Getting Paid
Wis. Stat. 109.03 — at least monthly, and a final check by the next regular payday
At least monthly. A Wisconsin employer pays every employee at least monthly all wages earned to a day not more than 31 days before the payday. An employee who was absent or otherwise not paid at the set time is paid at any time after that upon 6 days' demand.
Quit or fired: the next regular payday. An employee who quits or is discharged, other than a commissioned sales agent or someone with a written contract for a definite period, is paid in full no later than the day they would regularly have been paid, or the monthly deadline, whichever is earlier.
No special contract can exempt an employer from the section. Each employee may sue for the full wages due on each regular payday without first filing a wage claim with the department, and has a lien on the employer's property in the state. No security for costs is required, and the court may award the winner a reasonable sum for expenses.
Logging and farm labor may be paid quarterly, and a collective bargaining agreement may set a different schedule. When an employee dies, the wages due go on demand to the spouse, domestic partner, children or other dependent living with them.
Sources for this section (1)
- Wis. Stat. 109.03 — When wages payable; pay orders
Legal information, not legal advice. Verified as of September 2026. Applying it to a particular situation is the work of a licensed Wisconsin attorney.