Mandated sick-day ordinance receives temporary injunction in Milwaukee

Though Milwaukee residents voted in support of a mandatory sick-leave ordinance for city of Milwaukee employers, February’s injunction by Judge Thomas R. Cooper stops the ordinance from taking effect at least until May. Sixty nine percent of city voters supported the measure in the

Nov. 4, 2008 election, which made Milwaukee the third city in the country to pass such an ordinance. Private-sector employees would be required to offer between five and nine days of paid sick leave to all temporary, part-time and full-time workers, depending on the size of their respective companies and sick-leave time would be prorated and earned based on the number of hours worked.

The issue was brought to a vote in Milwaukee by 9to5, the National Association of Working Women, who spearheaded the drive to get the question put to ballot. This direct legislation bypassed the Milwaukee Common Council and Mayor Tom Barrett and resulted in a binding decision based on voter opinion.

The injunction was sought by the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. According to the MMAC, this order means that the new mandate will be blocked from taking effect until the court has had the opportunity to rule on MMAC’s complaint alleging that the new ordinance is not legal under Wisconsin law and must be overturned.

“This one-size-fits-all mandate is not only bad economic policy, it is also bad law,” says MMAC President Tim Sheehy. “We believe this measure interferes with employers’ rights to negotiate labor agreements with their employees and is an illegal extension of the city of Milwaukee’s authority into areas of law and regulation reserved to the state.”

A growing number of metropolitan Milwaukee communities have started proactively introducing ordinances to block similar efforts. Nearly a dozen Southeastern Wisconsin communities have placed the issue on their agendas during the past few months.

MOVERS

>> MSI General Corp. has hired George Lawrence as a project director within the sales department and William Demshar as a project estimator.

>> Mortenson Construction has added Kai Ellestad as an Integrated Construction Coordinator.

>> The Greater Brookfield Chamber of Commerce named Tom Krumenacher, patent attorney at Ryan, Kromholz & Manion, S.C., as Chairman of the Chamber’s Board of Directors. He succeeds Chad Schultz, president of Innovative Signs, Inc., as Chairman, who remains on the Chamber’s board as its past-Chairman.

>> DeWitt Ross & Stevens has added Marc J. Adesso as a paralegal to Sandy Swartzberg, attorney, and Kevin M. Scott as an attorney in its Litigation and Business practice groups. Shawn M. Govern was also added to its Litigation, Business and Real Estate groups. DeWitt Ross also added George D. Mistrioty to the Litigation, Business, Real Estate and Family Law groups, all in its Brookfield office. The national magazine Super Lawyers has selected Brian L. Anderson, Stephen A. DiTullio, and William E. McCardell for inclusion in the December issue of Super Lawyers, Corporate Counsel Edition, for Brian’s work in Employee Benefits, and Stephen and William’s work in Labor and Employment.  Only five percent of the lawyers in the state are named by Super Lawyers.

BUSINESS BRIEFS

BELGIUM: Mach One Corp. has agreed to acquire all of the outstanding shares of transaction with Ceres Organic Harvest Inc. Mach One, a provider of biological testing products for the agricultural and consumer markets, says the deal is subject to completion of due diligence, and approval by both firms’ boards of directors. Mach One announced earlier last month that it reached an agreement to buy Modular Process Constructors, LLC, a firm that supplies pharmaceutical firms with processing equipment, doing business as MPS BioPharm.

MILWAUKEE: Mason Wells Buyout Fund II has added medical and pharmaceutical packaging supplier, Tolas Healthcare Packaging, to its portfolio company, Oliver Medical LLC. Terms were not disclosed. >> Daniel E. Schley has opened Appraisal by Schley LLC, a full-service residential appraisal firm, to provide appraisals for Federal Housing Administration (FHA) loans. >> Columbia St. Mary’s and Froedtert & Community Health have deferred plans to form Progressive Health. The two will continue to collaborate on initiatives to improve the safety, quality and efficiency of healthcare. The medical groups cited the significant deterioration of economic conditions since partnership was announced last year.