Notice to employees of full-service pharmacies and major grocery stores of permanent business closings and providing a penalty. (FE)

Under the bill, “full-service pharmacy” is defined as a retail pharmacy licensed in Wisconsin that dispenses prescription medications to the public and employs a licensed pharmacist on-site, and “major grocery store” is defined as an establishment that is licensed by the Department of Agriculture, Trade and Consumer Protection or a local health department as a retail food establishment, occupies at least 15,000 square feet, and sells a broad line of fresh produce, meats, dairy products, and staple foods.

The bill provides that an employer that operates a full-service pharmacy or major grocery store in this state must always provide notice of a permanent business closing of the pharmacy or grocery store, irrespective of the number of employees the employer employs in this state or the the number of employees that will be affected. In addition to the individuals and entities that must be notified as described above, the bill also requires notification to be provided to every employee that may be affected by a permanent closing of a full-service pharmacy or major grocery store and to the chairperson of the county in which the pharmacy or grocery store that is being closed is located. The only exception under the bill to the notification requirement is for an employer that is moving the full-service pharmacy or major grocery store to a new location within two miles of the site that is being permanently closed and offering employment at the new location to all employees of the location that is being closed.

Also under current law, an employee affected by a business closing or mass layoff may recover pay and the value of any benefits that the employee would have received for the period beginning on the day on which the employer was required to give notice and ending on the day on which the employer actually gave notice or the day on which the business closing or mass layoff occurred, whichever occurs first (recovery period). The bill provides that an affected employee may recover pay at the employee’s regular rate of pay at the time of the business closing and benefits for the recovery period, but not to exceed a period of 60 days.

Current law also allows DWD to assess a business closing surcharge of not more than $500 per day for each day of the recovery period on an employer that fails to give timely notice to the highest official of the affected municipality. The bill requires DWD to impose a penalty of at least $1,000 but not more than $5,000 per day for each day of the recovery period on which an employer that fails to give timely notice to the highest official of the affected municipality and the chairperson of the county board of the county in which the full-service pharmacy or major grocery store that is being closed is located. The bill also allows the Division of Alcohol Beverages to initiate a proceeding to suspend or revoke any alcohol beverage license issued to the employer. The bill allows DWD to request the Department of Revenue to suspend or revoke a business tax registration certificate or a seller’s permit.