Takeaways

• The Wisconsin Supreme Court’s Cota decision clarifies that even employees’ non-criminal, municipal citations are “arrest records” covered by the state employment law’s prohibition on arrest record discrimination.
• The decision means that violations of the law can occur even where the arrest record might play a small part in an employer’s motivation.
• Employers should be cautious when considering an employee’s arrest record or other potentially unlawful conduct.

Related links

• Oconomowoc Area School District v. Cota, et al. (opinion)
• Municipal Violation Is Not ‘Arrest Record’ Covered by Wisconsin Fair Employment Act, Court Holds

Article

The Wisconsin Supreme Court has clarified that non-criminal, municipal citations are covered by the prohibition on arrest record discrimination under the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act (WFEA). Oconomowoc Area School District v. Cota, et al., 2025 WI 11 (Apr. 10, 2025). The decision reversed a 2024 court of appeals opinion.

The court also narrowed the scope of an exception to the law that allows employers to make employment decisions based on independent investigations.

This decision is the latest in the ever-changing jurisprudence on the WFEA’s prohibition against discrimination based on employees’ arrest and conviction records.

Factual Background

The Oconomowoc Area School District previously employed the plaintiffs as members of its grounds crew. Another employee accused the plaintiffs of stealing from the District, and the...

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