Wisconsin Will Ignore Judge, Implement Union Law

Wisconsin's battle over collective bargaining rights has gone from being the nation's most contentious labor fight to its most confusing. State officials said tonight they will continue implementing the new law-that-might-not-be-a-law, even though a judge made it "crystal clear" they should hold off until legal questions were resolved, reports the Wisconsin State Journal. The decision raises the prospect of state officials being held in contempt of court.

Whether the law is or isn't in effect is more than a matter of principle. The state—arguing that it is in place because a state office posted it online, a controversy in its own right—has begun charging employees more for benefits and has stopped deducting union dues from paychecks, notes the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. It "is now effective law," said Department of Administration chief Mike Huebsch. "It is my duty to administer that law." Your move, judge. (More Wisconsin stories.)