.
338. County’s grievance procedure, which defined employee termination as including “action taken by the employer to terminate an individual’s employment for disciplinary or quality of performance reasons” but excluded termination of employment due to lack of qualification from its grievance procedure, conflicted with the plain language of sec. 66.0509(1m) which requires local governments to establish grievance procedures that address employee terminations. Dodge County Professional Employees Local 1323-A, AFSCME, AFL-CIO and Burden v. Dodge County, 2013AP35 (Ct. App. Dec. 5, 2013) (publication recommended) Petition for Review filed. 12/31/13.
339. Wis. Stat. sec. 111.70(4)(mc)6., which prohibits bargaining regarding the “design and selection” of health care coverage plans for public safety employees, and the “impact” of the “design and selection” of such plans “on wages, hours and conditions of employment” does not prohibit bargaining for public safety employees on the subject of the allocation of responsibility between employees and employers to pay deductibles required under a health coverage plan. Wisconsin Professional Police Association v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, 2013 WI App 145. 12/31/13.
340. Legal comment by Amanda Kellar, IMLA Associate Counsel, covers interviewing dos and don’ts, providing employers with guidance regarding appropriate and inappropriate questions when interviewing prospective employees. 1/31/14.
341. 2013 Wis. Act 20 amended Wis. Stat. sec. 111.70(4)(mc)6. to prohibit municipal employers from collective bargaining with public safety employees regarding the costs and payments associated with health care coverage plans and the impact of such costs and payments, which supercedes the court of appeals decision in Wisconsin Professional Police Association v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission, 2013 WI App 145, __ Wis. 2d __, __ N. W. 2d __. 03/01/14.
342. Article by Neil Bomberg, NLC, summarizes U.S. Department of Treasury’s final employer mandate rules issued on 2/12/14 governing large employers under the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The rules extended the time for complying with the shared responsibility provisions until January 1, 2016 and, more importantly, clarified provisions that go into effect January 1, 2015 pertaining to, among other things, seasonal employees and volunteer first responders. 03/01/14.
343. Viewed individually or collectively, Act 10’s provisions imposing collective bargaining limitations, prohibiting payroll deductions of labor organization dues, prohibiting fair share agreements, and imposing annual recertification requirements do not violate employees’ constitutional rights to association. Collective bargaining is “a creation of legislative grace and not constitutional obligation.” The restrictions attached to the statutory scheme of collective bargaining are “irrelevant in regards to freedom of association because no condition is being placed on the decision to participate. If a general employee participates in collective bargaining under Act 10’s statutory framework, that general employee has not relinquished a constitutional right. They have only acquired a benefit to which they were never constitutionally entitled. The First Amendment cannot be used as a vehicle to expand the parameters of a benefit that it does not itself protect.” Thus, Wis. Stat. secs. 111.70(4)(mb), 66.0506, 118.245, 111.70(1)(f), 111.70(3g), 111.70(4)(d)3 and the third sentence of sec. 111.70(2) do not violate employees’ associational rights. Madison Teachers, Inc. v. Walker, 2014 WI 99, ___ Wis.2d ___, 851 N.W.2d 337.
344. Equal protection challenges based on Act 10’s disparate treatment of employees are reviewed using rational basis because public employees are not a protected class and no fundamental constitutional rights are implicated. Under a rational basis review, the court will uphold a legislative act if it furthers a legitimate interest and if the challenged classification is rationally related to achieving the interest. Act 10’s classification schemes rationally advances the legislative purpose of improving Wisconsin’s fiscal health through enhanced control over public expenditures and prohibition on deducting labor organization dues from paychecks of general employees could be founded on the rational belief that labor organizations are costly for the State and imposing a burden that affects the influence of labor organizations over general employees furthers the state’s legitimate interests in curtailing costs where possible. Madison Teachers, Inc. v. Walker, 2014 WI 99, ___ Wis.2d ___, 851 N.W.2d 337.
345. Legal comment updates status of protective service and transit employees collective bargaining in Wisconsin post-2011 Wis. Act 32. Changes Act 32 included defining “public safety employee” and “transit employee,” establishing a new “greater weight” factor that interest arbitrators must consider and account for in decisions, requiring public safety employees hired after July 1, 2011 to pay same percentage share for WRS contribution as general employees, and restricting the scope of collective bargaining regarding health insurance. (Attorneys Kyle Gulya and James Korom). 12/31/14.
346. Legal comment updates status of 2011 Wis. Act 10’s creation of sec. 66.0509(1m) which required municipalities without a civil service system to adopt a grievance policy for terminations, discipline or workplace safety with an impartial hearing procedure. (Attorney Steve Zach). 12/31/14.
348. Summarizes UW Department of Labor's Final Rule to update the Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) regulations governing the application of minimum wage and overtime pay requirements to executive, administrative, and professional employees (commonly referred to as the "white collar" worker or EAP exemptions). The Final Rule updates the salary and compensation levels needed for white collar workers to be exempt and establishes a mechanism for automatically updating the salary level. Changes take effect December 1, 2016.
349. Guest legal comment by Doug Witte, Boardman & Clark, provides overview of FLSA white collar or EAP (executive, administrative, and professional) exemptions and changes made to salary basis effective December 1, 2016, and suggests different options for employers if they determine that an employee who was exempt under the former regulations now may be non-exempt under the new regulations. 8/30/16.
employees at will and may be terminated by the employer with or without cause and with or without notice.

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