In light of the outcry over the Budget Repair Bill and the incredible closeness of the Supreme Court election, you would think Wisconsin Republicans would be trying to stay under the radar for a little while. You would be wrong. While the Fab 14 were representing their constituents by blocking passage of the union busting budget bill, the Republican Senators passed a bill to eliminate the sick pay referendum that passed in Milwaukee in November of 2008. More below the fold.
Word comes today that the Wisconsin Assembly will be voting on a bill to void a Milwaukee referendum requiring employers give sick pay to their employees. Seeing they have the majority, it will pass. A little background on the referendum:
The city's paid sick day ordinance would require large businesses to provide employees with up to nine sick days a year, while small businesses would have to provide up to five sick days.
Milwaukee voters approved the measure by referendum after 9to5, National Association of Working Women, got enough signatures to put the issue on the ballot. The ordinance received 69% of the vote.
Assembly expected to vote to void sick leave law
Yes, 69 percent of the voters voted for this bill in November of 2008. It has been held up in the courts since 2008 but the Supreme Court was deadlocked 3-3 meaning the appeals court decision upholding the referendum would be the likely final word.
The tie on the high court resulted after Justice Annette Ziegler recused herself.
Justices David Prosser, Patience Drake Roggensack and Michael Gableman voted to throw out the sick leave ordinance. Chief Justice Shirley Abrahamson, along with Justices Ann Walsh Bradley and N. Patrick Crooks, voted to keep it in place.
It certainly is no surprise to see Prosser on the list of those who voted against this referendum's legality. Fortunately, Justice Ziegler recused herself so the appeals court decision stood. So, if the will of the people and the courts aren't on your side, just ignore them! That seems to be the new Republican mantra.
Their are certainly arguments against this referendum. Companies can leave Milwaukee and go somewhere else to avoid paying the sick days. This goal would certainly be better achieved through a national law, which we all know is unlikely. But, if more and more cities pass laws similar to Milwaukee's, it could eventually put pressure on the federal government to act. with that said, even if you disagree with the referendum, it still passed with almost 70 percent of the vote. One could imagine the outcry if a Democratic legislature voided a referendum passed in a conservative county/city. Republicans seem to be for local control except when they they don't' like the outcome of the local laws.