Starting on November 2, 2020, Wisconsin employers must notify employees of the availability of Unemployment Insurance (UI) at the time of separation of employment. Separation of employment can include termination for misconduct, layoffs, and furloughs. This notice, however, does not guarantee that an employee will be eligible to receive UI Benefits, but requires the employer to provide notice of the possibility of these benefits.

According to the Department of Workforce Development (DWD), notice can be accomplished by email, text message, letter, or providing a printed poster in person or by mail. An employer may determine what method of notice is best. However, it is recommended that an employer use a method that can easily show proof of notification to the employee. In addition, DWD has provided suggested language on its website to give notice to the employee, and the DWD includes various unemployment resources an employer could use to supplement the suggested language.

All employers covered by Wisconsin’s UI law were already required to display posters in an area where employees could readily access UI Benefit information, but this new requirement provides an extra layer of notice to employees. Those display posters can be found here.