Author: Geoffrey Lacy

Earlier this year, President Biden announced that he intended to direct the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to implement a rule to require that employers with more than 100 employees ensure that their employees are either vaccinated against COVID-19, or that unvaccinated employees provide a weekly negative test in order to continue to work….

Earlier this year, the Biden Administration rescinded a Trump-era regulatory initiative that would have modified the U.S. Department of Labor’s (DOL) criteria for evaluating whether an employer should classify an individual as an independent contractor or an employee.  The Trump Administration’s regulation was published January 7, 2021, and scheduled to take effect March 8, 2021….

Virtually every sector of the U.S. economy is currently struggling with a lack of qualified and willing individuals to fill vacant employment positions. Education is no exception to this reality. Wisconsin school districts report high levels of available positions in teaching and administration, while college and university education programs report low enrollment. As a result,…

The Wisconsin Supreme Court, in a 4-3 decision, invalidated Governor Evers’ public health emergency declarations on March 31, 2021. The Court’s decision in Fabick v. Evers, 2020AP1718-OA, March 31, 2021 declared a series of public health emergency declarations invalid. The case was originally brought to the Court challenging the validity of Governor Evers’ July 30,…

As is typical, a new Presidential administration signals a new ideological position with respect to, among other topics, the United States’ policies and priorities relative to the nation’s immigration system.  During President Trump’s presidency his administration sought to reverse course on much of the immigration policies initiated during President Obama’s Administration.  Now that President Biden…

The COVID-19 virus has continued to have a widespread impact. In light of that unfortunate reality, employers must carefully balance maintaining a workforce and minimizing the presence of the virus in their workplaces. Part of this process involves evaluating an employer’s obligations under the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) regarding reasonable accommodations for employees with…

Continuing concerns regarding COVID-19 have led Wisconsin’s public and private schools to implement a variety of different plans for the beginning of the new school year. These plans include in-person schooling five days per week to a fully virtual (remote) learning plan, or a hybrid approach combining in-person and remote learning approaches. Parents and their…

Federal immigration law requires that all employers in the United States verify both the identity and the employment authorization status of all employees hired after November 1986. This requirement applies to all new hires and, where necessary, requires re-verification of employment authorization in the case of expiring temporary employment authorization (in the case of individuals…

On May 19, 2020, in a previous article, we reported on the U.S. Federal Department of Education’s new Title IX regulations, which were released on May 6. 2020, and which impose formal requirements on the investigation process and complaint adjudication starting on August 14, 2020. In an effort to halt implementation of the new regulations, Wisconsin Attorney…

To say that this school year has presented educators with unique and complex challenges may be the understatement of the century. Governor Evers’ revised Safer at Home Order, including the school closure component, made official what most have expected would be the case – school is closed for the “remainder of the 2019-2020 school year”….