The Assembly has approved Assembly Bill 748 (58-32), which would prohibit local governments from enacting their own labor-related laws.
This important legislation, introduced by Representative Rob Hutton (Brookfield) and Senator Chris Kapenga (Delafield), would create uniform, statewide standards for hours of employment and for wage claims, prohibit local governments from creating duplicative occupational licenses, eliminate mandated pay scales for employers contracting with local governments, and allow employers to seek salary information from prospective employees.
Several years ago, NFIB supported legislation signed into law by Governor James Doyle that created a statewide, uniform standard for minimum wage rates.
More recently, NFIB also supported legislation that establishes a preemption of paid sick leave proposals by local governments.
Assembly Bill 748 would continue to recognize the challenge many of our small business employers have with compliance issues relating to a variety of labor-related issues.
When we asked NFIB members if legislation should be enacted to prohibit local units of government from enacting their own labor laws – 79 percent said yes, we support labor law uniformity across the state.
Governor Doyle got it right when he signed the minimum wage preemption into law, Governor Walker got it right when he signed the paid sick leave preemption into law, and our state’s small business community got it right when they said they strongly supported legislation that sets statewide labor law standards.
NFIB members should contact their State Senators to request support for passage of Assembly Bill 748.
