109.03 AnnotationUnder regulations promulgated under s. 104.045 (1), an employer taking a tip credit must have a tip declaration signed by the tipped employee each pay period to show that, when adding the tips received to the wages paid by the employer, no less than the minimum rate was received by the employee. When the employer’s time and payroll records do not contain these requirements, no tip credit is allowed, and a plaintiff may pursue back wages under sub. (5) for alleged violations of such regulations. Hussein v. Jun-Yan, LLC, 502 F. Supp. 3d 1366 (2020).

109.07(1)(a)(a) “Affected employee” means an employee who loses, or who may reasonably be expected to lose, his or her employment with an employer that is required to give notice under sub. (1m) (a) because of the business closing or mass layoff.

109.07(1)(b)(b) “Business closing” means a permanent or temporary shutdown of an employment site or of one or more facilities or operating units at an employment site or within a single municipality that affects 25 or more employees, not including new or low-hour employees.

109.07(1)(c)(c) “Employee benefit plan” means a plan as defined in 29 USC 1002 (3).

109.07(1)(d)(d) “Employer” means any business enterprise that employs 50 or more persons in this state.

109.07(1)(e)(e) “Highest official” means the mayor of a city, town board chairperson or village president, except as follows:

109.07(1)(f)(f) “Mass layoff” means a reduction in an employer’s work force that is not the result of a business closing and that affects the following numbers of employees at an employment site or within a single municipality, not including new or low-hour employees:

109.07(1)(g)(g) “Municipality” means a city, village or town.

109.07(1)(h)(h) “New or low-hour employee” means an employee who has been employed by an employer for fewer than 6 of the 12 months preceding the date on which a notice is required under sub. (1m) (a) or who averages fewer than 20 hours of work per week.

109.07(1m)(a)(a) Subject to sub. (5) or (6), an employer that has decided upon a business closing or mass layoff in this state shall promptly notify the subunit of the department that administers s. 106.15, any affected employee, any collective bargaining representative of any affected employee, and the highest official of any municipality in which the affected employment site is located, in writing of such action no later than 60 days prior to the date on which the business closing or mass layoff takes place. The notice to an affected employee shall also include contact information for the local workforce development board under 29 USC 2832 serving the area in which the employment site is located and, if available, the list of resources prepared under s. 106.11. The employer shall provide in writing all information concerning its payroll, affected employees, and the wages and other remuneration owed to those employees as the department may require. The department may in addition require the employer to submit a plan setting forth the manner in which final payment in full shall be made to affected employees.

109.07(1m)(b)(b) The department shall promptly provide a copy of the notice required under par. (a) to the office of the commissioner of insurance and shall cooperate with the office of the commissioner of insurance in the performance of its responsibilities under s. 601.41 (7).

109.07(1m)(c)(c) This subsection does not apply to a business closing or mass layoff that is caused by a strike or lockout.

109.07(3)(a)(a) If an employer fails to give timely notice to an affected employee as required under sub. (1m) (a), the affected employee may recover, as provided under sub. (4), all of the following:

109.07(3)(a)1.a.a. The employee’s regular rate of pay from the employer, averaged over the shorter of the 3-year period preceding the business closing or mass layoff or the entire period during which the employee was employed by the employer.

109.07(3)(a)2.2. The value of any benefit that the employee would have received under an employee benefit plan during the recovery period described under par. (c), but did not receive because of the business closing or mass layoff, including the cost of medical treatment incurred that would have been covered under the employee benefit plan.

109.07(3)(b)(b) The amount that an employee may recover under par. (a) shall be reduced by any cost that the employer incurs by crediting the employee, under an employee benefit plan, for time not actually served because of a business closing or mass layoff.

109.07(3)(c)(c) The recovery period under par. (a) begins on the day on which the business closing or mass layoff occurs. The recovery period equals the number of days in the period beginning on the day on which an employer is required to give notice under sub. (1m) (a) and ending on whichever of the following occurs first: