111 Purpose of the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act

Any application or interpretation of a provision of the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act requires consideration of the Act’s purpose. Sec. 111.31, Stats., states as follows in this regard:

The Legislature finds that the practice of unfair discrimination in employment. . . substantially and adversely affects the general welfare of the state. . . . In the interpretation and application of this subchapter, . . . it is declared to be the public policy of the state to encourage and foster to the fullest extent practicable the employment of all properly qualified individuals. . . . This subchapter shall be liberally construed for the accomplishment of this purpose.

Palmer v. Wis. Public Serv. Corp. (LIRC, 07/30/03).

The Wisconsin Fair Employment Act does not provide a remedy for poor management practices, unless they are specifically shown to constitute a violation of the Act. Lampinen v. City of Shawano (LIRC, 12/14/99).

The Wisconsin Fair Employment Act is concerned with deterring and remedying intangible injuries which rob a person of dignity and self-esteem, and with eliminating a discriminatory environment in the workplace that affects not only the victim of discrimination but the entire workforce and the public welfare. Byers v. LIRC, 208 Wis. 2d 388, 561 N.W.2d 678 (1997).

It is not a function of the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act to dictate to employers, as a general matter, that hiring and other employment decisions must be made on the basis of particular, job-related considerations. Bates v. Thomson Newspapers (LIRC, 12/04/96).

The overall purpose of the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act is to forbid discriminatory employment practices against properly qualified individuals. The legislature has mandated that the Act must be liberally construed to accomplish its purpose. The two purposes of the Act are: (1) to make the individual victims of discrimination “whole,” and (2) to discourage discriminatory practices in the employment area. A Complainant who files a complaint under the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act is acting as a “private attorney general” to enforce the rights of the public and to implement a public policy that the legislature considered to be of major importance. The aggregate effect of such ndividual actions enforces the public’s right to be free from discriminatory practices in employment, which in turn effectuates the legislative purpose of outlawing such practices. Watkins v. LIRC, 117 Wis. 2d 753, 345 N.W.2d 482 (1984).

The broad purpose of the Wisconsin Fair Employment Act is to eliminate practices that have a discriminatory impact, as well as practices which on their face amount to invidious discrimination. Wis. Tel. Co. v. DILHR, 68 Wis. 2d 345, 228 N.W.2d 649 (1975).