POSTED: Thursday, March 24th, 2011 at 9:51 am

BY: WISCONSIN LAW JOURNAL STAFF

Wisconsin Court of Appeals
CIVIL PUBLISHED
Constitutional Law
Direct legislation

The City of Milwaukee ordinance providing paid sick leave for employees enacted pursuant to the direct legislation statute is valid.

“We disagree with the circuit court and conclude that the proponents of the ordinance, not MMAC, are entitled to summary judgment. Specifically, we hold:

I. The ballot did comply with the statutory requirement that it contain ‘a concise statement of [the ordinance's] nature’ under Wis. Stat. ß 9.20(6).

II. The ordinance as a whole and the specific challenged provisions do not violate substantive due process because there is a rational relationship to the City’s police powers.

III. The ordinance is not preempted by state statutes.

IV. The ordinance is not preempted by the National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) or the Labor Management Relations Act (LMRA).

V. The ordinance does not violate the state and federal constitutional prohibitions against impairment of contracts.

VI. The ordinance does not regulate activity outside the City limits.

VII. The two-year period under ß 9.20(8), during which the ordinance may not be repealed or amended except by a vote of the electors, excludes the time between the circuit court’s issuance of the temporary injunction and the vacation of the permanent injunction by the circuit court pursuant to this opinion.”

Reversed and Remanded.

Recommended for publication in the official reports.

2009AP1874-AC Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, Inc., v. City of Milwaukee
Dist. I, Milwaukee County, Cooper, J., Vergeront, J.
Attorneys: For Appellant: Quindel, Barbara Z., Milwaukee; Saks, Richard, Milwaukee; For Respondent: Beightol, Scott C., Milwaukee; Olson, Joseph Louis, Milwaukee

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