Business group plans to challenge sick leave rules

Listen to this article

As supporters of the Milwaukee sick leave referendum looked to sit down with businesses opponents to work out enforcement, businesses were thinking about lawsuits.

“Don’t despair yet,” said Steve Baas, government affairs director for the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce. “We’re going to take a real close look at any challenge that we can bring to this.”

Baas said the association would file a notice with the city stating its intent to give the sick leave rule a legal challenge, but would need board approval before actually filing a suit. If the chamber challenges the rule, Baas said they’d ask courts to delay enforcement of the rules until the legal questions are answered.

The referendum on the sick leave rules passed on a vote of 130,562 to 60,796. The binding referendum requires employees working in Milwaukee to receive up to one hour of paid sick leave for every 30 hours worked in Milwaukee. Employees of companies with fewer than 10 workers would get up to five sick days, and those working for larger companies would accrue up to nine days.

Sangita Nayak, 9to5 Milwaukee lead organizer, said her group wants to work with Mayor Tom Barrett, who opposed the referendum, and businesses to draft rules to implement the referendum. The goal would be to create an enforcement system that will be easy for businesses to comply with.

“There’s some things that have to be honored in that ordinance but, sure, in the technical rulemaking I hope the mayor’s office envisions it’s a smooth process,” Nayak said. “I’m hoping the mayor’s office is willing to sit down with groups that supported this as well as employers and make sure there is enforcement.”

First thing’s first, Baas said. The legal questions must be answered before there’s talk of enforcement.

“If this new ordinance is illegal, you are not improving an illegal law by rearranging the deck chairs on the illegal Titanic,” Baas said.

Even though the ordinance passed with ease, Baas said businesses have their right to consider a legal challenge.

“There have been many instances in the history of this country where laws that were hastily passed were thrown out in court,” he said. “The will of the majority doesn’t subvert the constitution.”