News
8-7-09: Are Personal Emails Public?
The Wisconsin Supreme Court will consider a case which asks whether government employees' personal emails on government-owned computers and networks are "records" within the meaning of Wisconsin's Public Records Law and, if so, whether the presumption of disclosure of such records is outweighed by the public interest in protecting the privacy of employees' email. The case arises from a request for the personal email of several public school teachers. The requestor objected to any private use of public resources and wanted to demonstrate the prevalence of personal email usage. The school district had decided to release the requested email, but the teachers filed suit to block the release. The case, Schill v. Wisconsin Rapids School District, should be decided over the next few months. Legal Affairs will provide guidance to UWM employees on the releasability of such emails once the case is decided. In the meantime, if UWM employees want to make absolutely sure that such emails are not subject to release under the records law, they should use personal email accounts for personal email, even though de minimis personal use is allowed on UWM computers and networks.
Oral arguments are scheduled for the case on November 11, 2009 at 1:30 p.m. If interested, you may listen to the arguments online: http://www.wicourts.gov/opinions/soralarguments.htm.
7-15-09: UWM's Furlough Webpage Now Live
Today, UWM's Human Resources Department published a Furlough Webpage providing the latest details on the implementation of furloughs at UWM. In addition, for the latest information on the implementation of furloughs within the UW System, see the UW System Webpage on Furloughs.
7-1-09: Collective Bargaining Enabled for Faculty and Academic Staff
On June 29, 2009, Governor Doyle signed the state budget bill for the 1009-2011 biennium (most of which is effective July 1, 2009). Included in this bill are provisions allowing the faculty and academic staff of the UW System to organize and collectively bargain. To read the actual statutory provisions on collective bargaining for faculty and academic staff, go to page 459 in the Final Budget Bill. For more information about what this means, see UW System's Informational Page on Collective Bargaining.
4-1-09: UW System Law Days 2009
Today and tomorrow, the UWM Office of Legal Affairs and all other legal offices representing UW institutions are cooperating in the hosting of the first Law Days in Madison, Wisconsin. Three different tracks are being provided, on Employment Issues, Student Issues, and Business Affairs Issues, in addition to plenary sessions on Managing the University in Challenging Economic Times: Legal Issues and Corporate Governance in the UW System. Robin Van Harpen spoke on FERPA and Ethics; Joely Urdan presented on Campus Safety and Student Discipline; Kirstin Goetz discussed the Search & Screen Process and Employee Discipline; and Donna McGee spoke on Students Use of IT/Technology Transfer. Handouts from Law Days 2009 are available online.
1-9-09: New FERPA Amendments In Effect Today
The U.S. Department of Education recently promulgated amendments to the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (“FERPA”), which take effect on January 9, 2009. The amendments codify recent U.S. Supreme Court decisions and OCR “Dear Colleague” letters interpreting FERPA and update the rules for changes in educational practices and technology. More information is available at the below links:
9-2-08: UW System Issues Updated Guidance on Political Campaign Activities
Today, the legal offices of UW System, UW-Madison, and UW-Milwaukee issued joint Guidance and FAQs on political campaign activities at UW System institutions. The guidance discussed common questions posed by employees and students about the permissibility of engaging in various campaign activities.