109.07(4m) (4m) 

109.07(4m)(a) (a) If an employer fails to give timely notice to the highest official of a municipality as required under sub. (1m) (a), the department shall assess a business closing surcharge against the employer of not more than $500 for each day in the period beginning on the day on which the employer was required to give notice to the highest official and ending on the earlier of the day on which the employer actually gave notice to the highest official or the day on which the business closing or mass layoff occurred.

109.07(4m)(b) (b) The department shall deposit business closing surcharges collected under par. (a) in the general fund.

109.07(5) (5) 

109.07(5)(a) (a) An employer is not liable under this section for a failure to give notice to any person under sub. (1m) (a), if the department determines all of the following:

109.07(5)(a)1. 1. When the notice under sub. (1m) (a) would have been timely given, that the employer was actively seeking capital or business to enable the employer to avoid or postpone indefinitely the business closing or mass layoff.

109.07(5)(a)2. 2. That the employer reasonably and in good faith believed that giving the notices to all parties required under sub. (1m) (a) would have prevented the employer from obtaining the capital or business.

109.07(5)(b) (b) The department may not determine that an employer was actively seeking capital or business under par. (a) 1. unless the employer has a written record, made while the employer was seeking capital or business, of those activities. The record shall consist of the documents and other material specified by the department by rule under s. 109.12 (1) (b). The employer shall have individual documents in the record notarized, as required by the department’s rules. The employer shall provide the department with an affidavit verifying the content of the notarized documents.

109.07(6) (6) An employer is not liable under this section for a failure to give notice to any person under sub. (1m) (a), if the department determines that the business closing or mass layoff is the result of any of the following:

109.07(6)(a) (a) The sale of part or all of the employer’s business, if the purchaser agrees in writing, as part of the purchase agreement, to hire substantially all of the affected employees with not more than a 6-month break in employment.

109.07(6)(b) (b) The relocation of part or all of an employer’s business within a reasonable commuting distance, if the employer offers to transfer substantially all of the affected employees with not more than a 6-month break in employment.

109.07(6)(c) (c) The completion of a particular project or work of a specific duration, including seasonal work, if the affected employees were hired with the understanding that their employment was limited to the duration of such work or project.

109.07(6)(d) (d) Business circumstances that were not foreseeable when the notice would have been timely given.

109.07(6)(e) (e) A natural or man-made disaster beyond the control of the employer.

109.07(6)(f) (f) A temporary cessation in business operations, if the employer recalls the affected employees on or before the 60th day beginning after the cessation.

109.07(7) (7) Each employer shall post, in one or more conspicuous places where notices to employees are customarily posted, a notice in a form approved by the department setting forth employees’ rights under this section. Any employer who violates this subsection shall forfeit not more than $100.

109.07(8) (8) Section 111.322 (2m) applies to discharge and other discriminatory acts arising in connection with any proceeding under this section.

109.07 History History: 1975 c. 380; 1983 a. 84, 149; 1983 a. 192 s. 304; 1983 a. 538; 1987 a. 27; 1989 a. 44, 228; 1995 a. 27, ss. 3782 and 9116 (5); 1997 a. 51; 2009 a. 87; 2011 a. 32.

109.07 Cross-reference Cross-reference: See also ch. DWD 279, Wis. adm. code.

109.07 Annotation The application of this section is limited to business closures of employment sites, defined by reference to geography rather than ownership. A transfer of business assets does not constitute a business closing unless it results in either a temporary or permanent shutdown in the operation of the business site. State v. T.J. International, Inc., 2001 WI 76, 244 Wis. 2d 481, 628 N.W.2d 774, 99-2803.

109.07 Annotation There is no private cause of action under this section. Henne v. Allis-Chalmers Corp., 660 F. Supp. 1464 (1987).

109.075 109.075 Cessation of health care benefits affecting employees, retirees and dependents; advance notice required.

109.075(1) (1) In this section:

109.075(1)(a) (a) “Affected employee, retiree or dependent” means an employee, retired employee or a surviving covered dependent of an employee or retired employee who loses, or may reasonably be expected to lose, his or her health care benefits provided by an employer who is required to give notice under sub. (2) because the employer has decided to cease providing health care benefits.

109.075(1)(b) (b) “Employee benefit plan” means a plan as defined in 29 USC 1002 (3).

109.075(1)(c) (c) “Employer” means any business enterprise that employs 50 or more persons in this state.

109.075(1)(d) (d) “Health care benefits” means coverage of health care expenses under an employee benefit plan.

109.075(2) (2) Subject to sub. (5) or (6), an employer who has decided to cease providing health care benefits in this state shall promptly notify any affected employee, retiree or dependent and any collective bargaining representative of any affected employee, retiree or dependent in writing of such action no later than 60 days prior to the date that the cessation of health care benefits takes place. This subsection does not apply to a cessation of health care benefits that is caused by a strike or lockout.

109.075(3) (3)