Arrest Record Discrimination Attorneys

What is an Arrest Record?

“Arrest record” covers more than you may think. The Wisconsin Fair Employment Act defines “arrest record” as “information that a person has been questioned, apprehended, taken into custody or detention, held for investigation, arrested, charged with, indicted or tried for any felony, misdemeanor or other offense by any law enforcement or military authority.”

What is Arrest Record Discrimination?

Arrest record discrimination can occur in one of two ways:

• An individual is denied employment based on arrest record; or
• An individual is terminated based on arrest record

It is becoming far more commonplace for employers to run background checks on applicants. Employers may not be able to deny employment to applicants based on arrest record(s) for past charges contained in the background check results.

Employers may also be prohibited from firing current employees because of an arrest.

What is Not Arrest Record Discrimination?

There are exceptions to arrest record discrimination that allow employers to take certain actions based on arrest record without violating the law.

For example, in certain situations an employer can temporarily suspend a current employee’s employment while awaiting the outcome of a pending charge against an employee.  An employer may also be allowed to legally terminate a current employee’s employment if the employee admits to committing the charge for which he or she was arrested, if the charge is related to the position.

Hire The Best

Attorney James Walcheske is among the top Arrest Record Discrimination attorneys in Wisconsin. He has counseled hundreds of clients through this thorny and rarely known area of the law.