Friday, April 23, 2021
In an April 14, 2021 decision, the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission (the “WERC”) departed from a nearly 30-year-old legal standard governing raffles conducted during general employee bargaining unit elections and adopted the current standard used by the National Labor Relations Board (the “NLRB”). In the
Matter of the Petition of: United Lakewood Educators-Kettle Moraine Chapter, WEAC Region 7, Dec. No. 38585-A (WERC, 4/21).
Specifically, the WERC adopted the standard created by the NLRB in 2001 via
Atlantic Limousine, which bars employers and unions from conducting a raffle during an election if: (1) eligibility to participate in the raffle or win prizes is in any way tied to voting in the election or being at the election site on election day; or (2) the raffle is conducted at any time during a period beginning 24-hours before the scheduled opening of the polls and ending with the closing of the polls. This bright-line standard is a significant departure from the WERC’s prior standard under