New hiring laws in Wisconsin for 2027: school reference rules, DACA licensing, workers' comp fraud and what employers do next

As of November 2026, Wisconsin enacted few new hiring rules in its 2025-26 session, and none we found takes effect in 2027. The acts that took effect in 2026 are narrow: 2025 Wisconsin Act 186 (April 5, 2026) bars school employers from agreements that bury findings of immoral conduct and protects references to prospective employers; Act 185 puts teacher license investigations in a public portal; Act 240 (April 11, 2026) lets DACA recipients with valid work permits hold occupational licenses; Act 145 (April 1, 2026) adds workers' compensation fraud reporting that covers misclassifying employees; and Act 183 creates a state credit for employer-provided child care. Pay range and E-Verify bills failed. The bigger 2026 and 2027 items for most employers are federal: Form I-9 dates, the end of automatic work permit extensions and the EEOC's withdrawal of its criminal records guidance.

Under Wis. Stat. 991.11, an act that does not set its own date "shall take effect on the day after its date of publication," so the dates below are the day after each act's publication date on the Legislature's 2025 acts list unless the act says otherwise. The standing checklist (Department of Revenue and unemployment registration, the WT-4, new-hire reports, arrest and conviction record rules) is in our Wisconsin hiring hub; this page is the dated list of what is new.

Which Wisconsin hiring laws changed in 2026, and what changes in 2027?

Wisconsin acts and the federal rules that apply to Wisconsin employers, sorted by date.

What changed for hiring teachers and other school staff?

Two acts published April 4, 2026 target "passing the trash." Act 186 creates Wis. Stat. 118.227. An education employer, meaning a school board, a charter school's governing board or a private school in a parental choice or special needs scholarship program, "may not enter into an agreement, including an agreement for resignation or termination and a severance agreement," that suppresses or destroys information about an investigation of alleged immoral conduct, limits reporting of it, or requires expunging allegations or findings unless they were found false or unsubstantiated. An education employer that answers a prospective employer's request with information about a current or former employee's conduct "is immune from all civil liability that may result from providing the requested information."

Act 185 tells the Department of Public Instruction to keep a free online licensing portal, searchable by name and license number, that shows each license holder under investigation, the outcome of each investigation (including a voluntary surrender during one) and each revocation. For district HR teams and education staffing firms, the practical steps are to search the portal and ask the previous school directly before an offer; the act gives that school a reason to answer.

Who can now get an occupational license in Wisconsin?

Act 240 creates Wis. Stat. 995.40. Citing 8 U.S.C. 1621(d), it makes a non-citizen "eligible to receive any occupational authorization despite the individual's citizenship status" if they have unexpired deferred action under the DACA program and an unexpired employment authorization document. The issuing department or board verifies the work permit through the federal SAVE program before issuing the credential, the credential lasts only as long as the work permit, and the holder must stop practicing and notify the issuer if work authorization is withdrawn. Every other licensing requirement still applies. Employers that hire licensed nurses, teachers, cosmetologists or tradespeople can now consider DACA recipients for licensed roles, and should track the work permit date alongside the license date, especially now that a renewal application no longer extends some permits automatically under the federal rule in the table.

Act 232, published April 9, 2026, ratifies the Social Work Licensure Compact. When social workers licensed in other member states can practice in Wisconsin under a multistate license depends on the compact's own operating date, so check the compact before promising a start date.

What did Act 145 change about workers' compensation and misclassification?

Act 145 "takes effect on January 1, 2026, or on the day after publication, whichever is later," which was April 1, 2026. New Wis. Stat. 102.125(1m) says that if an insurer has evidence that a workers' compensation application is fraudulent "or that an employer has committed fraud by misclassifying employees to lower the employer's worker's compensation insurance premiums," the insurer shall report it to the Department of Workforce Development, which may have the insurer investigate and may ask the Department of Justice for help. It also makes presenting an application that "falsely or fraudulently misclassifies employees to lower worker's compensation insurance premiums" an offense under Wis. Stat. 943.395, and raises benefit maximums, including for injuries on or after January 1, 2027. Staffing firms that pay some workers as contractors should check that class codes and classifications on their policy applications match how people actually work.

Is there a Wisconsin tax credit for employer-provided child care?

Yes. Act 183 lets a business that claims the federal employer-provided child care credit under section 45F of the Internal Revenue Code claim an equal amount against Wisconsin income or franchise tax "for taxable years beginning after December 31, 2025." Employers that offer child care as a recruiting benefit should plan the state claim with their tax adviser.

What did Wisconsin not change in 2026?

• Pay ranges. SB 488 and AB 480 failed on March 23, 2026; see Wisconsin pay transparency.
• E-Verify. AB 281 was vetoed on April 3, 2026, and the override failed on May 13, 2026; see E-Verify requirements in Wisconsin.
• Arrest and conviction records. The Wisconsin Fair Employment Act's limits, including the substantial relationship test, did not change; see Wisconsin background check laws. With the EEOC guidance rescinded on October 28, 2026, a job-related review using the Green factors from the 1975 Eighth Circuit case remains a sound way to document a decision alongside the state test.
• Salary history questions are still allowed and local bans are still preempted; see Wisconsin salary history rules.
• Non-competes are still governed by Wis. Stat. 103.465; see Wisconsin non-compete law.

What should Wisconsin employers do before January 1, 2027?

1. Add the DPI portal search and a reference request to the previous school for every licensed school hire.
2. Review separation agreements if you are an education employer, and remove any term Act 186 prohibits.
3. Track work permit expiration dates for DACA recipients in licensed roles, since the license ends with the permit.
4. Audit worker classifications and workers' compensation class codes under Act 145.
5. Check Form I-9 editions and work permit dates under the federal changes in the table, and remove references to the 2012 EEOC guidance from background check procedures.

What does this mean for staffing agencies in Wisconsin?

The 2026 acts mostly touch education staffing and classification. Agencies that place substitute teachers or school support staff should use the DPI portal and reference immunity, agencies that place licensed workers can consider DACA recipients for licensed roles with permit tracking, and every agency should expect insurers to look harder at misclassification. No staffing license, pay range or E-Verify duty was added. See our Wisconsin staffing agency guide, employer of record in Wisconsin, and new hiring laws for 2027 for other states.