Wisconsin lawmakers propose tougher layoff law

Daily Reporter (Milwaukee), Apr 16, 2009 by Paul Snyder

Michael Sexauer will not guarantee reinstatement for laid-off workers when the economy recovers.

Sometimes, he said, letting those workers go makes the most business sense.

"We have been trying to bring back people, some of the good ones," said Sexauer, president of La Crosse-based Badger Corrugating Co., which distributes building materials. "But I think most people, if they're ambitious, are going to go find work if they lose a job, and then the company also doesn't have to pay unemployment."

Badger Corrugating laid off 40 workers in the last year. Sexauer said seasonal layoffs are to be expected in the construction industry, but scheduling is not what it once was.

"There was a time when you could just figure you wouldn't be really busy in December, January or February," he said. "Now you don't know. You just don't know when it's going to happen."

That uncertainty led state Sen. Pat Kreitlow, D-Chippewa Falls, and state Rep. Kristen Dexter, D-Eau Claire, to draft a bill strengthening the state's layoff notification law.

Under current law, companies with 50 or more workers must notify the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development if at least 25 percent of the employees will be affected by layoffs. Lawmakers now want employers to share Job Center of Wisconsin or work force resource information with the affected employees.

"I see it as doing right by the workers," said Dexter, who said she and Kreitlow were inspired to draft the bill after a job center representative told them laid off workers are not directed to other resources.

The bill likely will not have a major effect on the construction industry, said Jeff Beiriger, executive director of the American Subcontractors Association of Wisconsin Inc.

"For one, it's unusual to have 50 or more employees in a company," he said. "The other is that layoffs usually come, like, two in one week and three in another. You don't have wholesale reductions."

Nevertheless, any legislative effort to keep people employed deserves applause, said Phil Neuenfeldt, secretary treasurer of the Wisconsin State AFL-CIO.

"In this industry, there are good chances of recall after layoffs," he said. "But I do believe the choice should be up to the working family. The sooner you can tell people where to go, the sooner they're off of unemployment and have the chance to be productive, contributing members of society."

If those workers go elsewhere, Sexauer said, it can help companies shed excess weight, which is a bright spot in the downturned economy.

"I'll be the first to admit that you can take advantage of any major layoff situation," he said. "I eliminated positions here that I don't know how much I needed. Sometimes you can take a job and split it between two people already doing other tasks and not miss a beat.

"Sometimes you should go through that exercise when things are going perfect."

Neuenfeldt said with rising foreclosure and poverty rates, he cannot see a silver lining in layoffs.

"The goal, hopefully," he said, "should just be to get people back to work."

But Sexauer said companies coming out of the economic slump with leaner work forces will benefit.

"I think the people that weather this thing will be sitting in a more advantageous position," he said. "The shake-ups sometimes help."