Employment Preemption in Milwaukee, WI (2026)
2 verified employment preemption rules for Milwaukee, Wisconsin, sourced directly from the municipal code and official government pages.
Verified from official government sources
Minimum Wage Preemption
Wisconsin's minimum wage tracks the federal $7.25 floor under Wis. Stat. §104.035. Wis. Stat. §104.001 (2017 Act 21) preempts Milwaukee from setting a higher local wage. The city's living wage applies only to its contractors.
State Minimum Wage Preempts Milwaukee
Few RestrictionsWis. Stat. §§ 104.001, 104.02, 104.035
104.001 Statewide concern; uniformity. (1) The legislature finds that the provision of a minimum wage that is uniform throughout the state is a matter of statewide concern and that the enactment of a minimum wage ordinance by a city, village, town, or county would be logically inconsistent with, would defeat the purpose of, and would go against the spirit of this chapter. Therefore, this chapte...
Paid Leave Preemption
Wisconsin Act 21 of 2011 and Wis. Stat. §103.10 (2017 Act 67) preempt Milwaukee from mandating paid sick or family leave for private employers. Milwaukee's 2008 paid-sick-leave referendum was nullified by state law.
Local Paid Leave Preempted Statewide
Few RestrictionsWis. Stat. § 103.10(1m)
103.10 Family or medical leave. (1m) Statewide concern; uniformity. (a) The legislature finds that the provision of family and medical leave that is uniform throughout the state is a matter of statewide concern and that the enactment of an ordinance by a city, village, town, or county that requires employers to provide employees with leave from employment, paid or unpaid, for any of the reasons...
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County ordinances apply to unincorporated areas and may supplement Milwaukee city rules.
Employment Preemption in Milwaukee County →