Milwaukee District Council 48 v. Milwaukee County, 924 N.W.2d 153

Milwaukee County's "Rule of 75" provides a full pension when age + years of service = 75; ordinance eligibility has been amended over time with different hire-date cutoffs.
In 1993 the ordinance applied the Rule of 75 to employees "not covered by the terms of a collective bargaining agreement" without a hire-date cutoff.
A 1994 CBA extended Rule-of-75 eligibility to DC-48 members hired before Jan 1, 1994; members hired on/after that date were excluded.
In 2005 the County amended the ordinance to limit the Rule of 75 for employees not covered by a CBA to those with initial membership before Jan 1, 2006.
The DC-48 CBA expired in March 2009 and no successor was adopted; Act 10 (2011) changed collective-bargaining scope and DC-48 was decertified in Jan 2012.
In a 2011 ordinance amendment the County applied different hire-date cutoffs as of Sept 29, 2011: employees "not covered by the terms of a collective bargaining agreement" are eligible if hired before Jan 1, 2006; employees "covered by the terms" of a DC-48 CBA are eligible only if hired before Jan 1, 1994.

Issue	Plaintiff's Argument (DC-48)	Defendant's Argument (County)	Held
Whether DC-48 members were "covered by the terms of a collective bargaining agreement" on Sept 29, 2011 for ordinance eligibility	DC-48: On Sept 29, 2011 its members were not covered by the terms of a CBA (the last CBA expired in 2009), so members hired before Jan 1, 2006 qualify under the "not covered" category	County: Even after expiration, statutory duty to maintain status quo during bargaining means DC-48 members were effectively "covered by the terms" of the expired CBA on Sept 29, 2011; so only those hired before Jan 1, 1994 qualify	Court: "Covered by the terms" means being bound by a valid, operative CBA; the expired 2009 CBA no longer covered DC-48 members on Sept 29, 2011, so members hired before Jan 1, 2006 (but after 1994) are eligible under the ordinance

State ex rel. Kalal v. Circuit Court for Dane Cty., 271 Wis. 2d 633 (Wis. 2004) (textualist framework for statutory/ordinance interpretation)
NLRB v. Katz, 369 U.S. 736 (U.S. 1962) (duty to bargain in good faith and status-quo principles)
Local 321, Int'l Ass'n of Fire Fighters v. City of Racine, 352 Wis. 2d 163 (Ct. App. 2013) (meaning of "covered by" a CBA when a contract exists but its performance begins later)
Schwegel v. Milwaukee Cty., 360 Wis. 2d 654 (Wis. 2015) (ordinance interpretation reviewed de novo like statutes)
St. Croix Falls Sch. Dist. v. WERC, 186 Wis. 2d 671 (Ct. App. 1994) (status-quo rule during bargaining prohibiting unilateral changes)
Jefferson Cty. v. WERC, 187 Wis. 2d 647 (Ct. App. 1994) (same)