MADISON, Wis. — Gov. Scott Walker’s administration took steps Monday to adjust state workers’ paychecks to reflect a new collective-bargaining law, while the state Justice Department asked a court to agree the law was in effect and to stop cases related to blocking its implementation.
Meanwhile, the Wisconsin school-board association told districts to hold off on contract talks, given the uncertainty over whether the law that takes away nearly all public employees’ bargaining rights is in effect.
Republican lawmakers pushed through passage of the law this month. Opponents filed a series of lawsuits, and a hearing on one was March 22. The judge in that case had issued a restraining order barring Democratic Secretary of State Doug La Follette from publishing the law, typically the last step before it takes effect.
But the nonpartisan Legislative Reference Bureau posted the law on the Legislature’s website Friday. Republican Gov. Walker’s administration and the Justice Department, led by Republican Attorney General J.B. Van Hollen, said the posting put the law into effect Saturday. The Associated Press
