Wisconsin 2023-2024 Regular Session

Wisconsin Assembly Bill AB149 Compare Versions

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3	3	2023 - 2024 LEGISLATURE
4	4	2023 ASSEMBLY BILL 149
5	5	April 7, 2023 - Introduced by Representatives PLUMER, MOSES, PENTERMAN,
6	6	BEHNKE, BINSFELD, BODDEN, BRANDTJEN, BROOKS, DALLMAN, DITTRICH,
7	7	DONOVAN, EDMING, GREEN, GUNDRUM, GUSTAFSON, KNODL, MAGNAFICI, MURPHY,
8	8	NEDWESKI, O'CONNOR, PETERSEN, PETRYK, RETTINGER, ROZAR, SCHMIDT, SNYDER
9	9	and SORTWELL, cosponsored by Senators T OMCZYK, CABRAL-GUEVARA,
10	10	FELZKOWSKI, MARKLEIN, NASS and STROEBEL. Referred to Committee on
11	11	Workforce Development and Economic Opportunities.
12	12	*AUTHORS SUBJECT TO CHANGE*
13	13	AN ACT to renumber 108.04 (2) (ae); to renumber and amend 108.14 (19); to
14	14	amend 108.04 (2) (bm), 108.04 (2) (g) 2., 108.04 (11) (cm), 108.14 (21) and
15	15	108.22 (8) (a); and to create 108.04 (1) (hg), 108.04 (2) (ae) 1., 108.04 (2) (hL),
16	16	108.14 (19) (b) and 108.14 (28) of the statutes; relating to: various changes to
17	17	the unemployment insurance law.
18	18	Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
19	19	This bill makes various changes regarding the unemployment insurance (UI)
20	20	law, which is administered by the Department of Workforce Development.
21	21	Suitable work; work search
22	22	Current law requires that, as a condition of being eligible for UI benefits for a
23	23	given week, a claimant must 1) be able to work and available for work; 2) register for
24	24	work in the manner prescribed by DWD; and 3) conduct a reasonable search for
25	25	suitable work. Separately, current law also makes a claimant ineligible for UI
26	26	benefits if a claimant fails, without good cause, to accept suitable work when offered.
27	27	The bill provides that an employer may report to DWD whenever 1) an
28	28	individual declines a job interview or job offer; 2) an individual fails to respond to a
29	29	job interview offer or job offer; 3) an individual fails to attend a scheduled job
30	30	interview without attempting to reschedule the job interview; 4) a UI claimant is
31	31	unavailable for, or unable to perform, work actually available within a given week;
32	32	or 5) under certain circumstances, the employer recalls a former employee receiving
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39	39	ASSEMBLY BILL 149
40	40	UI benefits who fails to return to work. The bill requires DWD to consider these
41	41	reports in determining claimants' attachment to the labor market. The bill also
42	42	provides that a UI claimant is not considered to have conducted a reasonable search
43	43	for suitable work in a given week, and is therefore ineligible for benefits for that
44	44	week, if the claimant had one or more credible reports without good cause of declining
45	45	a job interview, failing to respond to a job interview offer, or failing to attend a job
46	46	interview in that week. The bill, however, provides that the first such credible report
47	47	is to be disregarded and allows subsequent reports to be disregarded upon certain
48	48	showings by a claimant. The bill requires DWD to investigate each such report as
49	49	needed to determine its effect on claimants' eligibility for benefits.
50	50	The bill requires DWD to include information on reports submitted by
51	51	employers under the bill in its annual UI fraud report made to the Council on
52	52	Unemployment Insurance, including actions taken by DWD in response to the
53	53	reports and their effect on claimants' eligibility for benefits. In addition, the bill
54	54	requires that this annual fraud report be submitted to the appropriate standing
55	55	committees of the legislature.
56	56	The bill requires DWD to have in effect methods to address any circumstances
57	57	in which a claimant for UI benefits fails to return to work or to accept suitable work
58	58	without good cause or is unavailable for work or unable to work, including reporting
59	59	methods for employers and a notice from DWD to claimants about the laws governing
60	60	such circumstances.
61	61	Recovery of overpayments
62	62	Current law allows DWD to act to recover overpayments in certain
63	63	circumstances and allows overpayments to be required to be repaid in cases where
64	64	an individual makes misrepresentations to obtain benefits in the name of another
65	65	person. This bill makes such recoveries mandatory, instead of permissive.
66	66	For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be
67	67	printed as an appendix to this bill.
68	68	The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
69	69	enact as follows:
70	70	SECTION 1. 108.04 (1) (hg) of the statutes is created to read:
71	71	108.04 (1) (hg) 1. An employing unit may report to the department whenever
72	72	any of the following occurs:
73	73	a. An individual declines a job interview or job offer with the employing unit.
74	74	b. An individual fails to respond to a job interview offer or job offer made by the
75	75	employing unit.
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86	86	c. An individual fails to attend a scheduled job interview with the employing
87	87	unit, unless the individual attempts to reschedule the job interview.
88	88	d. An employee claiming benefits is unavailable for, or unable to perform, work
89	89	actually available within a given week as described in par. (a).
90	90	e. The employing unit recalls an employee who fails to return to work as
91	91	described in sub. (8) (c).
92	92	2. The department shall investigate each report submitted under subd. 1. as
93	93	needed to determine whether the report affects a claimant's eligibility under sub. (2)
94	94	(hL).
95	95	SECTION 2. 108.04 (2) (ae) of the statutes is renumbered 108.04 (2) (ae) 2.
96	96	SECTION 3. 108.04 (2) (ae) 1. of the statutes is created to read:
97	97	108.04 (2) (ae) 1. In determining whether a claimant is available for work
98	98	under par. (a) 1. and has maintained an attachment to the labor market, the
99	99	department shall consider reports made by employing units under sub. (1) (hg).
100	100	SECTION 4. 108.04 (2) (bm) of the statutes is amended to read:
101	101	108.04 (2) (bm) A claimant is ineligible to receive benefits for any week for
102	102	which there is a determination that the claimant failed to comply with the
103	103	registration for work and work search requirements under par. (a) 2. or 3. or failed
104	104	to provide verification to the department that the claimant complied with those
105	105	requirements, unless the department has waived those requirements under par. (b),
106	106	(bb), or (bd) or s. 108.062 (10m). If the department has paid benefits to a claimant
107	107	for any such week, the department may shall act to recover the overpayment under
108	108	s. 108.22.
109	109	SECTION 5. 108.04 (2) (g) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:
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135	135	SECTION 5 ASSEMBLY BILL 149
136	136	108.04 (2) (g) 2. If a claimant's security credentials are used in the filing of an
137	137	initial or continued claim for benefits or any other transaction, the individual using
138	138	the security credentials is presumed to have been the claimant or the claimant's
139	139	authorized agent. This presumption may be rebutted by a preponderance of evidence
140	140	showing that the claimant who created the security credentials or the claimant's
141	141	authorized agent was not the person who used the credentials in a given transaction.
142	142	If a claimant uses an agent to engage in any transaction with the department using
143	143	the claimant's security credentials, the claimant is responsible for the actions of the
144	144	agent. If a claimant who created security credentials or the claimant's authorized
145	145	agent divulges the credentials to another person, or fails to take adequate measures
146	146	to protect the credentials from being divulged to an unauthorized person, and the
147	147	department pays benefits to an unauthorized person because of the claimant's action
148	148	or inaction, the department may recover from the claimant the benefits that were
149	149	paid to the unauthorized person shall, in the same manner as provided for
150	150	overpayments to claimants under s. 108.22 or under s. 108.245, act to recover from
151	151	the claimant the benefits that were paid to the unauthorized person. If a claimant
152	152	who created security credentials or the claimant's authorized agent divulges the
153	153	credentials to another person, or fails to take adequate measures to protect the
154	154	credentials from being divulged to an unauthorized person, the department is not
155	155	obligated to pursue recovery of, or to reimburse the claimant for, benefits payable to
156	156	the claimant that were erroneously paid to another person.
157	157	SECTION 6. 108.04 (2) (hL) of the statutes is created to read:
158	158	108.04 (2) (hL) 1. Subject to subd. 2., if a claimant is subject to the requirement
159	159	under par. (a) 3. to conduct a reasonable search for suitable work for a given week
160	160	and the department received one or more credible reports in that week that the
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188	188	SECTION 6
189	189	ASSEMBLY BILL 149
190	190	claimant declined or failed to respond to a job interview offer or failed to attend a
191	191	scheduled job interview, the claimant shall not be considered to have conducted a
192	192	reasonable search for suitable work in that week under par. (a) 3.
193	193	2. a. A claimant may demonstrate to the department that a report described
194	194	in subd. 1. was inaccurate, that an interview was for a job that the claimant was not
195	195	required to accept under sub. (8) (d) to (em), or that the claimant had other good cause
196	196	for the declination or failure reported. If the department so determines, the report
197	197	shall be disregarded for purposes of subd. 1.
198	198	b. The first credible report described in subd. 1. received during a claimant's
199	199	benefit year that is not otherwise disregarded under subd. 2. a. shall be disregarded
200	200	for purposes of subd. 1.
201	201	SECTION 7. 108.04 (11) (cm) of the statutes is amended to read:
202	202	108.04 (11) (cm) If any person makes a false statement or representation in
203	203	order to obtain benefits in the name of another person, the benefits received by that
204	204	person constitute a benefit overpayment. Such person may shall, by a determination
205	205	or decision issued under s. 108.095, be required to repay the amount of the benefits
206	206	obtained and be assessed an administrative assessment in an additional amount
207	207	equal to the amount of benefits obtained.
208	208	SECTION 8. 108.14 (19) of the statutes is renumbered 108.14 (19) (intro.) and
209	209	amended to read:
210	210	108.14 (19) (intro.) No later than March 15 annually, the department shall
211	211	prepare and furnish to the council on unemployment insurance and to the chief clerk
212	212	of each house of the legislature, for distribution to the appropriate standing
213	213	committees under s. 13.172 (3), a report summarizing the department's activities
214	214	related to detection and prosecution of unemployment insurance fraud in the
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241	241	SECTION 8 ASSEMBLY BILL 149
242	242	preceding year. The department shall include all of the following in the report
243	243	information:
244	244	(a) Information about audits conducted by the department under sub. (20),
245	245	including the number and results of audits performed, in the previous year.
246	246	SECTION 9. 108.14 (19) (b) of the statutes is created to read:
247	247	108.14 (19) (b) Information on reports submitted by employing units under s.
248	248	108.04 (1) (hg) 1., including actions taken by the department in response to the
249	249	reports as required under s. 108.04 (1) (hg) 2. and their effect on claimants' eligibility
250	250	for benefits under s. 108.04 (2) (ae) 1. and (hL).
251	251	SECTION 10. 108.14 (21) of the statutes is amended to read:
252	252	108.14 (21) The department shall maintain a portal on the Internet that allows
253	253	employers employing units to log in and file with the department complaints related
254	254	to the administration of this chapter and reports under s. 108.04 (1) (hg).
255	255	SECTION 11. 108.14 (28) of the statutes is created to read:
256	256	108.14 (28) The department shall have in effect methods to address
257	257	circumstances in which an employee fails to return to work or to accept suitable work
258	258	without good cause as described in s. 108.04 (8) or in which the employee is
259	259	unavailable for work or unable to perform work under s. 108.04 (1) (a). The methods
260	260	shall include all of the following:
261	261	(a) Reporting methods, including a telephone line, an electronic mail address,
262	262	and an online portal, for an employing unit to notify the department when an
263	263	employee refuses an offer of work.
264	264	(b) A plain-language notice provided to employees by the department when
265	265	applying for benefits about the application of s. 108.04 (8) (a) to (c), including what
266	266	constitutes suitable work under s. 108.04 (8) (d) and (dm), and an employee's right
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294	294	SECTION 11
295	295	ASSEMBLY BILL 149
296	296	to fail to accept suitable work for good cause under s. 108.04 (8) (em); about the
297	297	application of s. 108.04 (1) (a); and including information on contesting the denial of
298	298	a claim that has been denied due to a report by an employing unit that an employee
299	299	failed to return to work, failed to accept suitable work, or was unavailable for work
300	300	or unable to perform work.
301	301	SECTION 12. 108.22 (8) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
302	302	108.22 (8) (a) If benefits are erroneously paid to an individual, the individual's
303	303	liability to reimburse the fund for the overpayment may shall be set forth in a
304	304	determination or decision issued under s. 108.09. Any determination which that
305	305	establishes or increases an overpayment shall include a finding concerning whether
306	306	waiver of benefit recovery is required under par. (c). If any decision of an appeal
307	307	tribunal, the commission or any court establishes or increases an overpayment and
308	308	the decision does not include a finding concerning whether waiver of benefit recovery
309	309	is required under par. (c), the tribunal, commission or court shall remand the issue
310	310	to the department for a determination.
311	311	SECTION 13.0Initial applicability.
312	312	(1) The renumbering of s. 108.04 (2) (ae) and the creation of s. 108.04 (2) (ae)
313	313	1. and (hL) first apply to weeks of unemployment beginning on the effective date of
314	314	this subsection.
315	315	SECTION 14.0Effective dates. This act takes effect on the Sunday after
316	316	publication, except as follows:
317	317	(1) The treatment of s. 108.14 (28) takes effect on the first Sunday after the
318	318	180th day after publication.
319	319	(END)
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