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2019 - 2020 LEGISLATURE
June 7, 2019 - Introduced by Representatives Hebl, Anderson, Crowley, Milroy,
Neubauer, Sargent, Sinicki, Spreitzer, Subeck, C. Taylor and Zamarripa,
cosponsored by Senators Hansen, Carpenter, Larson, Smith and Wirch.
Referred to Committee on Labor and Integrated Employment.
AB265,1,4 1An Act to amend 111.322 (2m) (a) and 111.322 (2m) (b); and to create 103.035
2of the statutes; relating to: the rights of employees to request and receive work
3schedule changes; predictable work schedules for retail, food service, and
4cleaning employees; granting rule-making authority; and providing a penalty.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill provides that an employee who works for an employer, including the
state and political subdivisions, that employs at least 15 employees (employer) has
the right to request and receive changes to the employee's work schedule under
certain circumstances. The bill also provides rights regarding work scheduling for
employees in certain retail, food service, or cleaning occupations or other occupations
designated by the Department of Workforce Development.
Employee right to request and receive work schedule changes
The bill provides that an employee may request changes to the employee's work
schedule, and an employer must negotiate in good faith with the employee to
accommodate the employee's request while also meeting the employer's needs.
Unless an employer has a bona fide business reason for denying the request, the
employer must approve an employee's request if it is directly related to any of the
following:
1. A serious health condition of the employee.
2. Responsibilities of the employee as a caregiver for a child or other family
member.

3. Enrollment of the employee in an educational or training program or
program of study that leads to a recognized postsecondary credential.
4. Work scheduling conflicts of an employee who is part time with the
employee's other employment.
If an employer denies an employee's request, the employer must inform the
employee of the reasons for denial, including whether any of the reasons is a bona
fide business reason. The term “bona fide business reason” is defined in the bill.
Predictable work schedules for retail, food service, and cleaning employees
The bill provides that an employer that employs an employee in certain retail,
food service, or cleaning occupations (service employee) must provide the service
employee with a written copy of the service employee's work schedule on or before
the service employee's first day of work. With certain exceptions, if an employer
changes a service employee's work schedule, the employer must provide the new
work schedule no later than 14 days in advance.
If an employer changes a service employee's work schedule with less than 14
days' advance notice, the employer must pay the service employee an amount equal
to the service employee's regular rate of pay for one hour of work, unless 1) the service
employee consents to the change or 2) the employer requires the service employee to
work additional time or an additional work shift because another service employee
was scheduled to work that time or work shift and is unexpectedly unavailable to do
so.
If an employer uses the following scheduling practices, the employer must
compensate a service employee subjected to those practices as follows:
1. If the service employee reports to work and the employer does not allow the
service employee to work all time scheduled, the employer shall provide the service
employee with the following compensation: 1) if the service employee is scheduled to
work four hours or less, an amount equal to the service employee's regular rate of pay
for all time the service employee is scheduled to work but does not work; or 2) if the
service employee is scheduled to work more than four hours and works less than four
hours, an amount equal to the service employee's regular rate of pay for the
difference between four hours and the amount of time the service employee actually
works.
2. If the employer requires the service employee to contact the employer, or wait
to be contacted by the employer, less than 24 hours before a work shift to determine
whether the service employee must report to work, the employer must pay the
service employee an amount equal to the service employee's regular rate of pay for
one hour of work.
3. If the employer requires the service employee to work a split shift, the
employer must pay the service employee an amount equal to the service employee's
regular rate of pay for one hour of work.
If a service employee is entitled to more than one type of compensation related
to employer scheduling practices with respect to a particular work shift, the
employer must pay only one type of compensation, whichever is greatest.
The bill provides that, during any period in which the employer's regular
operations are suspended due to an event outside of the employer's control, the

employer is not required to comply with the service employee work scheduling
requirements created in the bill.
The bill authorizes DWD to promulgate rules to apply the protections afforded
under the bill to additional occupations if DWD determines that at least 10 percent
of the individuals employed in an occupation either typically receive notice of
changes to their work schedules less than 14 days before the changes take effect or
regularly experience fluctuations in the number of hours the individuals are
scheduled to work on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
Enforcement
The bill provides that an employer may not interfere with, restrain, or deny the
exercise of the right of an employee created in the bill and may not discharge or
discriminate against an employee for enforcing the employee's rights under the bill.
An employee whose rights are violated may file a complaint with DWD, and DWD
must process the complaint in the same manner that employment discrimination
complaints are processed under current law. That processing may include the
ordering of back pay, reinstatement, compensation in lieu of reinstatement, and costs
and attorney fees.
The bill also provides that DWD or an employee whose rights are violated may
bring an action in circuit court against the employer without regard to exhaustion
of any administrative remedy. If the circuit court finds that a violation has occurred,
the employer is liable to the employee for compensatory damages, reasonable
attorney fees and costs, and, under certain circumstances, liquidated damages equal
to 100 percent of the amount of compensatory damages awarded to the employee.
In addition to any damages imposed on an employer in an administrative proceeding
or circuit court action, an employer that willfully violates the protections created in
the bill may be required to forfeit not more than $1,000 for each violation.
For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be
printed as an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
AB265,1 1Section 1. 103.035 of the statutes is created to read:
AB265,3,3 2103.035 Work schedule flexibility and predictability. (1) Definitions.
3In this section:
AB265,3,64 (a) “Bona fide business reason” means a reason that justifies an employer's
5action and that is based on the employer's determination that taking a different
6action would have any of the following results:
AB265,4,3
11. Additional costs to the employer, including costs of lost employee
2productivity, retaining or hiring employees, or transferring employees between work
3locations.
AB265,4,54 2. A significant detrimental effect on the employer's ability to meet
5organizational needs or customer demand.
AB265,4,76 3. A significant inability of the employer, despite the employer's best efforts,
7to reorganize work among other employees.
AB265,4,88 4. A significant detrimental effect on the employer's business performance.
AB265,4,99 5. Insufficient work during the period an employee proposes to work.
AB265,4,1210 6. Unfairness to other employees who request changes to work schedules if
11granting all requests would have a significant detrimental effect on the employer's
12ability to meet organizational needs.
AB265,4,1313 (b) “Child” means an individual who is all of the following:
AB265,4,1514 1. A biological, adopted, or foster child; a stepchild; a legal ward; or a child of
15a person standing in the place of a parent with respect to that child.
AB265,4,1616 2. An individual to whom any of the following applies:
AB265,4,1717 a. The individual is less than 18 years of age.
AB265,4,1918 b. The individual is 18 years of age or older and is incapable of self-care because
19of a mental or physical disability.
AB265,4,2020 (c) “Domestic partner” has the meaning given in s. 40.02 (21c) or 770.01 (1).
AB265,4,2121 (d) “Employee” means an employee who is employed by an employer.
AB265,5,222 (e) “Employer” means an employer that employs at least 15 employees.
23“Employer” includes the state, its political subdivisions, and any office, department,
24independent agency, authority, institution, association, society, or other body in state

1or local government created or authorized to be created by the constitution or any
2law, including the legislature and the courts.
AB265,5,33 (f) “Family member” means any of the following:
AB265,5,44 1. A spouse or domestic partner of an employee.
AB265,5,65 2. A parent, child, sibling, brother-in-law, sister-in-law, grandparent, or
6grandchild of an employee or of an employee's spouse or domestic partner.
AB265,5,107 3. Any other individual who is related by blood, marriage, or adoption to an
8employee or to an employee's spouse or domestic partner and whose close association
9with the employee, spouse, or domestic partner makes the individual the equivalent
10of a family member of the employee, spouse, or domestic partner.
AB265,5,1111 (g) “Grandchild” means the child of a child.
AB265,5,1212 (h) “Grandparent” means the parent of a parent.
AB265,5,1513 (i) “Nonexempt employee” means an employee who is not employed in a bona
14fide executive, administrative, or professional capacity, as described in 29 USC 213
15(a) (1).
AB265,5,1816 (j) “Parent” means a biological parent, foster parent, adoptive parent,
17stepparent, or legal guardian of an employee or of an employee's spouse or domestic
18partner.
AB265,5,2019 (k) “Part-time employee” means an employee who works on average fewer than
2030 hours per week for a particular employer.
AB265,5,2521 (L) “Service employee” means a nonexempt employee who is employed in an
22occupation designated by the department under sub. (3) (g) or in any of the
23occupations classified under the following codes set forth in the Standard
24Occupational Classification system, 2010 edition, published by the bureau of labor
25statistics of the U.S. department of labor:
AB265,6,2
11. Major group code 35-0000 — Food preparation and serving related
2occupations.
AB265,6,33 2. Broad occupation code 37-2010 — Building cleaning workers.
AB265,6,54 3. Detailed occupation code 41-1011 — First-line supervisors of retail sales
5workers.
AB265,6,66 4. Minor group code 41-2000 — Retail sales workers.
AB265,6,87 (m) “Sibling” means a brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother,
8stepsister, foster brother, or foster sister, whether by blood, marriage, or adoption.
AB265,6,119 (n) “Split shift” means a work shift that consists of work time that is not
10continuous. For purposes of determining whether a work shift is continuous, any of
11the following breaks in work time are not considered:
AB265,6,1212 1. One or more breaks for meals that total one hour or less.
AB265,6,1313 2. A break that is requested by the employee.
AB265,6,1614 (o) “Work schedule” means the days and times during each successive work
15period when an employee is required by an employer to perform duties of
16employment.
AB265,6,1817 (p) “Work shift” means the specific times during a day that an employer
18requires an employee to work.
AB265,6,2019 (q) “Written” does not include a communication that is transmitted or received
20by electronic means.
AB265,6,24 21(2) Employee right to request and receive work schedule changes. (a)
22Employee right to request work schedule changes. 1. An employee may request a
23change in the terms and conditions of employment related to any of the following
24work schedule issues:
AB265,6,2525 a. The number of hours the employee is required to work or be on call for work.
AB265,7,2
1b. The days or times when the employee is required to work or be on call for
2work.
AB265,7,33 c. The location where the employee is required to work.
AB265,7,54 d. The amount of notification the employee receives regarding changes to the
5employee's work schedule.
AB265,7,76 e. Minimizing fluctuations in the number of hours the employee is scheduled
7to work on a daily, weekly, or monthly basis.
AB265,7,98 2. An employee who makes a request under subd. 1. shall specify in the request
9whether it is related to any of the following:
AB265,7,1010 a. A serious health condition, as defined under s. 103.10 (1) (g), of the employee.
AB265,7,1411 b. The employee's responsibilities as a significant provider of ongoing care,
12including responsibility for securing ongoing care, of the employee's child, family
13member with a serious health condition, as defined under s. 103.10 (1) (g), or parent
14who is 65 years of age or older.
AB265,7,1615 c. The employee's responsibilities as a significant provider of education,
16including responsibility for securing education, of the employee's child.
AB265,7,1817 d. The employee's enrollment in an educational or training program or program
18of study that leads to a recognized postsecondary credential.
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