Chapter 103

103.85(1) (1) Every employer of labor, whether a person, partnership or corporation, who owns or operates any factory or mercantile establishment in this state, shall allow every person, except those specified in sub. (2), employed in such factory or mercantile establishment, at least 24 consecutive hours of rest in every 7 consecutive days and shall not permit any such person to work for such employer during such 24 consecutive hour period, except in case of breakdown of machinery or equipment, or other emergency, requiring the immediate services of experienced and competent labor to prevent serious injury to person, damage to property, or suspension of necessary operations, when such experienced and competent labor is not otherwise immediately available. This shall not authorize any work on Sunday not now authorized by law.

103.85(2) (2) This section does not apply to:

103.85(2)(a) (a) Janitors.

103.85(2)(b) (b) Security personnel.

103.85(2)(c) (c) Persons employed in the manufacture of butter, cheese or other dairy products or in the distribution of milk or cream, or in canneries and freezers.

103.85(2)(d) (d) Persons employed in bakeries, flour and feed mills, hotels, and restaurants.

103.85(2)(e) (e) Employees whose duties include no work on Sunday other than:

103.85(2)(e)1. 1. Caring for live animals.

103.85(2)(e)2. 2. Maintaining fires.

103.85(2)(f) (f) Any labor called for by an emergency that could not reasonably have been anticipated.

103.85(2)(g) (g) An employee who states in writing that he or she voluntarily chooses to work without at least 24 consecutive hours of rest in 7 consecutive days.

103.85(3) (3) Every employer shall keep a time book showing the names and addresses of all employees and the hours worked by each of them in each day, and such time book shall be open to inspection by the department.

103.85(4) (4) If upon investigation, the department shall ascertain and determine that there be practical difficulties or unnecessary hardships in carrying out the provisions of this section, or upon a joint request of labor and management, the department may by general or special order make reasonable exceptions therefrom or modifications thereof provided that the life, health, safety and welfare of employees shall not be sacrificed or endangered thereby. Such investigation and orders shall be made as provided under s. 103.005. Such orders shall be subject to review under ch. 227.

103.85(5) (5) Every employer who violates this section shall be punished as provided in s. 103.005 (11) and (12).

103.85 History History: 1971 c. 185 s. 7; 1971 c. 228 s. 43; 1985 a. 135; 1995 a. 27; 2015 a. 55.

103.85 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also ch. DWD 275, Wis. adm. code.

103.86 103.86 Employee welfare funds: default in payments.

103.86(1) (1) Any employer who promises in writing to make payments to an employee welfare fund, either by contract with an individual employee, by a collective bargaining agreement or by agreement with such employee welfare fund, and who fails to make such payments within 6 weeks after they become due and payable, and after having been notified in writing of the failure to make the required payments, shall be fined not more than $200.

103.86(2) (2) This section shall not apply where the failure to make payments is prevented by act of God, proceedings in bankruptcy, orders or process of any court of competent jurisdiction, or circumstances over which the employer has no control.

103.86 History History: 1993 a. 492.

103.87 103.87 Employee not to be disciplined for testifying. No employer may discharge an employee because the employee is subpoenaed to testify in an action or proceeding pertaining to a crime or pursuant to ch. 48 or 938. On or before the first business day after the receipt of a subpoena to testify, the employee shall give the employer notice if he or she will have to be absent from employment because he or she has been subpoenaed to testify in an action or proceeding pertaining to a crime or pursuant to ch. 48 or 938. If a person is subpoenaed to testify in an action or proceeding as a result of a crime, as defined in s. 950.02 (1m), against the person’s employer or an incident involving the person during the course of his or her employment, the employer shall not decrease or withhold the employee’s pay for any time lost resulting from compliance with the subpoena. An employer who violates this section may be fined not more than $200 and may be required to make full restitution to the aggrieved employee, including reinstatement and back pay. Except as provided in this section, restitution shall be in accordance with s. 973.20.

103.87 History History: 1979 c. 219; 1983 a. 197 s. 10; 1987 a. 398; 1995 a. 77.

103.88 103.88 Absence from work of volunteer fire fighter, emergency medical services practitioner, emergency medical responder, or ambulance driver.

103.88(1) (1) Definitions. In this section:

103.88(1)(a) (a) “Ambulance service provider” means an ambulance service provider, as defined in s. 256.01 (3), that is a volunteer fire department or fire company, a public agency, or a nonprofit corporation.

103.88(1)(b) (b) “Emergency” means a fire, hazardous substance release, medical condition, or any other situation that poses a clear and immediate danger to life or health or a significant loss of property.

103.88(1)(bd) (bd) “Emergency department” means a room or area in a hospital that is primarily used to provide emergency care, diagnosis, or radiological treatment.

103.88(1)(bm) (bm) “Emergency medical responder” has the meaning given in s. 256.01 (4p).

103.88(1)(c) (c) “Emergency medical services practitioner” has the meaning given in s. 256.01 (5).

103.88(1)(d) (d) “Employee” means an individual employed in this state by an employer, but does not include an individual employed to provide direct patient care at a hospital intensive care unit or emergency department.

103.88(1)(e) (e) “Employer” means a person engaging in any activity, enterprise, or business in this state. “Employer” includes the state and any office, department, independent agency, authority, institution, association, society, or other body in state government created or authorized to be created by the constitution or any law, including the legislature and the courts. “Employer” does not include a paid fire department or an ambulance service provider, as defined in s. 256.01 (3).

103.88(1)(g) (g) “Nonprofit corporation” has the meaning given in s. 256.01 (12).

103.88(1)(h) (h) “Public agency” has the meaning given in s. 256.15 (1) (n).

103.88(1)(i) (i) “Responding to an emergency” includes going to, attending to, and returning from an emergency.

103.88(2) (2) Absence from work permitted. An employer shall permit an employee who is a volunteer fire fighter, emergency medical services practitioner, emergency medical responder, or ambulance driver for a volunteer fire department or fire company, a public agency, or a nonprofit corporation to be late for or absent from work if the lateness or absence is due to the employee responding to an emergency that begins before the employee is required to report to work and if the employee complies with sub. (3) (a). This subsection does not entitle an employee to receive wages or salary for the time the employee is absent from work due to responding to an emergency as provided in this subsection.

103.88(3) (3) Responsibilities of employee.

103.88(3)(a) (a) An employee may be late for or absent from work under sub. (2) if the employee does all of the following:

103.88(3)(a)1. 1. By no later than 30 days after becoming a member of a volunteer fire department or fire company or becoming affiliated with an ambulance service provider, submits to the employee’s employer a written statement signed by the chief of the volunteer fire department or fire company or by the person in charge of the ambulance service provider notifying the employer that the employee is a volunteer fire fighter, emergency medical services practitioner, emergency medical responder, or ambulance driver for a volunteer fire department or fire company, a public agency, or a nonprofit corporation.

103.88(3)(a)2. 2. When dispatched to an emergency, makes every effort to notify the employee’s employer that the employee may be late for or absent from work due to the employee’s responding to the emergency or, if prior notification cannot be made due to the extreme circumstances of the emergency or the inability of the employee to contact the employer, submits to the employer a written statement from the chief of the volunteer fire department or fire company or from the person in charge of the ambulance service provider explaining why prior notification could not be made.

103.88(3)(a)3. 3. When late for or absent from work due to responding to an emergency, provides, on the request of the employee’s employer, a written statement from the chief of the volunteer fire department or fire company or from the person in charge of the ambulance service provider certifying that the employee was responding to an emergency at the time of the lateness or absence and indicating the date and time of the response to the emergency.

103.88(3)(b) (b) When the status of an employee under sub. (2) as a member of a volunteer fire department or fire company or as an affiliate of an ambulance service provider changes, including termination of that status, the employee shall notify the employee’s employer of that change in status.

103.88(4) (4) Prohibited acts.

103.88(4)(a) (a) No person may interfere with, restrain, or deny the exercise of the right of an employee to respond to an emergency as provided in sub. (2).

103.88(4)(b) (b) No person may discharge or discriminate against an employee in promotion, in compensation, or in the terms, conditions, or privileges of employment for responding to an emergency as provided in sub. (2), opposing a practice prohibited under this section, filing a complaint or attempting to enforce any right under this section, or testifying or assisting in any action or proceeding to enforce any right under this section.

103.88(5) (5) Enforcement. An employee whose right to respond to an emergency under sub. (2) is interfered with, restrained, or denied in violation of sub. (4) (a) or who is discharged or discriminated against in violation of sub. (4) (b) may file a complaint with the department, and the department shall process the complaint in the same manner that employment discrimination complaints are processed under s. 111.39. If the department finds that an employer has violated sub. (4) (a) or (b), it may order the employer to take action to remedy the violation, including reinstating the employee, providing compensation in lieu of reinstatement, providing back pay accrued not more than 2 years before the complaint was filed, and paying reasonable actual costs and attorney fees to the complainant.

103.88 History History: 2009 a. 140; 2017 a. 12; 2021 a. 209.

103.90 103.90 Definitions. In ss. 103.90 to 103.97:

103.90(1) (1) “Emergency” means:

103.90(1)(a) (a) A temporary condition created by an act of nature, demanding immediate action, which could not reasonably have been anticipated or prevented, and which is caused entirely by the forces of nature such as rain, lightning, hail, windstorm, tornado, sleet, frost or other similar natural phenomena.

103.90(1)(b) (b) A sudden and temporary condition not covered under par. (a) which reasonably could not have been anticipated or prevented and which requires immediate action to prevent serious damage to person or property.

103.90(2) (2) “Employer” means a person engaged in planting, cultivating, raising, harvesting, handling, drying, packing, packaging, processing, freezing, grading or storing any agricultural or horticultural commodity in its unmanufactured state who employs a migrant worker.

103.90(3) (3) 

103.90(3)(a) (a) “Migrant labor camp” means the site and all structures maintained as living quarters by, for or under the control and supervision of any person for:

103.90(3)(a)1. 1. Any migrant worker; or

103.90(3)(a)2. 2. Any other person who is not related by blood, marriage or adoption to his or her employer and who occasionally or habitually leaves an established place of residence to travel to another locality to accept seasonal employment in the planting, cultivating, raising, harvesting, handling, drying, packing, packaging, processing, freezing, grading or storing of any agricultural or horticultural commodity in its unmanufactured state.

103.90(3)(b) (b) “Migrant labor camp” does not include:

103.90(3)(b)1. 1. Premises occupied by the employer as a personal residence and by no more than 2 migrant workers.

103.90(3)(b)2. 2. Any accommodation subject to ch. 50.

103.90(4) (4) “Migrant labor contractor” means any person, who, for a fee or other consideration, on behalf of another person, recruits, solicits, hires, or furnishes migrant workers, excluding members of the contractor’s immediate family, for employment in this state. “Migrant labor contractor” shall not include an employer or any full-time regular employees of an employer who engages in any such activity for the purpose of supplying workers solely for the employer’s own operation.

103.90(5) (5) 

103.90(5)(a) (a) “Migrant worker” or “worker” means any person who temporarily leaves a principal place of residence outside of this state and comes to this state for not more than 10 months in a year to accept seasonal employment in the planting, cultivating, raising, harvesting, handling, drying, packing, packaging, processing, freezing, grading or storing of any agricultural or horticultural commodity in its unmanufactured state.

103.90(5)(b) (b) “Migrant worker” or “worker” does not include the following:

103.90(5)(b)1. 1. Any person who is employed only by a state resident if such resident or the resident’s spouse is related to the worker as one of the following: child, parent, grandchild, grandparent, brother, sister, aunt, uncle, niece, nephew, or the spouse of any such relative.

103.90(5)(b)2. 2. A student who is enrolled or, during the past 6 months has been enrolled, in any school, college or university unless the student is a member of a family or household which contains a migrant worker.

103.90(5)(c) (c) No more than 3 persons otherwise included in the definition under par. (a) may be excluded under par. (b) 1.

103.90 History History: 1977 c. 17; 1983 a. 189 ss. 156, 329 (4); 1989 a. 236; 1995 a. 27, 225; 1999 a. 162.

103.90 Annotation “Sharecropping” or other agreements attempting to establish a migrant worker as an independent contractor violate migrant law. 71 Atty. Gen. 92.

103.905 103.905 Department’s duties. The department shall:

103.905(1) (1) Promulgate rules for the enforcement and implementation of ss. 103.90 to 103.97.

103.905(2) (2) Cooperate and enter into agreements with departments or agencies of this state or of the United States to coordinate, administer or enforce all other laws and programs designed to assist, serve or protect migrant workers.

103.905(3) (3) Gather, compile and submit to the council on migrant labor data and information relative to ss. 103.90 to 103.97.

103.905(4) (4) Investigate, or cause to be investigated, any complaint filed with the department concerning any violation of ss. 103.90 to 103.97, and during reasonable daylight hours, and upon notice to the employer or person in charge, enter and inspect any premises, inspect such records and make transcriptions thereof, question such persons, and investigate such facts, conditions, practices or matters as may be necessary or appropriate to determine whether a violation of such sections has been committed.

103.905(5) (5) Enforce, or cause to be enforced, ss. 103.90 to 103.97 and any rules promulgated under ss. 103.90 to 103.97, and cooperate with other officers, departments, boards, agencies or commissions of this state, or of the United States, or of any other state, or of any local government in the enforcement of such sections.

103.905 History History: 1977 c. 17.

103.905 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also ch. DWD 301, Wis. adm. code.

103.91 103.91 Migrant labor contractors.

103.91(1) (1) Registration required. No person may engage in activities as a migrant labor contractor without first obtaining a certificate of registration from the department. The certificate shall constitute a permit from this state to operate as a migrant labor contractor, and shall not be transferable to any person.

103.91(2) (2) Application.

103.91(2)(a) (a) A migrant labor contractor shall apply to the department for a certificate in such manner and on such forms as the department prescribes. The migrant labor contractor may submit a copy of a federal application filed under 7 USC 2045 in lieu of the forms prescribed by the department under this paragraph.

103.91(2)(b) (b)

103.91(2)(b)1. 1. Except as provided in subd. 2m., the department shall require each applicant for a certificate under par. (a) who is an individual to provide the department with the applicant’s social security number, and shall require each applicant for a certificate under par. (a) who is not an individual to provide the department with the applicant’s federal employer identification number, when initially applying for or applying to renew the certificate.

103.91(2)(b)2. 2. If an applicant who is an individual fails to provide the applicant’s social security number to the department or if an applicant who is not an individual fails to provide the applicant’s federal employer identification number to the department, the department may not issue or renew a certificate under par. (a) to or for the applicant unless the applicant is an individual who does not have a social security number and the applicant submits a statement made or subscribed under oath or affirmation as required under subd. 2m.

103.91(2)(b)2m. 2m. If an applicant who is an individual does not have a social security number, the applicant shall submit a statement made or subscribed under oath or affirmation to the department that the applicant does not have a social security number. The form of the statement shall be prescribed by the department. A certificate issued under par. (a) in reliance upon a false statement submitted under this subdivision is invalid.

103.91(2)(b)3. 3. The department of workforce development may not disclose any information received under subd. 1. to any person except to the department of revenue for the sole purpose of requesting certifications under s. 73.0301 or the department of children and families for purposes of administering s. 49.22.

103.91(3) (3) Annual fees. Each certificate shall be renewed annually. The fee for the certificate or renewal shall be in an amount determined by the department. The department may not require an individual who is eligible for a fee waiver under the veterans fee waiver program under s. 45.44 to pay a fee for a certificate.

103.91(4) (4) Qualifications.

103.91(4)(a) (a) The department may refuse to issue a certificate and may suspend or revoke any certificate previously issued whenever it finds that the applicant or registrant has:

103.91(4)(a)1. 1. Made a material misrepresentation or false statement in his or her application for a certificate.

103.91(4)(a)2. 2. Violated ss. 103.90 to 103.97, or any rules promulgated under such sections.