Wisconsin Mandatory Meeting Statute Held Preempted by Federal Labor Law

MADISON, Wis.—A Wisconsin law prohibiting employers from requiring employees to attend meetings designed to communicate the employer’s opinion on “religious matters or political matters” will not be enforced, the U.S. District Court for the Eastern District of Wisconsin held Nov. 15 (Metropolitan Ass’n of Commerce v. Doyle).

The law was enacted last May (91 DLR A-3, 5/13/10).

On introducing the measure (S.B. 585) March 16, Sen. Spencer Coggs (D-Milwaukee) said the measure “was drafted to prevent employers from taking punitive action against employees who did not want to attend mandatory meetings that were designed to discourage ...