The Fair Employment Practices Division was created by the Industrial Commission in 1945 to
administer Wisconsin's fair employment law enacted in that year. The Fair Employment
Practices Act (Sec. 111.31-111.37 Wis. Statutes) provides that it is unlawful and subject to
penalty to discriminate because of age, race, creed, color, sex, national origin, and
ancestry. The Act authorized the Industrial Commission to receive and investigate complaints
charging discrimination or discriminatory practices and give publicity to its findings with
respect thereto. The Commission and its duly authorized agents were empowered to hold
hearings, subpoena witnesses, and take testimony. If the Industrial Commission found
probable cause to believe that any discrimination had been committed it was authorized to
immediately endeavor to eliminate the practice by conference, conciliation, and persuasion.
In case of failure so to eliminate the discrimination, the Commission was to hold hearings,
make written findings, and recommend such action as would effectuate the purposes of the
Act. The Commission had authority to issue enforceable orders. The Commission had authority
to also make, amend, and rescind such rules and regulations as were necessary to carry out
the Act. Findings and orders of the Commission were subject to review under Chapter 227.
During the early 1960s, the Fair Employment Practices Division concluded that the piecemeal
method of working with individual complaints was producing minimal results. Consequently, it
recommended to the Commission that a program of fact-finding hearings be initiated and be
made an integral part of the Division's activities. The Commission approved the
recommendation, and in August of 1963 the fact-finding program got underway with the first
of three hearings in Milwaukee. From August 1963 through June 1964, additional hearings were
held in Kenosha, Janesville-Beloit (combined hearings), Madison, and Racine. In the course
of these hearings, 87 business and industrial firms, three labor organizations, and nine
units of government presented testimony to the Commission.
In the conduct of the hearings, the Commission's intent was to gather information about the
racial characteristics of the organizations' members and personnel and their hiring, work,
and membership practices. The firms and other organizations invited to participate in these
hearings were not suspected of discriminatory practices, but rather they represented a
selected sample that could, in the Division's opinion, give an accurate impression of
employment opportunities for minority groups in the area. The Commission then made several
recommendations to testifying organizations including the following:
- That a policy statement regarding merit employment be drafted and distributed;
- That the organizations take aggressive action to make known their willingness to hire
qualified minority group members;
- That the term "An equal opportunity employer" be used in help wanted
advertisements;
- That agencies hiring under civil service rules be more specific in their written
report regarding the "not hired" reasoning; and
- That non-discriminatory clauses be included in all union contracts.
The Division also administered the Non-Discriminatory Contracts Law (Sec. 16.765 Wis.
Statutes) enacted by the 1959 session of the Legislature. It required all contracting
agencies of the state to include in all contracts executed by them a provision obligating
the contractor not to discriminate against any employee or applicant for employment because
of race, religion, color, or national origin.
An interchange of ideas and information with other organizations interested in the same
goals as the Fair Employment Practices Division was always a vital part of the Division's
work. It enjoyed close cooperation with such organizations as the Urban League, the National
Association for the Advancement of Colored People, the League of Women Voters, and many
others. The Division also encouraged organizations and councils specifically set up to work
in the area of fair employment practices.
Another activity of the Division was gaining the understanding and support of the general
public. Staff members and Commissioners presented talks to commercial, educational, and
civic groups and they participated in television and radio programs. News releases on the
Division's work were issued and informational literature was prepared and distributed to a
wide variety of groups and individuals.
In 1965, the Division's name was changed to the Equal Opportunities Division and it was
assigned administration of the newly passed fair housing law (Sec. 101.60 Wis. Statutes).
The 1967 Reorganization Act re-named the Industrial Commission the Department of Industry,
Labor, and Human Relations and transferred to it the Governor's Commission on Human Rights,
with which the Division had worked closely since its inception. The Governor's Commission
became the Equal Rights Division of the Department, under which was consolidated the
functions of the Equal Opportunities Division. Under 1995 Wisconsin Act 27, the Division was
transferred to the newly created Department of Workforce Development effective July 1,
1996.
See each Agency's History in the catalog:
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Wisconsin. Equal Opportunities Division
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Wisconsin. Equal Rights Division
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Wisconsin. Fair Employment Practices Division
