Discrimination At Work
Wis. Stat. 111.321 — a complaint to the department within 300 days
No employer, labor organization, employment agency, licensing agency or other person may discriminate in Wisconsin employment on the basis of:
- Age, race, creed, color, disability, marital status, sex, national origin or ancestry.
- Arrest record or conviction record.
- Military service.
- Use or nonuse of lawful products off the employer's premises during nonworking hours.
- Declining to attend a meeting or take part in communication about religious or political matters.
Discrimination covers refusing to hire, firing, and treating someone differently in promotion, pay or terms of employment, and job ads, applications or interview questions that express a limitation on one of those bases. Firing or discriminating against someone for opposing discrimination, or for filing or helping with a complaint, is itself discrimination, and so is retaliation for enforcing listed wage and leave rights.
300 days. The department may receive and investigate a complaint filed no more than 300 days after the alleged discrimination. It dismisses a complaint when the person who filed it does not respond within 20 days to its certified mail. After a hearing, an examiner who finds discrimination orders action to remedy it, with or without back pay.
Sources for this section (3)
- Wis. Stat. 111.321 — Prohibited bases of discrimination
- Wis. Stat. 111.322 — Discriminatory actions prohibited
- Wis. Stat. 111.39 — Powers and duties of department
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Wisconsin attorney.