City of Sheboygan v. Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission

The issue on this appeal is whether sec. 111.77 (4) (b), Stats., permits amendment of a final offer after a petition for arbitration has been filed but before the close of the Wisconsin Employment Relations Commission’s (WERC) investigation when the amendment relates to an issue which was not the subject of collective bargaining negotiations prior to the filing of the petition. 1 The circuit court reversed a WERC ruling that the statute permits such an amendment. We conclude that sec. 111.77 (4) (b) allows amendment of a final offer to include a new issue. We therefore reverse the circuit…