Labor, Workforce, and Occupational Licensing

2011 Wisconsin Act 10 was a budget adjustment act that included significant changes to public employee collective bargaining rights. Various aspects of those provisions have been challenged in state and federal court, and, in July 2024, the Dane County Circuit Court held that the act’s distinction between general and public safety employees is unconstitutional. This issue brief provides background information on the prior court decisions and highlights key findings from the Dane County Circuit Court decisions.

Prospective employers commonly require applicants to supply names of previous employers for the purpose of contacting those previous employers to obtain information about the applicant. However, former employers are often hesitant to provide information about prior employees due to the perceived risk of potential liability. Instead, former employers have shifted toward practices to minimize such risk—for example, declining to respond or providing a neutral response with limited information, such as name, position, title, dates of employment, and salary.

While Wisconsin law presumes that an employer makes references in good faith and the law provides protection from liability for such good faith references, the presumption of good faith can be rebutted, and, depending on the circumstances, an employer could be held liable for making a reference. This issue brief summarizes current law related to employment references, including the most common legal claims related to references that could result in liability for an employer.

A noncompete agreement typically limits a departing employee’s ability to work for the former employer’s competitors, establish a competing business, or contact former clients and customers. Wisconsin law recognizes and allows an employer and an employee to enter into a noncompete agreement, which is referred to in the statutes as a "restrictive covenant."

This information memorandum provides a summary table of professions that require the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) or a credentialing board to review a person’s arrest or conviction record when granting, renewing, or reviewing an occupational credential.

This information memorandum provides an overview of the standards used by the Department of Safety and Professional Services (DSPS) and the credentialing boards  in reviewing a person’s criminal records history when granting, renewing, or reviewing an occupational credential. Current law generally prohibits discrimination based on an arrest or conviction record, but allows consideration of a person’s criminal records history under certain guidelines. Current law also prohibits the use of criminal background checks in reviewing a person’s criminal records history, except with respect to certain occupations.

Under Wisconsin law, the classification of a person as an employee or an independent contractor is important for purposes of determining whether the person is covered by certain employment laws. The specific test for whether a person is an employee or an independent contractor varies depending on the program for which the determination is being made.

This issue brief summarizes the tests to determine whether a person is an independent contractor, rather than an employee, for purposes of unemployment insurance and worker’s compensation.

In 2020, the U.S. Supreme Court issued a decision prohibiting discrimination in the workplace because of an individual’s sexual orientation or gender identity. The Court relied heavily on the ordinary meaning of the phrase “on the basis of sex” from Title VII of the Civil Rights Act in arriving at its conclusion, using a “but-for” causation standard. This statutory interpretation of Title VII could affect other areas of the law that contain the same language, including Title IX, Wisconsin’s Public Accommodation Law, and Wisconsin’s Fair Employment Law, as discussed briefly below.

Wisconsin’s state employee whistleblower law generally provides protections to state employees who publicly disclose certain information, provided appropriate steps are taken.