In Business magazine just issued its latest print edition and its cover story is an excellent article explaining why Wisconsin’s current law protecting convicted felons as a protected class under the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act (WFEA) is overly burdensome for employers. The article further discusses Assembly Bill 286/Senate Bill 207, which would alleviate this burden on employers by eliminating conviction felony records as a protected class under the WFEA.

In the article Madison Attorney Lori Lubinsky explains why the bill is needed:

“Overall, this legislation will give employers a very black-and-white backdrop that was once gray, and that’s always good from an employers’ perspective because there is more clarity.”

Another attorney, Christopher Banaszak, further points out why the legislation will help employers:

“One of the struggles you have as an employer under the current statute, with this substantially related language, is that you may have someone who commits a fairly serious crime but then you still have to go back through this analysis.”  

AB 286/SB 207 is a top priority for the Wisconsin Civil Justice Council. The bill has passed out of both the Assembly and Senate Labor Committees, and is available to be scheduled in both the Assembly and the Senate. WCJC is working diligently to ensure this bill is scheduled and passed into law during the upcoming floor period.