SB 207

The current state fair employment law, subject to certain exceptions, prohibits

discrimination in employment based on arrest or conviction record. That law

specifies, however, that it is not employment discrimination because of conviction

record to refuse to employ or to terminate from employment an individual who has

been convicted of a felony, misdemeanor, or other offense, the circumstances of which

substantially relate to the circumstances of the particular job. This bill specifies that

it is not employment discrimination because of conviction record for an employer to

refuse to employ or to bar or terminate from employment an individual who has been

convicted of a felony and who has not been pardoned for that felony, whether or not

the circumstances of the felony substantially relate to the circumstances of the

particular job.

Under current constitutional and statutory home rule provisions, a city or

village may determine its own local affairs subject only to the Wisconsin Constitution

and to any enactment of the legislature that is of statewide concern and that affects

every city or village with uniformity. This bill states that the prohibition against

discrimination in employment based on arrest or conviction record under the state

fair employment law is a matter of statewide concern, requiring uniform

enforcement at the state, county, and municipal levels. As such, the bill prohibits any

county, city, village, or town from adopting any provision concerning employment

discrimination based on arrest or conviction record that prohibits any activity that

is allowed under the state fair employment law.