Wisconsin Set to Pass Enhanced Employment Discrimination Law

WISCTV.com is reporting that the State of Wisconsin is close to passing a bill that would permit compensatory and punitive damages for violations of the Wisconsin’s state employment discrimination law:

A bill designed to stiffen penalties for employer discrimination passed the state Assembly on Wednesday, [April 29th].

The bill requires companies that discriminate against their workers to pay compensatory and punitive damages. This is a step above the current law, which lets the state order companies to rehire workers and pay back pay, along with attorney fees. This bill applies to employers who discriminate based on race, gender and other factors.

Democratic supporters say this bill punishes discrimination, while Republican critics say it will increase lawsuits and hurt businesses.The bill now goes to Gov. Jim Doyle for his signature as both the state Senate and Assembly have both approved it.

Actually, this amendment to the Wisconsin law is consistent with what happened to federal Title VII law after passage of the Civil Rights Act of 1991 (CRA of 1991). 

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Wisconsin Supreme Court Accepts Five New Cases for Review, Including Challenge to a Prison Discliplinary Action

Supreme Court sealThe Wisconsin Supreme Court has accepted five new cases for review, including a case that will focus on the fairness of prison disciplinary proceedings following a prison riot.

In Brunton v. Nuvell Credit Corp., the court will determine whether a defendant waived a challenge to improper venue under Wisconsin Statute section 421.401, the venue provision of the Wisconsin Consumer Act.  The plaintiff in the action admits that the case was brought in an improper venue (Dane County), but section 421.401 contemplates that a defendant may “appear[] and waive[] the improper venue.”   The defendant did appear, and litigated the case for over a year before filing its motion for summary judgment on jurisdictional grounds due to the improper venue.  The plaintiff argues that the defendant’s appearance and litigation activity constituted a waiver of the venue challenge.  The court will determine whether a waiver did take place within the meaning of section 421.401.

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Wisconsin Court Affirms Arbitration Award of Reinstatement

In a very interesting decision by the Wisconsin Court of Appeals last week, the Court upheld an arbitration award against the large household goods store Menard’s for employment discrimination against, wait for it, its own in-house lawyer.  As reported in the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel,

Menard Inc. must reinstate a woman it fired as vice president and general counsel over a pay dispute, 3rd District judges for the state Court of Appeals said in a decision released Tuesday.

Dawn M. Sands filed a lawsuit in Eau Claire County citing the Equal Pay Act, Title VII of the Civil Rights Act and the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act. She claimed gender-based pay discrimination, asserting that similarly situated male employees were paid more.

A three-person arbitration panel found in her favor and awarded compensatory and punitive damages. The panel also ordered Menard to reinstate Sands with a specific salary and bonus. Menard balked and asked the appellate court to overturn an order by Eau Claire Circuit Judge Paul J. Lenz that had upheld the arbitration panel.

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