Hiring and Firing in Wisconsin

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Published by: State Bar of Wisconsin PINNACLE
ISBN: 978-1-57862-744-8 334+ pp.; 9th ed. 2025-26 (Includes 2026-27 Supplement)
Hiring and Firing in Wisconsin

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Help your clients avoid the dramatic costs and damaging conflicts that may arise by not knowing the law. Hiring and Firing in Wisconsin offers a comprehensive overview of the laws governing employee screening, hiring, and employment termination, focusing mainly on Wisconsin law, but discussing federal law as it relates to Wisconsin employment practices.

The 2026-2027 supplement includes a number of changes such as:

  • The discussion of employer artificial intelligence use and employment discrimination has been updated
  • In November 2025, the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission (EEOC) issued guidance to deter national origin discrimination against American workers
  • Numerous executive orders with employment-law impacts were issued in 2025
  • In 2025, the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Seventh Circuit issued a decision addressing whether subjective hiring criteria are, alone, evidence of pretext under Title VII
  • In 2025, the Eastern District of Wisconsin decided two cases involving constructive discharge claims, the Western District of Wisconsin examined what justifies treating a resignation as a constructive discharge, and the Seventh Circuit twice addressed the elements employees need to establish in constructive discharge cases, twice considered employer implementation of performance improvement plans, and also confirmed the need for plaintiffs to show intolerable working conditions
  • In a 2025 opinion, the Seventh Circuit considered First Amendment concerns in the context of speech involving university teaching and scholarship

The 2025-2026 revision includes a number of changes such as:

  • Added discussion regarding Equal Employment Opportunity Commission guidance on employer compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act while using software that relies on algorithmic decision-making
  • The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s 2025 opinion pertaining to what is included in the term “arrest record”
  • Updated discussion regarding Immigration Reform and Control Act requirements

I. Hiring

1. Discrimination in Hiring
2. Recruiting, Application Forms, and Interviews
3. Credit Reports and Reference Checks
4. Testing and Screening
5. The Hiring Decision

II. Termination

6. Types of Termination
7. Limitations on an Employer's Right to Terminate
8. The Termination Decision
9. Termination Payments
10. Legal Issues in Providing References

Appendices

  • Avoiding "Loaded Interview" Questions (DWD)
  • Employment Eligibility Verification (INS Form I-9)
  • Prescribed Summary of Consumer Rights Under the Fair Credit Reporting Act (16 C.F.R. pt. 601, app. A)
  • Employment Termination Checklist

For an in depth view of the content in this book, please click to view Table of Contents.

State Bar of Wisconsin PINNACLE® is the premier publisher of practice guides and handbooks for Wisconsin's attorneys, written by Wisconsin's attorneys. PINNACLE relies on the expertise and contributions of volunteers from within the State Bar of Wisconsin membership to help develop and deliver timely, relevant information to assist Wisconsin's attorneys provide the highest-quality representation and service.

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About the Supplement Authors

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