134.04 Sale of certain merchandise by employers to employees prohibited; penalty.

(1) No person, firm or corporation engaged in any enterprise in this state shall by any method or procedure directly or indirectly by itself or through a subsidiary agency owned or controlled in whole or in part by such person, firm or corporation, sell or procure for sale or have in its possession or under its control for sale to its employees or any person any article, material, product or merchandise of whatsoever nature not of the person's, firm's or corporation's production or not handled in the person's, firm's or corporation's regular course of trade, excepting meals, candy bars, cigarettes and tobacco for the exclusive use and consumption of such employees of the employer, and excepting tools used by employees in said enterprise and such specialized appliances and paraphernalia as may be required in said enterprise for the employees' safety or health and articles used by employees or other persons which insure better sanitary conditions and quality in the manufacture of food or food products. The provisions of this subsection shall not apply to lumber producers, loggers and dealers nor to any cooperative association organized under ch. 185 or 193. This section shall not be construed as authorizing the sale of any merchandise at less than cost as defined in s. 100.30.

(2) Any person, firm or corporation violating the provisions of this section shall be deemed guilty of a misdemeanor and upon conviction thereof shall be punished for the first offense by a fine of not less than $100 nor more than $500 and for second or subsequent offense by a fine of not less than $500 nor more than $1,000. Each act prohibited by this section shall constitute a separate violation and offense hereunder.

History: 1985 a. 30 s. 42; 1993 a. 482; 2005 a. 441.