Employee Paid Time Off Policies for Wisconsin Employers

Paid time off, or leave, across vacation days, sick days, and holidays is an important component of an employer's benefit package for businesses in Wisconsin from Milwaukee to Madison and Green Bay. FMLA rules are different depending on the size of the company and can differ at the state level. Designing a plan that is appropriate for your particular employee group is critical.

Should Wisconsin Employers Offer Consolidated Paid Time Off Plans?

The first thing to consider is whether you want to provide a consolidated leave plan or not. A consolidated leave plan provides all workers with one amount of time to use for vacation, illness, or personal business. Workers who do not have consolidated leave arrangements typically maintain separate holiday and sick leave plans. Consolidated leave packages are becoming more popular among employers over the last few years. Consolidated leave packages are offered by 45% of businesses in Wisconsin.

The paid time off, or paid vacation plan, combines both sick days and personal days. This provides employees more options and the employer greater control. At five years of service, employers in Wisconsin report using 21 average leave days in a consolidated plan while just 15 vacation days are reported after ten years. The typical number of leave days in a consolidated plan is 21 versus 15 at ten years of service for employers in Wisconsin. Consolidated plans have an average of 24 leave days versus 19 vacation days at 10 years of service.

Do Wisconsin Employers have to Offer Paid Vacation?

Employers frequently provide paid vacation as part of a comprehensive leave package or as a stand-alone plan. Employers in Wisconsin offer vacation 88 percent of the time. This is typically market dependent, such as an hourly employee at a store versus a technology firm.

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