David Pryzbylski

Minnesota is the latest jurisdiction to enact a pay transparency law, joining other localities such as California, Colorado, Illinois, Maryland and Washington, D.C., New York, and Washington state that are taking steps to address pay disparity concerns. On May 17, 2024, Minnesota Gov. Walz signed the Omnibus Labor and Industry policy bill, including new job posting requirements. This law is in addition to existing Minnesota wage disclosure protections for employees. The new law takes effect Jan. 1, 2025. Read more in this #GTAlert written by Mikaela Shaw Masoudpour: https://buff.ly/3wRBtH3. #LaborAndEmployment

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What happens *after* probate in Wisconsin? ➡️ Probate is the legal process of distributing a person’s estate after their death. Wisconsin statutes define probate as “the court-supervised process for the orderly transfer of a decedent’s assets to those who are entitled to receive them.” If the person had a will, probate will establish that it is valid. If a will designates a personal representative or administrator, the court will generally appoint that person. If there is no named executor, the court will appoint one. Generally, the probate process takes six to 12 months to complete if there are no objections. ➡️ Wisconsin law requires probate anytime there is an estate with a value of $50,000 or more, and there is a will. The will has to be authenticated to ensure that it is authentic. The basic requirements for a will in Wisconsin are set forth by law. The law states that a will must be made in writing, signed by the person making the will (the testator), and signed by two witnesses. A will can be self-proved by affidavit, and it is automatically considered authentic, and the process will thus be simplified. ➡️ There are many tasks that the executor must complete as part of the probate process. They must determine and inventory assets, gather documents including the will, life insurance policies, deeds, and death certificate, identify beneficiaries, notify creditors, pay debts, manage finances, and work with the courts throughout the process. The law typically requires that the probate process is complete within 18 months. However, if there are complications, the court may allow an extension. An experienced probate attorney is helpful in assisting with probate in Wisconsin. ➡️ After the administrator identifies assets and pays debts and taxes, the remaining property and assets can be distributed to the heirs. The administrator must complete the probate process and make sure that the debts are paid. Once probate is complete, the executor closes the estate. There is a waiting period of time that must be observed after probate is complete before the property can be distributed. This provides time to allow creditors and heirs to review probate paperwork. In the event that additional assets are discovered, the administrator must notify the court. An heir may challenge the process if they believe mistakes were made. The heir must have grounds to challenge probate, such as they believe the administrator breached their fiduciary duty, documents were not valid, or documents were not properly interpreted. If there is a challenge, it can extend the time to distribute assets from the estate. Finally, the administrator can distribute the property and assets to the rightful heirs once probate is complete and there are no further objections. The probate process can be complex, so it may be helpful to seek legal guidance. To learn more, contact us at 📞 (608) 784-8310 or online to request a consultation.

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🚨Client Alert: Last week, a federal judge issued a nationwide injunction against parts of the U.S. Department of Labor’s 2023 #DavisBaconAct rule, finding it exceeded statutory authority. Eric Leonard, Lawrence "Larry" Prosen, and Brian Doll have the details; read more via the link in the comments. #governmentcontracts #DOL #legalnews #construction #laborlaws‍

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There have been significant changes to the Family Law Act 1975 impacting parenting matters. These modifications apply to ongoing cases in the Federal Circuit and Family Court and all new applications filed after May 6, 2024. Key Updates: Presumption of Equal Shared Responsibility Removed: Courts will no longer presume equal responsibility for long-term child decisions (education, religion, healthcare). The child's best interests will be determined first based on a new, streamlined list of factors. Parental responsibility and time allocation will then be decided. New Best Interest Factors: The Court will consider these factors when determining the child's best interests: • Child safety (including from family violence, abuse, neglect) • The child's views (including through an Independent Children's Lawyer) • The child's developmental, psychological, emotional, and cultural needs • Each parent's capacity to meet the child's needs • The benefit of maintaining relationships with parents and significant others (if safe) Any other relevant factors specific to the child's circumstances This is a significant change for families navigating separation. It's recommended to seek legal advice to understand how these changes might impact your specific situation. Contact Us Today! • Call us: 1300 245 299 • Visit our website: https://www.cjmlaw.com.au

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Consumers: Did you know? Rule 8.4.1. prohibits discrimination by attorneys & law firms. The #StateBarCA encourages anyone who has experienced such discrimination to file a complaint: https://bit.ly/3RqEsx6 Check you the video explainer: https://bit.ly/3Xmaq18

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Join Thompson Hine lawyers Nancy Barnes and Brittany Mallow for a webinar highlighting the recent EEOC release of the Pregnancy Workers Fairness Act (PWFA) final rule, which took effect on June 27, 2023. Learn about the new requirements for employers with 15 or more employees to make reasonable accommodations for pregnancy-related conditions. This presentation will also offer insights on the final rule and guidance for implementing the PWFA, which requires most employers to rethink their approaches to workplace protections. Additionally, this webinar will provide an update on the legal challenges the PWFA final rule is facing as the newly issued guidance comes under scrutiny and is quickly becoming a target of litigation. Discussion topics include: 🔹 Pregnancy Workers Fairness Act overview 🔹 Examination of the final rule and interpretative guidance 🔹 Analysis of pending litigation and its potential ramifications 🔹 Tips for managing accommodation requests, policy adjustments and documentation needs Register today ➡  https://lnkd.in/gFZS2aeK #PWFA #EEOC #LaborandEmploymentLaw #ThompsonHine

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ICYMI: For our most recent webinar, we focused on associate retention and invited Fiona Trevelyan Hornblower, Jennifer C. Mandery, and Skip Horne from The NALP Foundation for Law Career Research and Education to share findings from the organization's recently published "Stay Study," which had participation from 3,300 young lawyers. Access the full webinar here to hear their insights and perspectives: https://lnkd.in/eUAfysMP #LawFirms #MidLaw #ManagingPartners

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The U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued a final version of new guidance for employers clarifying its positions on the applications of federal laws prohibiting harassment and retaliation. The new guidance is the first update to the EEOC’s workplace harassment guidance since 1999 and incorporates several new developments in the law and modern workforces. Key to the new guidance is that it recognizes unlawful harassment against LGBTQ+ individuals and addresses workplace protections for “pregnancy, childbirth, or related medical conditions,” including “lactation.” The new guidance took immediate effect upon issuance. What Constitutes Harassment Under the New Guidance? The guidance provides 77 examples. The most notable stances include: ▶ Sex-based harassment includes harassment based on sexual identity and sexual orientation. Asking “intrusive questions about a person’s sexual orientation, gender identity, gender transition, or intimate body parts,” for example, can constitute harassment. Harassing conduct also includes “repeated and intentional” misgendering or denial of access to a bathroom consistent with an employee’s gender identity. ▶ Unlawful harassment based on pregnancy or childbirth may include issues such as lactation and decisions regarding contraception and abortion. Harassing conduct may include, for example, teasing comments about a man’s decision to get a vasectomy or conduct interfering with an employee’s use of a lactation room. ▶ Harassment based on “color,” an individual’s pigmentation, complexion, or skin tone, is prohibited under Title VII. ▶ Conduct over video meetings can contribute to a hostile work environment, including not only comments made during a video meeting but also offensive “imagery that is visible in an employee’s workspace while the employee participates in a video meeting.” ▶ Conduct on non-work-related platforms, such as social media accounts, may contribute to creating a hostile work environment, but are generally not enough, standing alone, particularly if they do not target the employer or specific employees. ▶ A hostile work environment may be established by a single incident of harassment, including the display of symbols of violence or hatred, use of denigrating animal imagery, and the use of racial epithets. ▶ Title VII prohibits “intraclass harassment,” meaning harassment based on a protected characteristic but conducted by a member of the same protected class. For example, a a female employee’s belittling comments to a female coworker for either having children. This conduct constitutes sex-based harassment even though all parties are women. Reference: Foley Hoag LLP. (2024, May). EEOC releases updated guidance on workplace harassment. https://lnkd.in/g-bbYtEb #DiversioDigest

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SWR has successfully defended class action matters in state and federal courts throughout the Midwest. Our attorneys understand the critical junctures in these cases and employ strategies to defeat class certification or otherwise dispose of claims at the outset. We use targeted discovery to highlight when a putative class does not meet the criteria for class certification. In other instances, we have invoked mandatory arbitration clauses to achieve early resolution of claims. In some cases, the best strategy may be to support class certification as a means to consolidate costly individual claims and limit exposure. SWR attorneys continually analyze the client’s objectives in order to achieve the most economical resolution possible, whether that be by pursuing early resolution, or by litigating aggressively through trial and on appeal. Learn more here https://lnkd.in/g4VJxtH5

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The journey from private practice to in-house was once a one-way ticket, but in the words of Kate Olgers GAICD - never say never. We've seen law firms recruiting general counsel to their partner ranks. Read her observations from Sydney below. https://bit.ly/3wjeunQ #mlaglobal #inhousecounsel #lawfirms

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Along with Sean Sullivan (University of Iowa), I wrote The Decline of Coordinated Effects Enforcement and How to Reverse It. It is our critique of how numerous antitrust administrations including the current one haven't really taken coordinated effects seriously and how we might reinvigorate coordinated effects merger enforcement. The final version is now published with the University of Florida - Fredric G. Levin College of Law Law Review. We want to thank the editors who did such a good job in getting us to the final version. USC Gould School of Law USC Marshall School of Business #antitrust #competitionlaw #uiowa #usc #uscmarshall #uf #uflaw #mergers #ftc #abaantitrust https://lnkd.in/gcjFd85S

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Production shutdowns for Stellantis, auto industry lay-offs in Michigan trending upward, first-quarter U.S. new EV sales rise 3.3% year-over-year, and more in the most recent Foley Automotive Update. #auto #EV #manufacturing

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Thompson Hine lawyers Nancy Barnes, Scott Young and Michael Myers authored an article titled “U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission Updates Workplace Harassment Enforcement Guidelines,” which has been published in the Employee Relations Law Journal. In this article, the authors review an update released recently by the U.S. Equal Employment Opportunity Commission to its enforcement guidance on workplace harassment. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gH3Myqbz #EmploymentLaw #EEOC #WorkplaceHarassment #ThompsonHine

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Big news from SCOTUS! My thoughts on MSLaw Blog:

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Interesting article by member Lee Hornberger.

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