Wisconsin Supreme Court strikes down “Safer-at-Home”

May. 2020

On May 13, 2020, in a 4-3 decision, the Wisconsin Supreme Court ruled Wednesday afternoon that DHS Secretary-Designee Andrea Palm’s Emergency Order 28 was “unlawful, invalid, and unenforceable”.

The ruling is effective immediately, and essentially forces the Legislature, the Governor, and health experts to come together and form a new plan or forge ahead with no plan at all.

The Republican led Legislature had ask for a six-day stay of the order after the ruling to allow for negotiations, but the Court would not allow it.  Instead, the Court said, “responsibility for the future-law making is with the Legislature and DHS where it belongs”.

Additionally, local government leaders have the ability to put local rules in place, specifically addressing the needs of their communities.  As of this morning, May 14, 2020, the Cities of Milwaukee and Racine and Milwaukee County already issued their own orders.  We expect other localities to do the same.

We will continue to follow this decision and update the blog with developments, along with their impact on businesses statewide.