Opinion ID: 1862119
Heading Depth: 2
Heading Rank: 1

Heading: general principles of federal pre-emption

Text: ¶ 13. According to the Supremacy Clause of the U.S. Constitution, federal law shall be the supreme law of the land. U.S. Const. art. VI, cl. 2. Federal law may pre-empt state law in one of three ways: (1) expressly, (2) by implication, or (3) by a direct conflict between federal and state law. Miller Brewing Co., 210 Wis. 2d at 34; see also New York State Conference of Blue Cross & Blue Shield Plans v. Travelers Ins. Co., 514 U.S. 645, 654 (1995). Despite the Supremacy Clause and the varied types of pre-emption, the starting point for determining whether a state law is preempted is a presumption against pre-emption. Miller Brewing Co., 210 Wis. 2d at 35. [W]e have never assumed lightly that Congress has derogated state regulation, but instead have addressed claims of preemption with the starting presumption that Congress does not intend to supplant state law. Travelers, 514 U.S. at 654. ¶ 14. Where federal law would bar a state action in an area which the state traditionally regulates within the historic police powersthe presumption against pre-emption must be overcome by showing that it is the clear and manifest purpose of Congress that federal law supersedes state law. California Div. of Labor Standards Enforcement v. Dillingham Constr. N.A., Inc., 519 U.S. 316, 325 (1997) (quoting Travelers, 514 U.S. at 655); Gorton v. American Cyanamid Co., 194 Wis. 2d 203, 215-16, 533 N.W.2d 746 (1995), cert. denied, 576 U.S. 1067 (1996); Miller Brewing Co., 210 Wis. 2d at 35. [10] The historic police powers of the State include labor standards, as well as matters of health and safety. Miller Brewing Co., 210 Wis. 2d at 35-36; see also De Buono v. NYSAILA Med. and Clinical Serv. Fund, 520 U.S. 806, 814 (1997) (citing Hillsborough County v. Automated Med. Lab., Inc., 471 U.S. 707, 715 (1985)). Such matters are clearly implicated by the provisions of the Wisconsin FMLA at issue here. ¶ 15. The burden of establishing pre-emption rests with the party seeking the benefit of pre-emption. Miller Brewing Co., 210 Wis. 2d at 35; De Buono, 520 U.S. at 814. That burden is a considerable one, which requires overcoming `the starting presumption that Congress does not intend to supplant state law.' De Buono, 520 U.S. at 814 (quoting Travelers, 514 U.S. at 654). Since pre-emption turns on congressional intent, we look first to the text of ERISA. [W]e begin as we do in any exercise of statutory construction with the text of the provision in question, and move on, as need be, to the structure and purpose of the Act in which it occurs. Travelers, 514 U.S. at 655 (citations omitted); McDonough v. Department of Workforce Dev., 227 Wis. 2d 271, 277, 595 N.W.2d 686 (1999).