A Dane County judge struck down Act 10, declaring the law “unconstitutional.” Enacted 13 years ago, Act 10 largely eliminated collective bargaining rights for most public employees, drastically weakening unions and elevating then-Republican Gov. Scott Walker to a nationally known political figure.

Efforts to overturn Act 10 gained momentum in Nov. 2023 when several public employee unions filed lawsuits, citing “dire conditions” in workplaces with issues including low wages, staffing shortages and poor working environments.

In July 2024, Dane County Circuit Judge Jacob Frost rejected a motion by the Republican-controlled Legislature to dismiss the case and later ruled that key provisions of Act 10 violated the Wisconsin Constitution. The lawsuits argued that the law’s division of public employees into “general” and “public safety” categories—exempting the latter from collective bargaining restrictions—violated constitutional guarantees of equal protection. These restrictions significantly curtailed the bargaining power of “general” public employee unions.

The future of Act 10 remains uncertain as the case is likely to advance through Wisconsin’s court system, leaving open the possibility of the law being reinstated.