labor lawAdivision of labor law center

Now is the time to replace your old Wisconsin USERRA poster to ensure that you are displaying up to date and correct information to your employees. There have been some changes and clarifications to the USERRA regulations, with the addition of federal government employees to the list of those able to receive assistance with processing their claims.

The organization responsible for providing assistance to those who claim under the USERRA regulation is the Veterans’ Employment and Training Service (VETS), which is a division of the U.S. Department of Labor. The final USERRA regulations have recently been released by the Dept. of Labor and it is recommended that all parties affected by them make themselves aware of any changes.

An area that is covered quite extensively is the regulations that refer to the time away from an employee’s civilian job. The regulations state that under the law, if a person is covered by USERRA, they are entitled to return to their civilian job for up to five years, depending upon length of service.

The regulations cover employment rights under the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994. Under the regulations a person who serves in the military is entitled to job protection. Those covered by the regulations are veterans, members of the National Guard and Reserve as well as members of the Navy, Army or Air Force reserves.

After recent test cases, some returning members may be entitled to the same employment benefits relating to their job if they had not been away. This can include cost of living pay rises, annual salary increases and promotions that they person would have gained due to time served in the company.

The five year regulation is cumulative, so an employee can be away for a period of, for example, three years, and then two years, and still be entitled to job protection. Training stints with the National Guard or Reserves are not counted towards the five year period.

The Wisconsin Labor Law Posters have been a frequent topic of debate here on my blog, or at least for a few times here and there. And we’ve had the chance to cover the gist of the reasons for the Wisconsin Labor Law Posters, and the places that employers have to put up the posters in their work sites.

We’ve also covered how different the postings are on the Wisconsin Labor Law Posters, comparing the state postings with the federal postings and going over in a nutshell what the postings are for. But what we haven’t done yet is really get in depth on some of the postings in the Wisconsin Labor Law Posters.

That’s where we start now. The first posting in the Wisconsin Labor Law Posters that we want to consider “up close and personal” is the unemployment benefits notice, whose official title on the posting is the “Notice to Employees About Applying for Wisconsin Unemployment Benefits.”

This posting in the Wisconsin Labor Law Posters covers when employees need unemployment insurance, and those times it lists with bullets as: when an employee is totally unemployed; when an employee is partially employed and has their weekly earnings reduced; when an employee is expected to be laid off within the next 13 weeks and wants to get a head start on their unemployment benefits.

The unemployment posting in the Wisconsin Labor Law Posters also goes into what employees need to get the benefits. They need to have their Social Security number handy, as well as a personal identification number, which they can make up when they apply for the benefits. They also need to have their driver’s license number, if they have a license. And most importantly perhaps, the employees need to have the names of every company they worked for in the last 18 months.

There is a lot to think about when you are in charge of a work place.  The last thing that you consider before heading home from work is whether or not the Wisconsin State Mandatory Poster is up and current.  It is just not something that we think about on a daily basis.  We are more focused on day to day operations then we are about the poster that we had to hang up.  But this is a very important piece of material to the state labor board and those are people you do not want to make angry.  This tool is required to posted and current with all of the latest legislation on it.  This is a tool that is very beneficial to your employees as it highlights what some of their rights and privileges are in the state of Wisconsin.  These posters are an integral part to our workforce as they can answer many questions for you that your employees may have.  It is also important as it is required by the labor board to be posted in all work places and contain all of the current information or else you may be fined or worse.

There are certain items that need to be contained on your Wisconsin State Mandatory Poster.  These items are as follows: Worker’s Compensation, Minimum Wage, Unemployment Insurance, Discrimination Notice and Wage Payment and Collection.  These are all integral items to the workers of Wisconsin.  This leads to all employees being happy and aware of their rights and what they are entitled to.  This keeps the employees in the know so to speak so that they know what to expect and you are aware of what is expected of you as an employer.

Remember it is easy to keep this simple law up to date and in compliance by having a current and posted Wisconsin State Mandatory Poster.  This will keep the labor board away and will keep you legally in the good arena.

Hello - thank you for taking the time to learn about Wisconsin Posters. I want to provide you with some basic information about labor law and employee rights notices and how current Wisconsin Posters can help employers meet the requirements for posting this necessary information in a place where all employees can easily see and read it. I hope this brief summary will help answer some questions about this topic and help you place current Wisconsin Posters in the proper location, as defined by state and federal law.

Remember, the employer is responsible for making sure that up-to-date Wisconsin Posters are on display in an area commonly used by all employees, such as the lunchroom or break room. By having the current posters on display, the employer not only makes this information available to workers, but also is more prepared if labor law and employee rights posters are the focus of a labor inspection or audit.

Wisconsin has a rather extensive list of state requirements, some that are specific to certain business situations, and some that cover areas similar to federal law but with slightly different details. On this list are Minimum Wage, Business Closing/Mass Layoff Law, Family/Medical Leave Act, Discrimination Notice, OSHA – Health and Safety Protection, Unemployment Insurance, Child Labor, Right-to-Know, and Honesty Testing. As an example of how laws can and do change, the Minimum Wage law for the state changed, with the new rate going to $5.70 in June 2005.

This type of information would be very important to workers and managers and must be provided immediately by posting the necessary information where all employees can easily see it. In addition, the state has an honesty testing notice, which refers to situations in which an employer can ask a worker to take an honesty test and how the employee is to be treated if the test is refused. Obviously, this would be important information for all employees and current Wisconsin Posters may help get the information to employees.

On the federal list are USERRA – Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act, Equal Employment Opportunity is the Law, Federal Minimum Wage, Employee Polygraph Protection Act, Family and Medical Leave Act, and OSHA – Job Safety & Health Protection. Among the items on this list, the USERRA requirement is relatively new. Under this law, a reference is made to individuals wanting to serve in the military but may not want to make a career of it. The law defines under what circumstances they can return to their civilian job after their military services has ended. Therefore, now would be an excellent time for employers and workers to look at the Wisconsin Posters on display to see if any changes are necessary.

I would like to tell you about the labor law posters for Wisconsin. It’s a good time to discuss the posters because the minimum wage rate recently changed for Wisconsin. This means the labor law posters for Wisconsin that deal with minimum wage must have been updated. Anytime a law changes then the labor law posters for Wisconsin need to be updated.

It’s the employer’s responsibility to update the labor law posters for Wisconsin. The employer needs to know when the law changes and then they must make the appropriate change. Employers also need to display the labor law posters in an appropriate area in the workplace.

The labor law posters for Wisconsin should be displayed where all employees have a very good chance of seeing them. The poster should be in a well-lit area where employees are known to gather. The labor law posters for Wisconsin should also be kept free from obstructions.

The state posting requirements for the labor law posters for Wisconsin are: Minimum Wage (as I already mentioned), Business Closing / Mass Layoff Law, Discrimination Notice, Unemployment Insurance, Child Labor, OSHA – Health and Safety Protection, Right – To – Know, and Honesty Training. Obviously, the federal requirements for the labor law posters for Wisconsin are the same as the requirements for the labor law posters in the other forty-nine states.

Not all the labor law posters for Wisconsin are required to be in every workplace. The exact requirements depend on the size and type of the business where the posters are displayed. It’s up to the employer to know which labor law posters for Wisconsin must be displayed. Sometimes, if the business is large enough, it may be necessary to display the posters in more than one spot in the workplace.

All employers must make sure the display the correct labor law posters for Wisconsin in the appropriate place. Failure to do so is against the law.