St. Croix County Circuit Court Judge R. Michael Waterman denied the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty’s (WILL) motion for an injunction in a lawsuit challenging Governor Tony Evers’s legal authority to issue multiple emergency declarations in response to COVID-19. WILL filed the lawsuit on August 25, and requested a temporary injunction on September 28, after Governor Evers extended his second emergency declaration, issued on July 30, to remain in effect until November 21.

WILL filed a motion for a temporary injunction on September 28, after Governor Evers declared a third COVID-19 emergency on September 22, in effect a continuation of the earlier emergencies. WILL participated in a hearing on the motion on October 5, and made the case that their clients deserved relief because allowing the emergency declarations to stand would allow one-person rule by the Governor for what could be a virtually unlimited amount of time whenever he deemed the circumstances continued to warrant it. WILL said the result would be the total breakdown of our constitutional order.

In response to the ruling, Governor Tony Evers said, “Today’s ruling is a victory in our fight against COVID-19 and our efforts to keep the people of Wisconsin safe and healthy during this unprecedented crisis. As the number of COVID-19 cases in Wisconsin reached 150,000 yesterday, we will continue doing everything we can to prevent the spread of this virus. We ask Wisconsinites to please stay home as much as possible, limit travel and going to public gatherings, and wear a mask whenever out and about.”

Senator Steve Nass (R-Whitewater), Co-chairman of the Joint Committee for the Review of Administrative Rules (JCRAR), announced the JCRAR voted today to invoke Wisconsin Statute 227.26 (2)(b) to require the Department of Health Services (DHS) to promulgate an emergency administrative rule relating to the limits on public gatherings. DHS must comply within 30-days of the joint committee's action or no later than November 11, 2020.

An emergency rule, under the statute, would be subject to the jurisdiction of JCRAR on its effective date. JCRAR has the power to suspend all provisions or parts of any emergency rule issued by a state agency.

"Today, I led an effort to reign in DHS Secretary-Designee Andrea Palm and her rogue state agency that continues to ignore state law and State Supreme Court rulings. JCRAR has invoked a state law that requires DHS to issue an emergency rule relating to limits on gatherings in Wisconsin," Nass said. "DHS now has 30-days to complete the promulgation process and issue an emergency rule no later than November 11, 2020. Our action today further erodes the ability of DHS to enforce its limits on gatherings under the whims of Evers and Palm. They need to comply with Wisconsin's Administrative Rules Law and act lawfully."

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation (WEDC) will provide a second round of We're All In Small Business Grants to distribute to an additional $50 million to small businesses hit hard by the shutdown of our state economy this spring.

According to WEDC, the first phase of the program provided more than $65 million in grants to over 26,000 businesses statewide this summer. The new round aims to provide grants of $5,000 each to 10,000 additional Wisconsin small businesses.

Applications for the grants will open at 8AM on Monday, October 19, and close at 11:59PM on Monday, November 2nd. As with the previous round of We're All In Grants, awards will not be made on a first-come, first-served basis.

Businesses that received funds under the first round of grants are also eligible for the second round of We're All In. Priority will be given to businesses that have not previously received funds from the first round, those with ethnically diverse ownership, and those in the hardest-hit sectors such as restaurants and taverns, hair and nail salons and barber shops, and other services.

Visit www.wptonline.org/covid19 to learn more and apply.

A federal court of appeals has halted a lower appeals court's decision that allowed a six-day extension to tally absentee ballots that may arrive after Election Day in November.

The court in a 2-1 ruling said that ballots will need to be returned to local election officials by 8PM on Election Day, and that the lower court's ruling came too close to the election itself. The Democrat National Committee, who filed the suit to expand the number of days ballots could be counted, could still appeal to the full 7th Circuit Court of Appeals, or to the Untied States Supreme Court.

"This ruling is a huge win for preserving the integrity of our election process in Wisconsin," Wisconsin Senate Majority Leader Scott Fitzgerald said. "Elections are decided on Election Day, period. Having ballots flow into clerk's offices all of the state for days following Election Day is a preposterous setup that would completely undermine confidence in our state's election process."

"Legislative Republicans have once again had to seek relief from the courts to stop the Democrats from exploiting Covid-19 for their own partisan purposes. This is the ninth time Legislative Republicans have successfully defended Wisconsin's existing election laws in the courts, including going all the way to both the Wisconsin and U.S. Supreme Courts. We are thankful for the favorable ruling today in federal court."

Governor Evers' office did not issue a statement in response to the court ruling.

The Wisconsin Economic Development Corporation CEO Missy Hughes today wrote a letter to Foxconn Technology Group, denying them billions of dollars in tax credits until both parties reach a new deal regarding their ongoing project in southeastern Wisconsin.

According to WEDC, Foxconn could also owe Wisconsin money for failing to meet the project thresholds, as per the protections afforded to the state in the contract, if a new agreement is not reached. The contract says that Foxconn must have 2,080 full-time jobs in Wisconsin and more than $3 billion in capital expenditures by the end of last year. So far, they have created over 800 jobs.

The letter can be viewed here.

The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) is encouraging Wisconsin employers to participate in Wisconsin's Work-Share Program to avoid worker layoffs.

The Work-Share Program, also called "short-term compensation" (STC), is designed to help both employers and employees. Instead of laying off workers, a participating employer can plan to reduce work hours across a work unit. Workers whose hours are uniformly reduced under an approved work-share plan receive unemployment benefits that are pro-rated for the partial work reduction. This allows everyone in the work unit maintain some income and their health benefits. By participating in the Work-Share Program, employers will be able to retain their trained staff during the times of reduced business activity.

Since March 15, DWD has approved 879 work-share plans covering nearly 33,000 participants.

Under the CARES Act, once an employer has an approved plan, the federal government will reimburse 100% of the unemployment benefits paid out from the employer's account through the Work-Share plan through the end of the year. The employer's future tax rates will not be impacted by Work-Share benefits paid to employees in the program during the effective duration of the CARES Act.

The COVID-19 relief bill that Gov. Tony Evers signed into law made several changes to expand access to the Work-Share Program that went into effect April 17. Employers and employees are encouraged to visit https://dwd.wisconsin.gov/uitax/workshare.htm to get the most up-to-date information regarding program requirements.

Governor Tony Evers granted nine more pardons last week. According to his office, the Governor's Pardon Advisory Board heard from applicants virtually on September 15, 2020. Applicants who the Board recommended for pardoned were forwarded to Gov. Evers for final consideration. To date, Evers has issued 74 pardons.

"I issued my first pardons one year ago and since, we have seen the positive impacts pardons have not just on individuals, but on all of our communities, as folks who have received pardons have pursued new careers and opportunities to serve their neighbors," Governor Evers said. "A pardon is a second chance for one individual that can have widespread positive impacts and I am glad to be pardoning these nine people today."

The pardoned individuals ranged in age from 31 to 74 years of age. You can view the list and their histories here.

Weekly Unemployment Insurance Claims:

Sunday, 2,648 (2020) vs. 471 (2019)

Monday, 5,682 (2020) vs. 1,013 (2019)

Tuesday 3,779 (2020) vs. 634 (2019)

Wednesday 3,189 (2020) vs. 530 (2019)

Thursday 2,601 (2020) vs. 507 (2019)

Friday 2,400 (2020) vs. 624 (2019)

Saturday 686 (2020) vs. 125 (2019)

Up-to-date information can be viewed by clicking here.