Judge strikes parts of Act 10

A Dane County Judge on Monday ruled to strike multiple parts of Wisconsin’s controversial 2011 Act 10 legislation, restoring collective bargaining rights for some public-sector employees. Judge Jacob Frost wrote in an initial decision this July that parts of the law were unconstitutional, specifically the portions prohibiting unions representing general employees, but not public safety employees, from collectively bargaining for any benefits outside of raises that would be capped to inflation. In his ruling Monday, Frost wrote that because those parts of the law are unconstitutional then they must be stricken. Additionally, he wrote that he could not strike the definition of “public safety employee” while leaving the rest of the law in place. Additionally, Frost ruled to strike down portions of Act 55 that pertain to the difference between general employees and public safety employee groups laid out in Act 10. Passed under then Gov. Scott Walker, Act 10 was meant to stabilize Wisconsin’s budget in the early 2010’s. It led to massive protests at the State Capitol.