Milwaukee Employment Law Blog

A Wisconsin woman who worked as an administrative assistant played by the rules of the Family and Medical Leave Act ("FMLA"). She notified her employer that after her one-year anniversary at the firm that would make her FMLA eligible, she would have surgery to repair an old Achilles injury. Unfortunately, her employer tried to skirt the rules by informing her that she would instead be placed on unpaid medical leave. 

The employee tried to make the best of the situation. She spoke to the company's HR coordinator who assured her that if she moved the surgery up to a date before she became FMLA eligible, she'd be granted leave regardless and her job would be held for her. Despite the assurances, when push came to shove, the woman was denied leave and someone else was hired to take her position.

Days ago, Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker was narrowly defeated in a bruising bid for re-election. But the two-term governor's battles are not over, as a former state employee alleges in a filed lawsuit that she was wrongfully terminated in retaliation for speaking out against sexual harassment.

The former state Department of Children and Families civil service employee and current Milwaukee County Board supervisor also claims she was fired for refusing to provide false data and for speaking out against a Walker political ally.

The federal government has vast resources, but detecting fraud in programs and contracts is no easy task in the normal course of business. The False Claims Act (which was initially enacted during the President Lincoln years) allows private individuals to file a lawsuit on behalf of the government to expose fraud and recover unlawfully obtained taxpayer money. Whistleblowers receive a percentage of any verdict or settlement that arises from the lawsuit.

Businesses in a wide variety of industries engage in transactions that are tied to government contracts or government programs. The housing market is a vital part of the American dream. Most people in Wisconsin are aware of the meltdown in the housing market in 2008. The Federal Housing Administration backs many mortgage loans across the nation - that backing is funded through taxpayer dollars. Fraud in the mortgage industry harms homeowners and taxpayers alike.

When someone is in a serious accident and needs to be flown to a Milwaukee hospital by air ambulance, it's likely that one of the last things on their mind is whether the aircraft is sound or not. But medical aircraft are like all other planes and helicopters: they need to be regularly maintained and inspected to ensure safety.

Yet an Alaska company eager to hide safety issues with its aircraft fired a pilot who reported the problems to the Federal Aviation Administration. A federal judge recently awarded the Anchorage man about $750,000 in his employment law claim.