Supervisors play a crucial role in shaping the workplace environment, ensuring fairness, compliance, and employee well-being. It is necessary to equip them with a working knowledge and the level of awareness necessary to navigate the complex landscape of employment law, both at the federal and state levels. The role as a supervisor is vital in upholding these laws, creating a respectful and inclusive work environment, and ensuring that their team operates within the bounds of the law.

Provided below are the top ten topics a training program for new supervisors should cover about federal or Wisconsin employment law:

1.          Employment Discrimination Laws

Federal laws such as Title VII of the Civil Rights Act, the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA), the Age Discrimination in Employment Act (ADEA), and the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act prohibit employment discrimination and require equal opportunity in the workplace regardless of race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, or genetic information.

Supervisors must understand these state and federal regulations to prevent discriminatory practices when hiring, promoting, terminating, setting wages, or providing benefits. Key points that supervisors should know about federal and Wisconsin employment discrimination laws include the following:

• Protected Classes: It is illegal to discriminate against employees or applicants based on their membership in certain groups, including race, color, religion, sex, national origin, age, disability, and genetic information.
• Hiring and Promotion: Supervisors must base hiring, promotion, compensation, and training decisions solely on legitimate, nondiscriminatory reasons like skills, experience, and ability to perform job duties.
• Reasonable Accommodations: Federal and Wisconsin laws require employers to provide reasonable accommodations for individuals with disabilities to help them perform essential job functions, unless providing such accommodations would impose an undue hardship.
• Harassment Prohibition: Supervisors must prevent, promptly address, and correct harassing conduct against protected classes in the workplace, especially if it is severe, pervasive, and alters working conditions.
• Retaliation Prohibition: It is unlawful to retaliate or take adverse employment actions against employees for asserting their rights by complaining about perceived discrimination or harassment in the workplace. Supervisors should address complaints in an impartial manner.

2.          Harassment Prevention

Harassment laws prohibit severe or pervasive conduct that creates an intimidating, hostile or offensive work environment or unreasonably interferes with an individual’s work performance. Specifically, harassment based on protected characteristics such as race, sex, religion, national origin, age, disability is unlawful.

Forms of unlawful harassment can include unwelcome verbal, physical, or visual conduct. Sexual harassment involves unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual favors, and other verbal or physical harassment of a sexual nature. Key points that supervisors should know about harassment prevention laws include the following:

• Definition: Harassment is unwelcome conduct based on protected characteristics like race or sex that unreasonably interferes with work or creates a hostile environment. Sexual harassment includes unwelcome sexual advances or visual/verbal/physical conduct of a sexual nature.
• Duty to Prevent: Supervisors have a duty to proactively take reasonable care to prevent, address, and correct any harassing conduct in the workplace they are aware of.
• Personal Liability: Supervisors can be personally liable for their own harassing conduct. They can also be liable for failing to adequately address harassing conduct that they knew (or should have known) about between employees.
• Company Policies: Supervisors must enforce their company’s anti-harassment policies by promoting a respectful workplace culture, conducting any required anti-harassment training, modeling appropriate behavior, reporting complaints properly, and taking prompt and appropriate corrective action.
• Documentation: Properly document any reports of harassing behavior as well as the investigation process and corrective actions taken, as supervisors may need to demonstrate prevention and prompt remediation efforts.

3.          Wage and Hour Laws

The federal Fair Labor Standards Act (FLSA) and Wisconsin Wage and Hour laws establish minimum wage, overtime pay, record-keeping and break time requirements that employers must follow. These laws set baseline standards and protections for employees including nonexempt workers, minors and overtime-eligible salaried employees.

Supervisors need to understand these legal obligations in order to correctly compensate nonexempt employees, maintain accurate documentation, provide mandated breaks, set appropriate work schedules based on age, and avoid costly wage violations which can lead to lawsuits, fines and penalties. Key points about wage and hour laws that supervisors should know include the following:

• Minimum Wage: Supervisors must ensure nonexempt employees are paid at least the federal or Wisconsin state minimum wage, whichever is higher, for all hours worked.
• Overtime Pay: Nonexempt employees must receive overtime pay of at least 1.5 times their regular hourly rate for hours worked over 40 in a workweek. There are also daily overtime rules in Wisconsin supervisors should know.
• Meal and Rest Breaks: Supervisors need to provide employees with required meal periods and rest breaks, following all timing and pay rules.
• Child Labor: There are restrictions under both federal and Wisconsin law that limit the hours and times minors can work. Supervisors must adhere to these child labor laws.
• Recordkeeping: Accurately recording hours worked and maintaining detailed pay records is essential. Supervisors are responsible for proper time tracking, payroll documents, and producing wage statements.

4.          Family and Medical Leave

The federal Family and Medical Leave Act (FMLA) and Wisconsin’s Family and Medical Leave Act (WFMLA) allow eligible employees to take job-protected, unpaid leave for various personal and family health reasons without fear of retaliation. FMLA provides up to 12 weeks while WFMLA mandates up to 6 weeks, with qualification rules around employer size, length of service, hours worked, and reasons for leave.

Supervisors must understand employee eligibility, required notices and certifications, pay and benefit continuation rules, as well as return to work rights when managing employee leave requests to avoid violating these laws. Key points about family and medical leave laws that supervisors should know include the following:

• Employee Eligibility: Supervisors must understand which employees qualify for leave based on months worked and hours logged under FMLA and WFMLA rules.
• Qualifying Reasons: Leaves can be taken for reasons like a serious health conditions, childbirth/adoption, military exigencies, or to care for ill family members.
• Required Notices: Supervisors must provide employees specific notices about their FMLA/WFMLA rights and obtain medical certifications related to the leave.
• Job Protection: Eligible employees are entitled to return to their same or equivalent job with equivalent pay, benefits and terms post-leave.
• No Retaliation: Supervisors cannot interfere with FMLA/WFMLA rights or retaliate against employees taking leave and must maintain benefits during leave. Violations carry steep penalties.

5.          Workplace Safety

The Occupational Safety and Health Act (OSHA) at the federal level and Wisconsin’s workplace safety regulations establish mandatory health and safety standards that aim to ensure safe and healthful working conditions. Employers must provide proper training, implement safety protocols and policies, supply protective equipment, report injuries or illnesses, and address potential hazards in order to comply.

Supervisors play a key role in enforcing safety rules, modeling safe behaviors, correcting known hazards, and promoting an organizational culture focused on safety and health. Key points about workplace safety laws that supervisors should know include the following:

• OSHA Standards: Supervisors must be familiar with OSHA and Wisconsin workplace safety standards and ensure compliance in areas like emergency action plans, protective equipment, exposure limits, and reporting obligations.
  • Injury Records: Workplace injury and illness records need to be properly maintained, stored, and submitted in OSHA recordkeeping logs when necessary.
  • Hazard Correction: Supervisors must work to promptly identify and remediate any known safety hazards that could cause serious physical harm through engineering, administrative or PPE controls.
  • Worker Training: Conduct required OSHA and Wisconsin workplace safety training to instruct employees on policies, procedures, protective measures, and rights related to on-the-job health and safety.
  • Safety Duties: Promote workplace safety culture by modeling safe practices, enforcing rules, delivering toolbox talks on emerging issues, rewarding safety excellence, and involving all personnel in safety initiatives.

6.          Accommodation for Disabilities

The federal Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA) and Wisconsin Fair Employment Act require employers to provide reasonable accommodations for qualified employees or applicants with disabilities to allow them to perform essential job functions, as long as the accommodations would not impose undue hardship.

Supervisors play a key role by cooperating in the required interactive process to understand the individual’s limitations, explore potential effective accommodations in good faith, and implement agreed upon solutions to remove workplace barriers related to the person’s disability. Key points about disability accommodation laws that supervisors should know include the following:

• Non-Discrimination: It is illegal to discriminate against qualified individuals in any employment activities based solely on disability or to deny equal opportunities.
• Reasonable Accommodations: Accommodations that do not cause undue hardship must be provided to allow employees with disabilities to perform essential functions.
• Interactive Process: Supervisors should cooperatively engage with employees to explore potential reasonable accommodations tailored to the limitations of their disability and job requirements.
• Medical Documentation: Relevant medical records may be requested to help verify a disability and need for accommodation, guided by HR protocols.
• Confidentiality: Supervisors must maintain confidentiality of employee disability-related information and documents, disclosing only on a need-to-know basis for implementation.

7.          Whistleblower Protection

Federal and Wisconsin laws are designed to protect private and public employees who “blow the whistle” by reporting illegal or fraudulent activities from retaliation. The protections encourage and enable employees to disclose violations of the law, dangers to public health and safety, gross mismanagement, fraud, or abuse of authority without fear of being demoted, fired or otherwise discriminated against in the terms and conditions of employment.

Supervisors should be aware of these whistleblower safeguards to prevent any violations in their units and reward, rather than punish, employees who come forward to disclose improprieties. Key points about whistleblower protection laws that supervisors should know include the following:

• Protected Activities: Laws protect employees who report violations of law, dangers to public health/safety, fraud, gross mismanagement or abuse internally or to outside entities.
• Adverse Actions: It’s illegal to retaliate against whistleblowers through firing, demotion, harassment, threats, or otherwise discriminating in the terms and conditions of employment.
• Confidentiality: Supervisors should respect employee confidentiality and anonymity preferences when raising misconduct concerns.
• Training: Supervisors should take antiretaliation training seriously to understand prohibited activities and best practices for facilitating internal reporting.
• No Retaliation: Supervisors should promote open internal reporting and reinforce anti-retaliation protections so staff feel secure speaking up about potential improprieties.

8.          Employment Authorization and Immigration

The federal Immigration Reform and Control Act (IRCA) makes it illegal for employers to knowingly hire or continue to employ unauthorized workers, and requires that companies verify employment eligibility using Form I-9. Employers are prohibited under IRCA from discriminating in their employment eligibility verification and hiring practices based on citizenship status or national origin.

To avoid violations, supervisors should strictly follow their employer’s policies regarding proper completion of the I-9 requirement, and only use the federal E-Verify system when authorized to check work authorization. Key points about employment authorization and immigration laws that supervisors should know include the following:

• Form I-9: Properly complete Form I-9 for every new hire to document identity and work authorization within required timeframes.
• E-Verify: Only use E-Verify to check work authorization status if trained and authorized by the organization to do so.
• Discrimination Ban: Do not discriminate in hiring, firing, recruitment or the Form I-9 process itself based on nationality, citizenship, or immigration status.
• Document Abuse: Do not over scrutinize documents from immigrants or non-citizens when completing the Form I-9.
• Unauthorized Workers: If you knowingly allow undocumented workers who lack employment authorization to work, significant civil and criminal IRCA penalties can result.

9.          Privacy and Data Protection

Federal laws like the Fair Credit Reporting Act (FCRA) along with Wisconsin’s data protection regulations establish requirements around processes for conducting employee background checks and standards for collecting, handling, disclosing, retaining and destroying sensitive employee personal, medical, and financial information.

Supervisors need to adhere to their organization’s policies around securing consent, providing notices, ensuring accuracy, and allowing individuals access to records containing their personal data to avoid legal violations which can spur regulatory investigations, fines, and individual lawsuits. Key points about privacy and data protection laws that supervisors should know include the following:

• Consent & Disclosure Rules: Get employees’ prior, written permission to obtain sensitive personal data like medical history or credit reports and provide legally-mandated disclosures.
• Handling Standards: Only access employee personal data that is directly job-related following company policies, with appropriate cybersecurity controls on storage and transmission.
• Right to Access and Correction: Have processes that allow employees to review and correct inaccuracies in any records containing their personal information.
• Minimum Necessary Access: Only allow access to employee personal information to those with a legitimate need-to-know.
• Data Retention & Disposal Rules: Follow applicable federal and Wisconsin retention regulations and company policies on destroying outdated sensitive employee records.

10.      Employee Leave and Accommodation Laws

In addition to federal leave entitlements, Wisconsin has enacted employee protection laws allowing unpaid time off for reasons such as bone marrow and organ donation, domestic abuse, sexual assault, stalking, or parental involvement at a child’s school.

Supervisors need to understand these Wisconsin leave and accommodation rights as well as any local laws, be able to communicate employee eligibility clearly, have procedures to confidentially handle related requests, and know documentation or certification requirements to avoid violating expanded worker protections. Key points about other Wisconsin employee leave and accommodation laws that supervisors should know include the following:

• Qualifying Reasons: Wisconsin law allows unpaid leave for reasons like bone marrow/organ donation, domestic abuse/sexual assault/stalking situations, ATV/boating accidents, or appearing at a child’s school.
• Local Variations: Be aware some localities expand rights further, like requiring pregnancy accommodations or bereavement leave.
• Confidentiality: Have protocols to maintain confidentiality around sensitive leave situations per Wisconsin law.
• Certification: Documentation or certification may be required to confirm domestic abuse, sexual assault or organ donation leaves.
• No Retaliation: Supervisors cannot interfere with expanded Wisconsin leave rights or retaliate against eligible employees seeking related protections.

Additional Information & Resources

Videos

• EEOC Employer Guidance Videos

Webpages

• DOL FLSA Compliance Reference Guide
• DWD FMLA Compliance Overview and FAQs
• OSHA Guidance for Supervisors
• SHRM Harassment Prevention Training
• Job Accommodation Network Accommodation Ideas
• Whistleblower Laws Explained
• USCIS I-9 Central Tutorials
• WI DFI Data Protection Outline for Employers
• Wisconsin FMLA Poster on Other Leave Rights
• Guide to Managing FMLA and ADA Obligations