In this chapter, the following words and phrases have the designated meanings unless a different meaning is expressly provided:

Terms Used In Wisconsin Statutes 101.01

  • Adult: means a person who has attained the age of 18 years, except that for purposes of investigating or prosecuting a person who is alleged to have violated any state or federal criminal law or any civil law or municipal ordinance, "adult" means a person who has attained the age of 17 years. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
  • Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
  • Following: when used by way of reference to any statute section, means the section next following that in which the reference is made. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
  • Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
  • Municipality: includes cities and villages; it may be construed to include towns. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
  • Person: includes all partnerships, associations and bodies politic or corporate. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
  • Property: includes real and personal property. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
  • State: when applied to states of the United States, includes the District of Columbia, the commonwealth of Puerto Rico and the several territories organized by Congress. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
  • Town: may be construed to include cities, villages, wards or districts. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
  • Village: means incorporated village. See Wisconsin Statutes 990.01
   (1g)   “Commercial building code” means the code adopted by the department under this subchapter for the design, construction, maintenance, and inspection of public buildings and places of employment.
   (1m)   “Department” means the department of safety and professional services.
   (2m)   “Deputy” means any person employed by the department designated as a deputy, who possesses special, technical, scientific, managerial or personal abilities or qualities in matters within the jurisdiction of the department, and who may be engaged in the performance of duties under the direction of the secretary, calling for the exercise of such abilities or qualities.
   (3)   “Employee” means any person who may be required or directed by any employer, in consideration of direct or indirect gain or profit, to engage in any employment, or to go or work or be at any time in any place of employment.
   (4)   “Employer” means any person, firm, corporation, state, county, town, city, village, school district, sewer district, drainage district, long-term care district and other public or quasi-public corporations as well as any agent, manager, representative or other person having control or custody of any employment, place of employment or of any employee.
   (5)   “Employment” means any trade, occupation or process of manufacture, or any method of carrying on such trade, occupation or process of manufacture in which any person may be engaged, except in such private domestic service as does not involve the use of mechanical power and in farm labor as used in sub. (11).
   (6)   “Frequenter” means every person, other than an employee, who may go in or be in a place of employment or public building under circumstances which render such person other than a trespasser. Such term includes a pupil or student when enrolled in or receiving instruction at an educational institution.
   (7)   “General order” means such order as applies generally throughout the state to all persons, employments, places of employment or public buildings, or all persons, employments or places of employment or public buildings of a class under the jurisdiction of the department. All other orders of the department shall be considered special orders.
   (8)   “Local order” means any ordinance, order, rule or determination of any common council, board of alderpersons, board of trustees or the village board, of any village or city, a regulation or order of the local board of health, as defined in s. 250.01 (3), or an order or direction of any official of a municipality, upon any matter over which the department has jurisdiction.
   (8m)   “Multifamily dwelling” means an apartment building, rowhouse, town house, condominium, or modular home, as defined in s. 101.71 (6), that does not exceed 60 feet in height or 6 stories and that consists of 3 or more attached dwelling units, as defined in s. 101.61 (1), the initial construction of which is begun on or after January 1, 1993. “Multifamily dwelling” does not include a facility licensed under ch. 50.
   (9)   “Order” means any decision, rule, regulation, direction, requirement or standard of the department, or any other determination arrived at or decision made by the department.
   (10)   “Owner” means any person, firm, corporation, state, county, town, city, village, school district, sewer district, drainage district and other public or quasi-public corporations as well as any manager, representative, officer, or other person having ownership, control or custody of any place of employment or public building, or of the construction, repair or maintenance of any place of employment or public building, or who prepares plans for the construction of any place of employment or public building. This subchapter shall apply, so far as consistent, to all architects and builders.
   (11)   “Place of employment” includes every place, whether indoors or out or underground and the premises appurtenant thereto where either temporarily or permanently any industry, trade, or business is carried on, or where any process or operation, directly or indirectly related to any industry, trade, or business, is carried on, and where any person is, directly or indirectly, employed by another for direct or indirect gain or profit, but does not include any place where persons are employed in private domestic service which does not involve the use of mechanical power or in farming. “Farming” includes those activities specified in s. 102.04 (3), and also includes the transportation of farm products, supplies, or equipment directly to the farm by the operator of the farm or employees for use thereon, if such activities are directly or indirectly for the purpose of producing commodities for market, or as an accessory to such production. When used with relation to building codes, “place of employment” does not include any of the following:
      (a)    An adult family home, as defined in s. 50.01 (1).
      (b)    Except for the purposes of s. 101.11, a previously constructed building used as a community-based residential facility, as defined in s. 50.01 (1g), which serves 20 or fewer residents who are not related to the operator or administrator.
      (c)    A home-based business, as defined by the department by rule.
      (d)    A not-for-profit facility with the primary purpose of housing or rehabilitating abandoned, injured, or sick wildlife.
   (12)   “Public building” means any structure, including exterior parts of such building, such as a porch, exterior platform, or steps providing means of ingress or egress, used in whole or in part as a place of resort, assemblage, lodging, trade, traffic, occupancy, or use by the public or by 3 or more tenants. When used in relation to building codes, “public building” does not include any of the following:
      (a)    A previously constructed building used as a community-based residential facility as defined in s. 50.01 (1g) which serves 20 or fewer residents who are not related to the operator or administrator.
      (b)    An adult family home, as defined in s. 50.01 (1).
      (c)    A home-based business, as defined by the department by rule.
      (d)    A not-for-profit facility with the primary purpose of housing or rehabilitating abandoned, injured, or sick wildlife.
   (13)   “Safe” or “safety”, as applied to an employment or a place of employment or a public building, means such freedom from danger to the life, health, safety or welfare of employees or frequenters, or the public, or tenants, or fire fighters, and such reasonable means of notification, egress and escape in case of fire, and such freedom from danger to adjacent buildings or other property, as the nature of the employment, place of employment, or public building, will reasonably permit.
   (14)   “Secretary” means the secretary of safety and professional services.
   (15)   “Welfare” includes comfort, decency and moral well-being.

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