Wisconsin Employment Law — full calculator

Frequently Asked Questions

• When must a Wisconsin employer issue a final paycheck?

  Under Wis. Stat. §109.03(2), employers must pay all earned wages by the next regular scheduled payday or within 31 days of the last day worked — whichever comes first. This applies whether the employee was fired, laid off, or resigned. If employment ended due to a business closure, merger, or relocation, the deadline is only 24 hours.

• Does Wisconsin require overtime pay after 8 hours in a day?

  No. Wisconsin follows the federal FLSA rule: overtime is required only after 40 hours in a workweek, paid at 1.5× the regular rate. There is no daily overtime threshold in Wisconsin — unlike California or Alaska, which add daily overtime triggers. The workweek is any fixed, regularly recurring 168-hour period.

• Are non-compete agreements enforceable in Wisconsin?

  Yes, but only if they satisfy all five factors under Wis. Stat. §103.465: (1) reasonably necessary to protect the employer, (2) reasonable time period (typically 6–24 months), (3) reasonable geographic territory, (4) not unreasonably burdensome to the employee, and (5) not contrary to the public interest. Critically, Wisconsin does not blue-pencil — if any part of the agreement is unreasonable, the entire covenant is void and unenforceable.

• What is Wisconsin's minimum wage in 2026?

  Wisconsin's standard minimum wage is $7.25 per hour, matching the federal FLSA floor. However, Wisconsin sets a higher tipped employee cash minimum of $2.33/hr (vs. federal $2.13/hr). A youth opportunity wage of $5.90/hr applies to workers under age 20 during their first 90 consecutive days with a particular employer (as of 2026, source: dwd.wisconsin.gov).

• Does Wisconsin require paid meal breaks?

  No. Wisconsin does not legally require employers to provide meal breaks to adult employees, though §DWD 274.02(2) recommends them. However, any break shorter than 30 consecutive minutes must be counted as paid work time — employers cannot deduct it from wages. Employees under 18 must receive a 30-minute duty-free meal period for every six consecutive hours worked.

• Does Wisconsin require a day off each week?

  Yes, but only for factory and retail establishment employees. Under Wis. Stat. §103.85 and DWD Ch. 275, those employees must receive at least one 24-hour period of rest per calendar week (Sunday through Saturday). An exception applies if the employee provides written consent to work without a day off. This requirement does not apply to office, service, or other non-factory/retail workplaces.

• Does Wisconsin mandate paid sick leave?

  No. Wisconsin has no state law requiring employers to provide paid or unpaid sick leave. Any sick leave benefits are determined entirely by the employer's written or unwritten policy. Wisconsin does have a Family and Medical Leave Law for employers with 50+ permanent employees, offering unpaid protected leave for qualifying health or family events.

• What happens if a Wisconsin employer pays the final paycheck late?

  The employee may file a wage claim with the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Equal Rights Division. Claims must be filed within two years of the date wages were due. The DWD will investigate and may require the employer to pay all owed wages. Employees may also sue in small claims or circuit court.

• Does Wisconsin law govern overtime for salaried employees?

  Wisconsin's own salary exemption threshold ($700/month) is lower than the federal FLSA threshold ($684/week / $35,568/year as of 2026). Because the higher federal standard is more favorable to employees, the FLSA threshold governs for most white-collar exemption analyses in Wisconsin. An exempt employee must both meet the salary threshold AND perform primarily executive, administrative, or professional duties.

• Can a Wisconsin employer pay the youth opportunity wage to all teenagers?

  Only partially. The $5.90/hr Wisconsin youth opportunity wage applies to employees who are under 20 years old AND are within their first 90 consecutive calendar days of employment with that specific employer. After 90 days, or once the worker turns 20, the standard minimum wage of $7.25/hr applies. For tipped youth workers, the comparable rate is $2.13/hr (matching the federal tipped youth minimum).