2023 Wisconsin Act 228

* Section 991.11, Wisconsin Statutes: Effective date of acts. “Every act and every portion of an act enacted by the legislature over the governor's partial veto which does not expressly prescribe the time when it takes effect shall take effect on the day after its date of publication.”

  Date of enactment: March 27, 2024
2023 Senate Bill 169   Date of publication*: March 28, 2024

2023 WISCONSIN ACT 228

An Act to create 106.361 of the statutes; relating to: establishing a hotline for employers interested in hiring individuals with a conviction record.

The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:

Joint Legislative Council prefatory note: This bill was prepared for the Legislative Council Study Committee on Increasing Offender Employment Opportunities. The bill requires the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) to establish a hotline, operating during normal business hours and staffed by DWD employees, to assist employers seeking to employ individuals with a conviction record. The bill requires DWD to provide information and assistance relating to available incentives and programs under state and federal law for employing individuals with a criminal record, including individuals participating in certain work release programs.

228,1 Section 1. 106.361 of the statutes is created to read:

106.361 Hotline for employers. (1) The department shall maintain a toll-free telephone number as a hotline to assist employers seeking to employ individuals with a conviction record, as defined in s. 111.32 (3). The department shall make the hotline available during normal work hours, as determined by the department. The department shall designate hotline staff to provide employers with information and assistance relating to available incentives and programs under state and federal law for employing individuals with a conviction record, including individuals on release under s. 302.27, individuals on work release under s. 303.065, and individuals on Huber release under s. 303.08 or 973.09 (4).

(2) The department shall maintain a website that contains information relating to employing individuals with a conviction record, including individuals on release under s. 302.27, individuals on work release under s. 303.065, and individuals on Huber release under s. 303.08 or 973.09 (4).