Under 2023 Wisconsin Act 73 (“the Act”), Wisconsin brewers, vintners, and distillers will enjoy not only expanded authority to sell the alcohol beverages they produce but also unprecedented freedom to sell alcohol beverages produced by other firms. Most provisions of the Act take effect on May 1, 2024.

Producers of required minimum volumes of beer, wine, or spirits will be allowed to make sales of any producer’s beer, wine, or spirits on the premises of their production facility and, depending on production volume, at up to three off-premises full service retail outlets (“FSROs”). This is a significant change in state law as it allows producers’ tasting rooms and restaurants to offer a full selection of beer, wine, and spirits to guests visiting their local brewery, winery, or distillery.

To read the FULL article, please click HERE.

The Corporate Transparency Act “CTA” went into effect January 1, 2024 and requires most businesses to file a Beneficial Owner Report “BOI”. The Corporate Transparency Act “CTA” is mainly an anti-money laundering law. As of January 1, 2024 reporting companies created after January 1, 2024 will have have 90 days file a Beneficial Owner Report “BOI” with FinCEN. Reporting companies created before January 1, 2024 have until January 1, 2025 to comply and file a Beneficial Owner Report “BOI” with FinCEN. Please be advised it is your responsibility to comply with the required filings. Mawicke & Goisman, S.C. will not be responsible for any filings unless you contact us with regard thereto. Failure to comply could result in civil penalties of $500 per day the violation continues and criminal penalties of up to $10,000 and two years in prison.

To learn more or to find out if your business is a reporting company, Please click HERE.

One new significant employment law we saw come into play in 2023 at the federal level was the Pregnant Workers Fairness Act (“PWFA”). The PWFA went into effect on June 27, 2023, but the EEOC did not send its final rules to implement the PWFA to the necessary agency until December 27, 2023. At this time, we are still waiting for the final rules to be published, which will better define the contours of this new law.

To read the FULL article, Please click HERE.

Last week, the United States Supreme Court clarified employers may enforce mandatory arbitration agreements that contain waivers preventing employees from pursuing legal claims as a group. In light of this decision, employers should (re)evaluate whether it is in their best interest to use arbitration agreements with their employees. If so, employers must confirm the arbitration agreement is drafted to comply with specific obligations in order to be enforceable.

To read the FULL article, please click HERE.

All United States employers, regardless of size, must ensure proper completion of Form I-9 (“I-9”) for each individual they hire. The I-9 is used to verify the identity and employment authorization of individuals. Failing to complete an I-9, or completing a deficient I-9, can result in civil fines and/or criminal penalties.
The Immigration and Customs Enforcement (“ICE”) agency enforces U.S. immigration laws. ICE has set a goal to visit at least 5,000 U.S. workplaces in 2018 to conduct immigration inspections. The goal seems attainable because President Trump’s budget proposal included funding to allow ICE to hire over 2,000 additional officers, and earlier this year ICE raided over 120 businesses in just 5 days. ICE typically inspects a workplace in one of two ways: through an audit, or through a raid.

Please follow this link to read the full article April 2018 Employment Law Update

The National Labor Relations Act (the “Act”) is a Federal law that provides all employees with the right to engage in certain protected activities related to the terms and conditions of their employment. The National Labor Relations Board (“NLRB”), the administrative agency that enforces the Act, increasingly scrutinized employee handbooks during the past decade. Oftentimes, the NLRB found common and seemingly neutral policies were unlawful because those policies could be “reasonably construed” by employees to prohibit the exercise of the rights protected by the Act. Many employers responded by revising or removing such policies. The NLRB, however, recently adopted a new test that will likely allow employers more flexibility to maintain such policies.

Please follow this link to read the full article… Feb 2018 Employment Law Update

Under a newly enacted Wisconsin law, minors aged 16-17 are no longer required to obtain a work or street trade permit. In fact, the Department of Workforce Development (“DWD”) has stated it will no longer issue such permits to individuals who are 16 or 17 years old.

Read the full article HERE.

Employers may experience high absence rates this upcoming Friday February 17, 2017, because a national “General Strike Against Trump” is being arranged by a grassroots movement called “Strike4Democracy.” The strike (the first in a proposed series, the next of which is set for March 8) encourages individuals to participate in myriad methods, one of which is to miss work. Employers whose employees miss work to participate in this, or any other, “strike” should analyze the particular circumstances surrounding the absence before disciplining an employee. Otherwise, the employer may face an unfair labor practice charge.

Read the entire article HERE.

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) released its final rule updating the overtime exemptions for “white collar” positions under the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”). The new rule goes into effect on December 1, 2016 and will extend overtime pay protections to over 4 million workers within the first year of implementation. Under the new rule, employees still must satisfy a two-part test to be considered exempt: the duties test and the salary test. The new rule did not change the duties test. It did, however, change the salary thresholds for both standard exemptions and the highly compensated employee exemption.

Please read the full article HERE.

The Department of Labor (“DOL”) will release final rule later this year that will greatly reduce the number of employees who are exempt from the overtime requirements of the Fair Labor Standards Act (“FLSA”).

Please read the full article HERE