Parts of Act 10 still on hold, appeals court rules
Ben Barth
Here is the latest information we have regarding ACT 10. LAW continues to monitor this issue and will update everyone when more details are released. As always, if you have any questions, please contact our Germantown office.
Courtesy of JS Online
The state Court of Appeals on Tuesday kept in place - at least for now - a lower court's ruling that found parts of Gov. Scott Walker's union law was unconstitutional.
The ruling means that for now portions of the law cannot be enforced. The law, which prompted massive protests in early 2011 at the state Capitol, all but eliminated collective bargaining for most public employees.
The court's ruling comes in the early stages of the appeal, and the three judges could reach the opposite conclusion later.
The court has not yet addressed who is subject to the lower court's decision, which has prompted disagreements between local governments and unions. Some argue the original decision applies only to workers from Dane County and Milwaukee who challenged the law, while others say the original ruling applies to all local government and school district employees.
Those who appealed the decision asked the Court of Appeals to stay the original ruling for a number of reasons, including that it had caused confusion for local officials who did not know if the law, known as Act 10, would ultimately be upheld or struck down by higher courts. The court of appeals was not persuaded by that argument.
"It appears to us that the sort of confusion the appellants highlight is not a product of the circuit court's decision, but rather a product of ground-breaking legislation that is now subject to constitutional challenges," the unanimous court wrote. " . . . It appears that the potential for litigation on this topic will not be lessened until the merits of the constitutional issues are finally resolved by action of our supreme court."