Assembly Bill 430 amends the fair employment law in Wisconsin by changing the conditions under which employers and licensing agencies can consider pending charges against individuals when making employment or licensing decisions. Currently, it is unlawful for employers to discriminate based on an individual's arrest record, which includes any information related to being questioned, apprehended, or charged with an offense. A recent Wisconsin Supreme Court ruling clarified that this prohibition extends to pending charges, including noncriminal offenses. However, the law allows exceptions where an employer can refuse to hire or license an individual if the pending charge is substantially related to the job or licensed activity.

The bill specifically removes the requirement that the pending charge must be a criminal charge for these exceptions to apply. This means that employers and licensing agencies can consider any pending charge, not just criminal ones, when determining whether to employ or license an individual, provided that the circumstances of the charge are relevant to the job or activity in question. The amendments to sections 111.335 (2) (b) and 111.335 (4) (a) (intro.) reflect this change by deleting the term "criminal" from the relevant legal language.

Statutes affected:
Bill Text: 111.335(2)(b), 111.335, 111.335(4)(a)(intro.)