Labor Day provides communities the opportunity to celebrate how unions have helped shape the workplace with laws that are applied every day in Wisconsin. The 40-hour work week, overtime for hourly employees, child labor restrictions, work safety laws, cooperatives, family and medical leave, minimum wage, health care benefits delivered through employment and even Social Security all were laws directly shaped by the labor movement in the United States and Wisconsin. Changes in workforce laws that affect nearly all of our families are ongoing even now at the state and local level.
A quarter of a million workers in Wisconsin are paid the minimum wage, about a third of them are the head of their household. There have been attempts in the past few Legislative sessions to index the minimum wage at the rate of inflation - those attempts have not been successful. On July 24, 2009, the state minimum wage in Wisconsin increased from $6.50 per hour to $7.25 per hour. This increase aligns the state minimum wage with the federal minimum wage. Wisconsin sets minimum wage rates that employers must comply with when paying employees. Our law generally applies to all public and private sector employers, regardless of whether they are covered by the federal minimum wage law. The Department of Workforce Development is authorized by state statute to change the state minimum wage through the rule promulgation process. However, separate minimum wage rates apply for minor employees, opportunity employees, tipped employees, and agricultural employees.
In the late 1990s, Wisconsin's law was changed to put liens for bank loans ahead of those for workers' earned wages in bankruptcy proceedings. This was not fair action for Wisconsin's workers. Workers should be paid first for the hours they already have worked when the tragedy of a business closing occurs. All Americans are struggling to make ends meet; making sure families that are counting on a paycheck get that check needs to be a high priority now more than ever. Senate Bill 2 would restore employee rights to wages earned - this bill passed the Senate in February but has yet to have action in the Assembly.
Last summer, Wisconsin was able to extend unemployment benefits for those looking for jobs with action from the federal government and the Department of Workforce Development. These extended benefits helped thousands of out of work individuals in Wisconsin and continues to help families in a time of need. Additional help may be needed in this area since eligible claims must have been filed by the end of August this year.
Whether it is unemployment insurance, wage first lien legislation, or the minimum wage in Wisconsin; laws regarding workers continue to take shape every day in the nation and in Wisconsin. To find out more about Wisconsin's labor and workforce laws contact my office at 888-549-0027 or 608-266-6670 or via e-mail at sen.erpenbach@legis.wi.gov.
- Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Waunakee, serves the 27th Senate District.
A quarter of a million workers in Wisconsin are paid the minimum wage, about a third of them are the head of their household. There have been attempts in the past few Legislative sessions to index the minimum wage at the rate of inflation - those attempts have not been successful. On July 24, 2009, the state minimum wage in Wisconsin increased from $6.50 per hour to $7.25 per hour. This increase aligns the state minimum wage with the federal minimum wage. Wisconsin sets minimum wage rates that employers must comply with when paying employees. Our law generally applies to all public and private sector employers, regardless of whether they are covered by the federal minimum wage law. The Department of Workforce Development is authorized by state statute to change the state minimum wage through the rule promulgation process. However, separate minimum wage rates apply for minor employees, opportunity employees, tipped employees, and agricultural employees.
In the late 1990s, Wisconsin's law was changed to put liens for bank loans ahead of those for workers' earned wages in bankruptcy proceedings. This was not fair action for Wisconsin's workers. Workers should be paid first for the hours they already have worked when the tragedy of a business closing occurs. All Americans are struggling to make ends meet; making sure families that are counting on a paycheck get that check needs to be a high priority now more than ever. Senate Bill 2 would restore employee rights to wages earned - this bill passed the Senate in February but has yet to have action in the Assembly.
Last summer, Wisconsin was able to extend unemployment benefits for those looking for jobs with action from the federal government and the Department of Workforce Development. These extended benefits helped thousands of out of work individuals in Wisconsin and continues to help families in a time of need. Additional help may be needed in this area since eligible claims must have been filed by the end of August this year.
Whether it is unemployment insurance, wage first lien legislation, or the minimum wage in Wisconsin; laws regarding workers continue to take shape every day in the nation and in Wisconsin. To find out more about Wisconsin's labor and workforce laws contact my office at 888-549-0027 or 608-266-6670 or via e-mail at sen.erpenbach@legis.wi.gov.
- Sen. Jon Erpenbach, D-Waunakee, serves the 27th Senate District.
