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Wage and Hour Laws
Minimum Wage
The current minimum wage in Wisconsin is $7.25 an hour, the same as the federal minimum wage. Cities and counties are prohibited from introducing their own minimum wages.
For “opportunity employees”—workers under 20 years of age—the state minimum wage is $5.90 an hour. Employers can pay them the opportunity wage for only the first 90 days of their employment. If they turn 20 before this, employers must pay them the full minimum wage.
Wisconsin’s minimum wage applies to all employees with some exceptions, including newspaper couriers or door-to-door salespersons.
There are also different minimum wages for golf caddies, camp counselors, and agricultural workers who receive meals and lodging. Employers can apply to the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) for a Special Minimum Wage License for workers with disabilities.
Tipped Minimum Wage
Wisconsin’s tipped minimum wage is $2.33 an hour. This means employers can pay employees $2.33 per hour as long as their tips plus wages average $7.25 per hour. Otherwise, the employer must make up the difference.
Employers can pay tipped opportunity employees $2.13 an hour under the same conditions.
Overtime Laws
Employees covered by Wisconsin’s overtime law must be paid 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for any hours worked over 40 hours in a week.
Employees aged 16 and 17 must be paid 1.5 times their regular rate of pay for all hours over 40 hours in a week or over 10 hours in a day.
Some employees are exempt from these overtime provisions. Wisconsin’s overtime exemptions generally follow those under the federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA). Exempt employees include those who:
- Work in private homes.
- Work in federal agencies.
- Primarily perform executive, administrative, or professional work and are paid at least $700 monthly.
- Work on a commission basis (if certain conditions apply).
- Are taxi drivers.
- Are computer programmers or software engineers paid at least $27.63 an hour.
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Meal Breaks
Employers must give each employee under 18 a 30-minute duty-free meal break that’s reasonably close to a regular meal period or in the middle of their shift. The employee can’t work more than 6 consecutive hours without a meal break.
Meal breaks are recommended for adults but not required. When given, breaks must be paid if:
- They last less than 30 minutes.
- The employee isn’t free from work duties during their break, or isn’t permitted to leave the work premises.
Rest Breaks
No Wisconsin state laws require employers to provide rest breaks during work hours.
However, under Wisconsin’s “One Day of Rest in Seven” law, employees in factories and retail establishments must have 1 day (24 consecutive hours) off per calendar week (Sunday through Saturday). This day off can be at any time during the calendar week, and doesn’t need to be every 7 days.
Some employees are exempt from this requirement—for example, workers who give written consent to work 7 consecutive days without a break and janitors.
Employers can ask the DWD to waive this requirement in unique circumstances.
Recordkeeping
Employers must keep records of:
- Employees’ names, addresses, and dates of birth.
- Start-of-employment and end-of-employment dates.
- Start and end times of each workday.
- Start and end times of each meal break (if breaks are mandatory or when employers deduct meal breaks from work hours).
- Total daily and weekly hours worked.
- Production (for employees not paid on a time basis).
- Pay rates and wages for each pay period.
- Details of any wage deductions.
These recordkeeping requirements don’t apply to employees who are exempt from overtime and compensated on a non-hourly basis.
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Employee Scheduling Laws
Wisconsin doesn’t have any state-wide predictive scheduling laws. Local governments are prohibited from introducing laws to regulate employee hours or overtime, including laws concerning work schedules.
Employee Compensation and Benefits
Reporting Time Pay
Wisconsin doesn’t have reporting time pay laws. Employers must pay employees for the hours they work.
Payday Frequency and Method
Wisconsin employees must be paid at least monthly, with a maximum of 31 days between pay periods. There are some limited exceptions to this—for example, part-time firefighters and farm laborers.
Employees can be paid by cash, check, or direct deposit as long as there’s no cost to the employee.
Paystub Requirements
Employers must provide employees with paystubs detailing their pay rates, number of hours worked, and details of any deductions. Employee-requested deductions for personal reasons may be labeled as “miscellaneous”.
Paystubs can be electronic as long as employees can access a printer and there’s no cost to print the paystub.
Wage Deductions and Garnishments
Employers can deduct employees’ wages for meals and board under certain conditions. Employers can deduct:
- $87 a week or $4.15 per meal for meals.
- $58 a week or $8.30 a day for lodging.
Employers can make deductions from employees’ wages for loss, theft, damage, or poor workmanship if:
- The employee provides written authorization after the issue and before the deduction.
- The employer and the employee’s representative finds fault on the employee’s part.
- The employee has been found guilty or held liable in court.
Employers can’t require employees to cover the costs of any medical examination required as a condition of employment. Employers can garnish employee wages in relation to consumer debts. These garnishments are capped at whichever of the following is less:
- 20% of an employee’s disposable earnings. (However, if this would result in the employee’s household income falling below the poverty line, the garnishment is restricted to the portion of the debtor’s household income that exceeds the poverty line.)
- The portion of an employee’s disposable earnings that exceeds 30 times the federal minimum wage.
Employees are entirely exempt from garnishments if:
- Their household income is below the poverty line.
- They receive public assistance, have received it in the previous 6 months, or have been assessed as eligible for public assistance.
Federal law limits garnishments related to child support, federal student loans, and federal taxes.
Employers can’t terminate an employee due to a garnishment relating to a consumer credit transaction.
Final Paycheck Laws
Employers must give employees who have quit or been terminated their final paycheck by their next regularly scheduled payday. The only exception to this is commission-based sales agents.
Workers’ Compensation
Workers’ Compensation covers most Wisconsin employees if they are injured or become ill due to work. The Worker’s Compensation Division of the DWD oversees workers’ compensation in Wisconsin.
In Wisconsin, an employer must have workers’ compensation if they meet one of the following criteria:
- They have 3 or more employees.
- They have 1 or more employees and have paid combined gross wages of at least $500 in any calendar quarter for Wisconsin-based work.
- They work in farming and employ at least 6 employees on the same day for 20 days in the calendar year.
Some limited categories of employees aren’t covered by workers’ compensation insurance, such as domestic servants and certain farm workers.
Employers can apply for coverage through an insurance carrier or self-insure. The state also has an Uninsured Employers Fund to cover employees whose employers are unlawfully uninsured.
Under Wisconsin’s workers’ compensation scheme, employees may be able to access benefits to cover:
- Lost wages (for more than 3 days of missed work).
- Medical costs.
- Permanent disability.
- Vocational rehabilitation.
- Death and burial expenses.
To claim workers’ compensation, employees must file a claim within 2 years, and notify their employer of their work-related injury or illness within 30 days of either:
- The injury happened.
- The employee should have known their condition and its relation to their work.
Failure to meet these deadlines may result in a claim being denied.
The employer must notify their workers’ compensation insurance carrier of work-related injuries within 7 days.
All employers must notify the Workers’ Compensation Division of any work-related fatality within 24 hours.
Self-insured employers must also report any injuries that result in more than 3 days off work to the Division.
An employee who disputes a workers’ compensation claim or payment can file an application for a hearing before an Administrative Law Judge (ALJ) with the Workers’ Compensation Division. They have up to 6 years after their illness or injury to file for a hearing. The Division helps employees without lawyers settle their matter before a hearing.
Effective January 1, 2026, workers’ compensation adjudicatory functions were transferred from the Division of Hearings and Appeals to the DWD, thereby simplifying the dispute resolution process.
If an employer, employee, or insurer disagrees with the ALJ’s decision, they can file a petition for review with the Labor Industry Review Commission. Subsequent reviews go first to the relevant circuit court, then to the Court of Appeals, and finally to the Supreme Court.
Unemployment Insurance
Wisconsin’s unemployment insurance (UI) program provides benefits to workers who’ve lost their jobs through no fault of their own. The Unemployment Insurance Division of the DWD administers the program and its laws.
Employer taxes fund unemployment benefits. Most Wisconsin employers are liable for UI taxes. Different rates apply depending on employers’ circumstances.
Employees must meet certain requirements to be eligible for UI benefits. For example, employees must:
- Have earned a certain amount in wages in the 12 to 18 months before filing for UI benefits.
- Have left their last job because their employer laid them off, they had their hours reduced through no fault of their own, or they had “good cause” (i.e., legitimate and substantial reasons primarily due to the employer’s actions, such as unsafe working conditions).
- Be able and available for work.
- Be actively looking for work (this typically requires 4 work searches a week).
Benefits are capped at either 26 times the individual’s weekly benefit amount or 40% of their base period wages—whichever is less. The minimum weekly UI benefit is $54, while the maximum is $370.
Each individual must file an initial claim application with the Division to apply for UI benefits. To receive benefits, individuals must file weekly claim certifications.
Workplace Rights and Protections
Discrimination and Harassment
Under the Wisconsin Fair Employment Law, all employers are prohibited from discriminating against applicants or employees based on their:
- Race.
- Color.
- National origin.
- Ancestry.
- Sex.
- Sexual orientation.
- Marital status.
- Pregnancy or childbirth.
- Creed.
- Disability.
- Age (40 and over).
- Arrest and conviction record.
- Military service.
- Off-premises use of lawful products during non-working hours.
- Refusal to engage in meetings or communications about religious or political issues.
- Genetic testing.
There are some narrow exceptions to these prohibitions. For example, employers may be able to consider a candidate’s conviction record to rule them out of a selection process if the conviction substantially impacts their suitability for the role.
Employers can’t require applicants or employees to undergo lie detector tests or discriminate against an employee who refuses to do one. There are limited exceptions to this—for instance, where there’s an ongoing theft investigation.
Individuals who believe they’ve been discriminated against can file a complaint with the Equal Rights Division of the DWD online or by mail. An individual has 300 days from the date of the alleged discrimination to file a complaint.
The Division investigates the complaint and can assist the parties in mediating and settling the matter. If the matter can’t be resolved, the Division finalizes its investigation to determine whether there’s “probable cause” or “no probable cause” that discrimination occurred.
Where the Division determines probable cause, it sends the matter for a hearing before an ALJ. ALJs can require various remedies for employment discrimination, including back pay, lost benefits, reinstatement, and legal costs.
The Division and federal Equal Employment Opportunity Commission have a work-sharing agreement. As a result, individuals can file with one agency and request their complaint be filed with the other agency (if the alleged discrimination violates state and federal law).
Unlike Wisconsin’s laws, federal anti-discrimination laws generally apply only to employers with 15 or more employees, except for the age discrimination law, which applies to employers with 20 or more employees.
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Leave Laws
| ✅ Family and Medical Leave | Wisconsin’s family and medical leave entitlements require employers with 50 or more employees to provide covered employees with unpaid, job-protected leave for family and medical reasons. Each covered employee is entitled to:
To be eligible for this leave, employees must’ve worked for the employer for at least 52 consecutive weeks and 1,000 hours. Employees must give employers as much notice as practicable and can be required to provide supporting medical documents. This leave runs concurrently with the 12 weeks of leave employees may be entitled to under the federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA). |
| ❌ Paid Sick Leave | Wisconsin employers aren’t required to provide employees with paid sick leave. |
| ❌ Paid Family Leave | Paid family leave isn’t mandatory. Employees may access unpaid leave under the state or federal Family and Medical Leave Act for this purpose. |
| ❌ Pregnancy and Parental Leave | Wisconsin doesn’t have a separate pregnancy or parental leave requirement. However, employers must treat pregnant employees the same way they treat other employees with temporary disabilities. For instance, they must offer the same accommodations and leave. Employees may be able to take time off for pregnancy and parenthood under the state or federal Family and Medical Leave Act. |
| ❌ Vacation and Personal Leave | Vacation or personal leave isn’t required by law in Wisconsin. Where employers provide it, it should comply with the relevant terms of the applicable employment contract, policy, and/or collective bargaining agreement—including terms on issues such as accrual caps and carryover. |
Military, Jury Duty, and Other Mandatory Leave
There are several other types of mandatory leave in Wisconsin.
| Military Leave | Under state law, any service member employee required to serve federal active duty for 90 or more days must be reinstated to their previous position or an equal one. For this to occur:
Similar rules apply to employees who are members of the National Guard, state defense force, or a public health emergency service. Employers with at least 11 permanent employees must give Civil Air Patrol employees 15 days of unpaid leave each year for emergency service operations. Employees can take up to a maximum of 5 consecutive workdays of leave. |
| Jury Duty Leave | Employers must give employees unpaid leave to attend jury duty. Employers can’t retaliate against employees for taking this leave. |
| Voting Leave | Employees are entitled to a maximum of 3 hours of unpaid leave to vote. An employer can choose when their employee takes this leave (it can be while polls are open only). Employees must request it before election day. |
| Organ Donor Leave | An employee who works for an employer with at least 50 permanent employees is entitled to up to 6 weeks of unpaid, job-protected organ and bone marrow donation leave each year. To access this leave, the employee must:
|
| Witness Leave | An employer can’t terminate an employee for taking leave to appear as a subpoenaed witness in a criminal proceeding. Such employees must inform their employers about the subpoena no later than 1 business day after receiving it. |
| Emergency Response Leave | Employees who are volunteer firefighters or other emergency responders can’t be penalized for turning up late or being absent from work because they were responding to an emergency before work began. To be entitled to this protection, an employee must provide their employer with documentation confirming their role as a volunteer emergency responder within 30 days of volunteering. They must also notify their employer of their delay or absence from work as soon as possible—if possible. |
Child Labor Laws
The minimum age for employment in Wisconsin is 14. However, children aged 11 to 13 can work in specific industries and roles, such as in agriculture, in newspaper delivery, and as golf caddies.
Employers must have a work permit for every employee under 16, with some limited exceptions. Parents and guardians can apply online for these.
If employers have minor employees who sell door-to-door, in a public place, or on any street, they must also apply for a street trade permit for each minor.
| 14 and 15-year-olds | 16 and 17-year-olds | |
|---|---|---|
| Restrictions on work hours | After Labor Day until May 31 they can work:
From June 1 until Labor day, 14 and 15-year-olds may work between 7am and 9pm. (The same daily and weekly restrictions apply as above.) |
|
| Limits on types of work | Minors aged 14 and 15 are prohibited from working in industries and roles such as:
A complete list of prohibited occupations is available here. | All minors are prohibited from working in industries and roles like:
A complete list of prohibited occupations is available here. |
Employers who fail to comply with Wisconsin’s child labor laws may face penalties ranging between $25 and $5,000 a day or up to 30 days of imprisonment.
Did You Know?
Curious about the minimum working age across the U.S.? Explore our comprehensive guide to ensure compliance and stay informed about youth employment regulations.
Check it out here: Minimum Working Age by State
Workplace Safety and Health
The federal Occupational Safety and Health (OSH) Act covers most private employers in Wisconsin. As a result, the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) has jurisdiction in Wisconsin.
General employer obligations under the OSH Act include to:
- Provide employees with a safe workplace free from hazards.
- Comply with relevant health laws, regulations, and standards.
- Supply employees with necessary safety tools and equipment
- Provide regular safety and health training to employees.
- Ensure any potential hazards have warning signs, labels, or posters.
- Post an OSHA poster in a prominent place in the workplace.
- Report any fatalities to OSHA within 8 hours and any in-patient hospitalizations, amputations, or eye losses within 24 hours.
- Maintain a log of workplace injuries and illnesses.
There are also OSHA standards that apply to specific industries.
Each employee also has various rights under the act, including to:
- Work in a safe environment.
- Receive appropriate safety and health training in a language they understand.
- Refuse to work under unsafe conditions.
- Request an inspection or file a complaint with OSHA for safety violations without fearing retaliation.
- Access workplace injury and illness records.
The National Institute for Occupational Safety and Health (NIOSH) funds Wisconsin’s Occupational Safety and Health Surveillance Program. This program monitors and analyzes workplace health and safety data from the state.
Small businesses can get free pre-OSHA risk assessments and consultations via WisCon, a state-based program run alongside the federal Department of Labor.
Workplace safety and health resources are available at both the state and federal levels for Wisconsin employers. An example is “Putting Together a Safe Workplace” by the Wisconsin DWD.
Labor Union Regulations
Wisconsin is a right-to-work state. So, workers can’t be required to join a union or pay union membership fees as a condition of their employment.
The National Labor Relations Act (NLRA) generally protects private employees’ collective bargaining rights, including rights to form or join unions.
The National Labor Relations Board administers the NLRA and hears labor disputes.
Employment Contracts and Severance
Employment Contract Laws
Wisconsin is an at-will employment state. As a result, employers and employees can end the relationship at any time and for any reason, as long as the reason isn’t illegal—such as discrimination.
To be enforceable, restrictive covenants (including non-compete and non-solicitation agreements) must:
- Be reasonably necessary to protect an employer’s legitimate business interests. Restrictions in scope, time, and geographic area must also be reasonable.
- Be linked to consideration. This means the employee must receive something in return—for example, a severance package.
- Comply with public policy.
- Not overly restrict the employee.
Severance Pay
Severance pay isn’t legally required in Wisconsin. Where an employer provides it, they should comply with any relevant employment contract or collective bargaining agreement.
Additional Laws That Might Apply to You
| Mandatory Human Trafficking Training | Employers must provide training on the identification and prevention of human trafficking crimes to all employees likely to interact with the public and vulnerable people. Lodging establishment owners must also train their site principals and undergo this training themselves. Training must be at least 20 minutes in duration, provided within 60 days of hire, and repeated every 2 years. |
| Mass layoffs | Employers with at least 50 employees must give DWD, employees, unions, and town officials 60 days’ notice of a mass layoff or closure. |
| Mini-COBRA | The federal Consolidated Omnibus Budget Reconciliation Act (COBRA) ensures workers’ health insurance continues after they lose their jobs or have their hours reduced. Federal COBRA applies only to employers with 20 or more employees. Wisconsin’s mini-COBRA law applies to employers with 19 employees or fewer. It provides for the continuation of health insurance (hospitalization and medical group health plans only) for up to 18 months. |
| Cessation of healthcare benefits | Employers must give employees, retirees, and their dependents 60 days’ written notice of the discontinuation of healthcare benefits. This law applies to employers with 50 or more employees. |
| Independent contractor test | When classifying workers—for example, for workers’ compensation purposes—Wisconsin uses a specific test to determine whether a worker is an independent contractor rather than an employee. To be an independent contractor, an individual must:
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COVID-19 Related Laws and Regulations
Employers are protected from civil lawsuits relating to COVID-19 deaths or injuries unless they act recklessly or their actions amount to wanton disregard or intentional misconduct.
Navigating Legal Issues and Resources
Employers and employees looking for more information about Wisconsin’s employment and labor laws should visit:
- The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) for information about wage and hour laws, workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance, and more.
- The Wisconsin State Law Library for a list of employment law resources.
The DWD also provides regular training sessions on various labor law topics via its Friday Fundamentals Labor Law Training Series and Labor Law Clinics.
For employees seeking free employment law assistance, Legal Action of Wisconsin or the University of Wisconsin-Madison’s Neighborhood Law Clinic may be able to help.
Disclaimer
The information presented on this website about labor laws in Wisconsin is a summary for informational purposes only and is not intended as legal advice. However, laws and regulations regularly change and may vary depending on individual circumstances. While we have made every effort to ensure the information provided is up to date and reliable, we cannot guarantee its completeness, accuracy, or applicability to your specific situation. Therefore, we strongly recommend that readers seek guidance from their legal department or a qualified attorney to ensure compliance with applicable laws and regulations. Please note that we cannot be held liable for any actions taken or not taken based on the information presented on this website.