On Friday June 12, 2009, a Milwaukee circuit court judge invalidated the City of Milwaukee's Paid Sick Leave Ordinance, which had been enacted by voter ballot initiative on November 4, 2008. The Ordinance would have required employers operating in Milwaukee's geographical boundaries to provide up to 72 hours of paid "sick leave" per year (accruing in hourly increments every 30 hours worked) to each of their employees, to be used for a variety of circumstances far exceeding the scope of most state and federal family leave laws. In particular, the Ordinance provided that such leave could be used for an employee's own, or a family member's, mental or physical illness, injury or medical condition, or for preventative care, medical diagnosis or treatment, and also if they themselves or a family member are victims of stalking, domestic abuse or sexual assault. "Family member" had been defined broadly not just to include immediate and extended family members, but also "any other individual related by blood or affinity whose close association with the employee is the equivalent of a family relationship." For more information about the Ordinance, please see Littler's November 2008 ASAP, Milwaukee Becomes Third City to Mandate Paid Sick Leave for Employees.

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