AbsentEase
Wisconsin sick leave law & call-off rules
Wisconsin has no paid sick leave mandate — Milwaukee's voter-approved ordinance was preempted before it ever operated — but it keeps two rules that shape scheduling: factory and mercantile employees must get 24 consecutive hours of rest every calendar week, and Wisconsin's own FMLA layers unpaid leave rules on 50+ employee firms that differ from the federal act. Here is what applies in 2026.
Wisconsin at a glance
| Paid sick leave mandate | None — Milwaukee's 2008 ordinance was preempted by 2011 Act 16 |
|---|---|
| One day of rest in seven | Factory and mercantile employees: 24 consecutive hours off per calendar week |
| Wisconsin FMLA | Unpaid leave at 50+ employees, with rules that differ from federal FMLA |
| PTO at termination | Policy controls — promised amounts become collectible wages (ch. 109) |
| Final paycheck deadline | Next payday or 31 days, whichever is earlier; 24 hours on closures/mergers |
| Voting leave | Up to 3 consecutive hours, unpaid, requested before election day |
| Meal breaks | Recommended, not required, for adults — but breaks under 30 minutes must be paid |
Is paid sick leave required in Wisconsin?
No. Wisconsin has no paid sick leave requirement — 2011's Act 16 preempted local sick-leave ordinances (nullifying Milwaukee's), and 2017's Act 327 broadened employment-law preemption. The Wisconsin FMLA provides unpaid, job-protected leave at 50+ employee firms; paid sick leave is your written policy plus the federal floor.
The federal floor that still applies
FMLA
Employers with 50+ employees within 75 miles must give eligible employees (12+ months tenure, 1,250+ hours in the past year) up to 12 weeks of unpaid, job-protected leave for a serious health condition — their own or a close family member's. FMLA-protected absences can't accrue attendance points, and a call-off that mentions an ongoing condition can be notice enough to trigger your FMLA obligations, even if the employee never says "FMLA."
ADA
For employers with 15+ employees, the ADA can require modified attendance expectations or unpaid leave as a reasonable accommodation for a disability. An attendance policy applied "no exceptions" is exactly the kind that loses ADA cases — build an accommodation carve-out into the policy itself.
FLSA overtime and attendance bonuses
A cash bonus promised in advance for good attendance counts as wages under federal overtime law. It has to be added into the regular rate for the weeks it covers, so any of those weeks over 40 hours owes extra overtime on the bonus, usually recalculated after the bonus is paid. State overtime law can add to this, but can't go below it. See how attendance bonuses change overtime pay.
Call-offs, no-call no-shows, and firing in Wisconsin
Wisconsin is at-will with the Brockmeyer public-policy exception and strong statutory retaliation protections under the Fair Employment Act. For attendance systems, the state-specific work is scheduling-side: the one-day-rest-in-seven law guarantees factory or mercantile crews 24 consecutive hours off in every calendar week regardless of attendance points (DWD reads it per calendar week, so up to 12 straight workdays can be lawful, and since 2015 Act 55 an employee may waive the rest day in writing under 103.85(2)(g)), and Wisconsin FMLA absences (which can be covered by substituted paid leave) can't be pointed any more than federal ones. The DWD's Equal Rights Division handles both wage and retaliation claims, on records. A call-off hotline or text-based call-off system keeps the absence side of those records complete.
After a no call, no show termination in Wisconsin
| Does Wisconsin law define job abandonment? | No statute or regulation defines job abandonment as such; it is set by employer policy, but the unemployment statute treats absenteeism on more than two occasions within the 120 days before termination, without both notice and a valid reason, as misconduct unless the employer's signed-acknowledged employment manual specifies otherwise (Wis. Stat. § 108.04(5)(e)). (Wis. Stat. § 108.04(5), (5)(e), (5g)(a), (7)(a)) |
|---|---|
| Final paycheck if you treat it as a discharge | An employee who is discharged (other than a commission sales agent or an employee with a written contract for a definite period) must be paid in full by the earlier of the date the employee regularly would have been paid under the employer's established payroll schedule or the payment date required under § 109.03(1) (the regular at-least-monthly pay cycle). (Wis. Stat. § 109.03(2)) |
| Final paycheck if you treat it as a resignation | An employee who quits (with or without notice; the statute draws no distinction) must be paid in full by the same deadline as a discharged employee: the earlier of the regular payday under the employer's established payroll schedule or the payment date required under § 109.03(1). (Wis. Stat. § 109.03(2)) |
| Accrued PTO at separation | Owed unless a written policy clearly provides for forfeiture. 'Wages' include vacation pay and similar advantages agreed upon between employer and employee or provided as an established policy, and the Department of Workforce Development states that if the employer has a written vacation policy that does not include a written forfeiture provision, the employer must pay earned, unused vacation at separation; employers are free to impose conditions, including forfeiture, in the policy. (Wis. Stat. § 109.01(3); Wis. DWD, Wage Payment and Collection guidance ('Am I entitled to my unused vacation/PTO when I am fired or if I quit?')) |
| Unemployment claims | An employee who voluntarily terminates work is ineligible until earning six times the weekly benefit rate (§ 108.04(7)(a)); discharge for misconduct makes the employee ineligible for seven weeks and until earning 14 times the weekly benefit rate (§ 108.04(5)), and discharge for 'substantial fault' carries the same seven-week/14x requalification (§ 108.04(5g)(a)). |
If a state agency later treats a "resignation" as a discharge, the discharge deadline governs, so pay by the earlier of the two when in doubt. Document each step with the no call, no show write-up and termination letter templates, which fill in Wisconsin's final-pay rule.
Write a no call, no show policy that fits Wisconsin
Start from our no call, no show policy guide and free template, or let the generator turn nine quick questions into a signature-ready policy with Wisconsin already selected so the protected-leave section covers the federal FMLA and ADA rules that still apply here.
PTO payout and final paychecks
| Scenario | Rule | Source |
|---|---|---|
| Employee is fired or laid off | Next regular payday or within 31 days of the last day worked, whichever is earlier; 24 hours if the separation is due to merger, relocation, or closure | Wis. Stat. 109.03 |
| Employee quits | Next regular payday (31-day outer limit) | Wis. Stat. 109.03 |
| Unused vacation / PTO | Payable only if promised by policy or agreement — but promised amounts are collectible wages through DWD | Wis. Stat. ch. 109 |
| Enforcement | DWD Equal Rights Division wage claims | — |
Wisconsin enforces the promise, not a default — write the payout rule you intend. See how PTO accrual works.
Leave Wisconsin employers must (and must not) provide
| Leave type | Required? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| Weekly rest | Yes — factory/mercantile | 24 consecutive hours off in every calendar week; the employee may waive it in writing (Wis. Stat. 103.85) |
| Voting | Yes — unpaid | Up to 3 consecutive hours while polls are open; request before election day; employer may set the time |
| Jury duty | Yes — unpaid | Job-protected with no seniority loss (Wis. Stat. 756.255) |
| Wisconsin FMLA | Yes at 50+ employees | Unpaid; notably allows substituting accrued paid leave — including employer-provided sick leave — for WFMLA absences |
| Meal breaks | Recommended | 30 minutes near mealtime recommended for adults; mandatory only for minors; sub-30-minute breaks are paid time |
The Wisconsin employer's attendance playbook
- Put it in writing. A written policy — call-off deadline and channel, points or steps, the no-call no-show rule, and carve-outs for legally protected absences — is what makes discipline defensible. Our attendance policy guide walks through it.
- Give call-offs one channel. "Tell whoever answers" is how records get lost. One number every employee texts or calls makes the record automatic.
- Log everything with timestamps. Unemployment hearings and discrimination charges are won on contemporaneous records, not recollections.
- Enforce consistently. Uneven enforcement converts a lawful termination into a discrimination claim.
- Screen call-offs for protected reasons before applying points — sickness that could be FMLA/ADA territory gets a different track than an overslept alarm.
Comparing states? See all published guides on the state sick leave laws hub.