Wisconsin background check laws for employers (2026): what you can check and when

Wisconsin employers may run background checks, but the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act treats arrest records and conviction records as protected categories, for employers with even one employee and for employment agencies. As of October 2026, the rules that matter most are: no questions about arrests except pending charges, a conviction or pending charge may count against a candidate only when its circumstances substantially relate to the job, stricter mandatory checks for caregivers, child care and schools, and no state lookback limit, credit check law or salary history ban. Madison adds its own limits on arrest and credit history questions.

The federal steps (stand-alone disclosure, authorization, pre-adverse and adverse action notices) apply to every Wisconsin hire that uses a screening company and are covered in the FCRA background check process. Wisconsin has no ban-the-box page on this site because it has no statewide timing rule for private employers; this page covers what Wisconsin law adds, with each statute linked. The wider state picture is on hiring employees in Wisconsin.

Does Wisconsin have its own background check law?

Not a reporting law. We found no Wisconsin statute that adds disclosure, consent or copy requirements to the federal FCRA for employment screening, and no state seven-year rule for screening companies. What Wisconsin has instead is a discrimination law about how records are used. Under Wis. Stat. 111.321, no employer, labor organization, employment agency, licensing agency or other person may discriminate on the basis of arrest record or conviction record, among other grounds.

The definitions in Wis. Stat. 111.32 are broad. An arrest record covers being questioned, apprehended, taken into custody, held for investigation, arrested, charged, indicted or tried. A conviction record includes having been adjudicated delinquent, placed on probation or fined. An employer is anyone employing at least one individual, and an employment agency is anyone who regularly procures employees or job opportunities for others, which reaches staffing firms and recruiters.

Can Wisconsin employers ask about arrests or use them?

Only about pending charges. Wis. Stat. 111.335(2)(a) makes it discrimination to request information about an applicant's arrest record, "except a record of a pending charge," unless the job depends on the person being bondable under a standard fidelity bond. Under 111.335(2)(b), an employer may refuse to hire someone with a pending criminal charge only if the circumstances of the charge substantially relate to the circumstances of the particular job.

An arrest that did not lead to a conviction cannot be the reason for a decision. An employer may act on its own conclusion that a person committed an offense, but the Department of Workforce Development's case digest records a Labor and Industry Review Commission decision (Lovejoy v. Auto-Wares, 2011) where an employer that reviewed only the online court record had not made an independent investigation. A court website printout that shows an arrest is not that investigation.

When can a conviction count against a Wisconsin candidate?

Under Wis. Stat. 111.335(3)(a), an employer may refuse to hire someone convicted of an offense "the circumstances of which substantially relate to the circumstances of the particular job," or who is not bondable for a job that requires a standard fidelity bond. The Wisconsin Supreme Court's reading, noted in the statute annotations (County of Milwaukee v. LIRC, 1987), looks at "the circumstances that foster criminal activity, such as opportunity for criminal behavior, reaction to responsibility, and character traits of the person," rather than the details of the particular crime.

The Department of Workforce Development puts it plainly on its arrest and conviction record page: "An employer cannot legally make a rule that no persons with conviction records will be employed. Each job and record must be considered individually." A few job types get wider latitude for unpardoned felonies in 111.335(3): licensed private detective and security businesses, burglar alarm installers, and educational agencies such as school districts and private and charter schools.

Complaints go to the Equal Rights Division and must be filed within 300 days of the alleged discrimination (Wis. Stat. 111.39), as the division's complaint process page explains.

What about expunged and juvenile records in Wisconsin?

Wisconsin's expungement law is narrow. Under Wis. Stat. 973.015, a court may order expungement, at sentencing, for a person who was under 25 when the offense was committed and whose offense carries a maximum prison term of six years or less, with some felonies excluded; the record is expunged once the sentence is successfully completed. The statute does not speak to employers, but the DWD decision digest records the Commission's holding that "the substantial relationship defense may not be based upon an offense that has been expunged" (Staten v. Holton Manor, 2018).

Child care is the exception: the Department of Children and Families' child care background check page says a person may still be found ineligible for a conviction that was expunged. A juvenile delinquency adjudication counts as a conviction record under 111.32, and a person may petition to expunge it under Wis. Stat. 938.355(4m).

When can Wisconsin employers ask about criminal history?

Wisconsin has no statewide timing rule for private employers. The only state rule covers state civil service: Wis. Stat. 230.16(1)(ap), added by 2015 Wisconsin Act 150, bars asking applicants for conviction records before they are certified for a position, unless the conviction would disqualify them. Private employers may ask about convictions and pending charges on an application, as long as decisions follow 111.335.

Madison and Milwaukee

• Madison. The city's Equal Opportunities Ordinance, Madison General Ordinance 39.03, covers private employers in the city. It makes it unlawful to request any credit history, or an arrest record except a record of a pending charge, and treats credit history as a protected category. Amendments adopted in November 2024 and January 2025 removed the ordinance's old three-year window for considering convictions and replaced it with factors such as the seriousness of the offense, the time that has passed and the person's age; the city's explanatory web page still describes the old window, so rely on the ordinance text. City contractors also follow MGO 39.08, which delays background checks until after a conditional offer for covered contracts.
• Milwaukee. The city removed conviction and pending-charge questions from its own initial applications by a 2016 Common Council resolution, which only encourages other employers to follow. We found no Milwaukee ordinance covering private employers or city contractors.

How do you get a Wisconsin criminal record yourself?

Through the Department of Justice's Wisconsin Online Record Check System (WORCS). The DOJ background check page says anyone may pay a fee to request adult criminal history through WORCS, and Wis. Stat. 165.82 sets the fee at $7 for each name-based record check. Results can show arrests, charges and dispositions, so remember that only pending charges and convictions may be considered.

The DOJ's notice to employers asks that, before you make a final decision based on the response, you tell the applicant of their right to challenge the accuracy and completeness of the record and how to do it. The state court website, Wisconsin Circuit Court Access, carries its own notice that it may violate state law to discriminate against an applicant because of an arrest or conviction record, and its FAQ says expunged and juvenile cases are not displayed and dismissed or acquitted criminal cases are removed two years after the final order.

Which Wisconsin jobs require background checks?

• Caregivers. Entities regulated by the Department of Health Services must check employees and contractors with regular, direct contact with clients, using a DOJ criminal history search, the state caregiver registry, licensing status and prior findings (Wis. Stat. 50.065). The DHS caregiver background check page says checks are required at hire, on a change in circumstances and at least every four years. People with listed serious crimes may not be employed "notwithstanding s. 111.335" unless DHS approves a rehabilitation review.
• Child care. Wis. Stat. 48.686 requires fingerprint-based checks before a person starts and at least every five years, and it defines a child care program to include a temporary employment agency that provides caregivers to other child care programs. DCF publishes a checklist for contracting and staffing agencies on its background check page.
• Licensed school staff. The Department of Public Instruction runs a background investigation for every license applicant and renewal, and at least once every five years for holders of licenses with no expiration date who work for schools (Wis. Stat. 118.19(10); DPI background check page).

Does Wisconsin protect employers who hire people with records?

Yes, through a certificate. Wis. Stat. 973.25, created by 2019 Wisconsin Act 123, lets eligible people convicted of crimes other than violent crimes apply to a council on offender employment for a certificate of qualification for employment, and Wis. Stat. 895.492 makes an employer that hires a certificate holder immune from negligent hiring, retention, training or supervision claims, except where the employer acted maliciously. For references, Wis. Stat. 895.487 presumes an employer giving a reference about a current or former employee acts in good faith, unless clear and convincing evidence shows it knowingly gave false information, acted maliciously or violated the Fair Employment Act. The general negligent hiring background is in what negligent hiring is.

Can Wisconsin employers check credit, salary history or social media?

• Credit. We found no Wisconsin statute limiting employment credit checks, so the federal FCRA steps apply; Madison's ordinance is the exception for jobs in that city. Other states' rules are compared in credit check laws for employers.
• Salary history. Allowed. Wis. Stat. 103.36, created by 2017 Wisconsin Act 327, says an employer may solicit salary history and bars cities, villages, towns and counties from enacting or enforcing a ban. See salary history ban states for the states that do ban it.
• Social media. Wis. Stat. 995.55 bars requiring an applicant to disclose access information for a personal internet account or to let you observe it. Public information may still be viewed.
• Lie detectors. Wis. Stat. 111.37 bars requiring, requesting or suggesting that an applicant take a lie detector test.

Wisconsin background check rules at a glance

What should recruiters and staffing agencies do in Wisconsin?

1. Fix the application and intake form. Ask only about convictions and pending charges, never arrests. In Madison, remove credit history questions too.
2. Write the substantial relationship analysis down. For each conviction or pending charge you rely on, note how its circumstances relate to the circumstances of this job. A blanket "no felonies" rule is unlawful.
3. Investigate before acting on conduct behind an arrest. A court record showing an arrest is not an independent investigation.
4. Keep criminal history out of interviews and notes. If a candidate mentions an arrest or an expunged case, do not follow up or record it. If you record or transcribe interviews, check Wisconsin's recording consent rules and remove the passage from any notes you share.
5. Know the regulated settings. Agencies placing caregivers or child care staff must follow the DHS and DCF processes, and a child care placement waits for the fingerprint result.
6. Put it in a policy. A background check policy that names the checks by role keeps practice consistent across recruiters and clients.

For the rest of the state picture, see staffing agency licensing in Wisconsin, Wisconsin E-Verify requirements and Wisconsin non-compete law.