A Wisconsin appeals court on Wednesday overturned a lower court ruling that had struck down key provisions of Act 10, the 2011 law that sharply limited collective bargaining rights for most public employees, keeping the long-standing reforms in place for now.
The three-judge panel from the Court of Appeals District II ruled 2-1 that Dane County Circuit Judge Jacob Frost had “no legal basis” to declare the law unconstitutional. The decision reverses Frost’s December 2024 order, which found that Act 10 violated the state constitution’s equal protection clause by exempting certain public safety workers, including many police and firefighters, from the restrictions applied to teachers and other general public employees.
The lower court ruling had been stayed pending appeal, so Act 10 has remained in effect. Unions that brought the challenge are expected to seek review from the Wisconsin Supreme Court, which has held a liberal majority since 2023.
Act 10, enacted under former Republican Gov. Scott Walker, limited most public-sector bargaining primarily to base wages capped at the rate of inflation, required higher employee contributions toward health insurance and pensions, and imposed annual union recertification votes. Supporters have long credited the law with giving local governments and school districts greater flexibility to control costs. Estimates from the Wisconsin Institute for Law & Liberty put taxpayer savings at more than $16 billion since its passage.
The law previously survived multiple challenges in state and federal courts, including a 2014 Wisconsin Supreme Court decision affirming that collective bargaining for public employees is a matter of legislative policy rather than a constitutional right. The latest suit, filed in late 2023 by seven unions and three union leaders, revived equal-protection arguments after the high court’s ideological shift.
In a concurrence, Appeals Court Judge Shelley Grogan described the timing of the lawsuit as “to say the least, suspect,” noting it came three months after liberals gained control of the Supreme Court.
Republican legislative leaders, who intervened to defend the statute, have argued that the exemptions for public safety employees serve legitimate interests in maintaining essential services and labor peace. They have pointed to the fiscal strain that fully restoring pre-2011 bargaining could place on municipalities and school districts already facing budget pressures.
Democrats and union advocates contend the law has weakened public services by limiting workers’ ability to negotiate pay and conditions, contributing to staffing shortages in schools and government agencies. All five Democratic candidates in this year’s gubernatorial primary have pledged to repeal Act 10 if elected.
The case now heads toward the state’s highest court, where a final resolution could reshape the balance of power between public employers and unions more than 15 years after the law first ignited mass protests at the state Capitol.
