The proposed rule change will extend the waiver to 18 weeks for employes of a primary employer in a small labor market who are laid off due to a disaster or a temporary closing of the employer's work site. The rule requires the department to determine that the usual work search activities will not be likely to result in a substantial number of employes finding alternative suitable work in their labor market because of their numbers and the nature of the labor market. In making this determination, the department must consider the overall job availability and unemployment rate in the local labor market. The employer or an employe must request the waiver.
Without the extended waiver of the work search requirement, laid-off employes will be required to repeatedly contact other employers in the small labor market in order to satisfy the work search requirement. Employers may receive numerous applications from laid-off employees who fully intend to return to their former employer when recalled and are contacting other employers solely to fulfill their UI work search requirement. The department may expend limited resources in informing claimants of the work search requirement and in monitoring work searches that are not expected to find alternative suitable work. Other unemployed workers without the same assurance of recall by their employer may also be disadvantaged in their work search efforts.
Ability to Work and Availability for Work
The proposed rule adds language concerning the “able and available" requirements in ch. DWD 128. Generally, partially-employed individuals are considered to have demonstrated their ability to work and availability for work by the fact that they are already working. A formal determination of whether such an individual is “able and available" is not done unless there is some indication that the person is not interested in or willing to work full-time. The rule change adds language that requires the “able and available" test to be applied to prisoners whose work hours are reduced enough that they might qualify for benefits. Although they might be interested in and willing to work full-time, these individuals may not be “able and available" for the general labor market. This restriction will not apply to prisoners with Huber privileges since they are allowed to search for work on the general labor market.
Various Minor Changes
Claimants generally receive UI benefits effective the week in which they file an initial claim. The department may backdate a claim to a prior week if exceptional circumstances exist for the failure to apply in the correct week. The list of exceptional circumstances in the current rule provides examples of circumstances that will be considered to meet the “exceptional circumstances" standard and is not exclusive. In the last revision of this rule, certain items were removed from the nonexclusive list because they were expected to be used less frequently under the new telephone initial claims system. It was acknowledged at the time that these were being removed from the rule solely because they were not considered to be good examples since they were likely to arise infrequently. However, removal of two of these items has caused confusion and some mistaken beliefs that these circumstances no longer qualify as exceptional circumstances. In order to clarify the situation, these two sets of circumstances are being added back to the nonexclusive list in s. DWD 129.01(4).
The rest of the changes in this rule package are minor and technical in nature, such as changing the phrase “unemployment compensation" to “unemployment insurance" to be consistent with statutory language, removing names of obsolete publications, and updating citations.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
The proposed rule will not have a significant impact on a substantial number of small businesses. The limited waiver of the work search requirement may help small businesses in a labor market with a temporary lay-off by a primary employer because the small businesses will be less likely to be inundated with job applications from UI claimants who expect to return to work with their former employer in a limited amount of time. Other rule changes are minor corrections and clarifications that will not affect small business.
Fiscal Estimate
The proposed rule changes have no significant fiscal effect on the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. The limited waiver of work search has been invoked in the past as an emergency rule when needed in a particular situation and only when there would be no significant fiscal effect. The proposed rule is intended to avoid the need for emergency rules, but no significant policy change or fiscal effect is anticipated. Changes to the able and available rule articulate current practice and are added to make the rules easier to use by the public. Other changes are minor and technical corrections to rule language.
Contact Information
The proposed rule is available on the Internet site for the DWD Unemployment Insurance Division at
www.dwd.state.wi.us/hearings.htm. A Word 97 email attachment or paper copy may be obtained at no charge by contacting:
Elaine Pridgen
Office of Legal Counsel
Dept. of Workforce Development
P.O. Box 7946
Madison, WI 53707-7946
(608) 267-9403
Written Comments
Written comments on the proposed rules received at the above address no later than February 17, 2000, will be given the same consideration as testimony presented at the hearing.
Notice of Hearing
Workforce Development
(Prevailing Wages,
Chs. DWD 290 to 294)
Notice is hereby given that pursuant ss. 66.293, 103.49, and 227.11, Stats., the Department of Workforce Development will hold a public hearing to consider the creation, amendment, and repeal of rules relating to prevailing wage rates.
Hearing Information
January 24, 2000 GEF 1 Bldg., Room 400X
Monday 201 E. Washington Ave.
1:30 p.m. Madison, WI
An accessible entrance to the building is available via a ramp from the corner of Washington Avenue and Webster Street to the Webster Street door. If you have special needs or circumstances that may make communication or accessibility difficult at the hearing, please call (608) 267-9403 at least 10 days prior to the hearing date. Accommodations such as ASL interpreters, English translators, or materials in audiotape format will be made available on request to the fullest extent possible.
Analysis Prepared by the Department of Workforce Development
Statutory authority: ss. 66.293, 103.49, and 227.11
Statutes interpreted: ss. 66.293 and 103.49
The proposed rule includes substantive changes suggested by a focus group representing the major parties with interests related to these rules, statutory updates, and clarifications to rule language.
1. Substantive changes
Fringe benefits to apprentices. The proposed rule requires a consistent method for providing fringe benefits to apprentices who work on public works projects. In the past, there has been no standard practice on the provision of fringe benefits in the private sector or on public works projects. The proposed rule provides that apprentices receive the same percentage of journeypersons' fringe benefits as they receive of journeypersons' wages when they are working on public works projects.
Cross-Classifications. The proposed rule allows workers to perform tasks in more than one classification during a work week without a requirement that they be paid a separate pay rate for the second classification if the work in the second classification is 15% or less of their work time for the week. The department previously had an informal policy of allowing work in a second classification up to 20% of the work week without a separate pay rate.
Debarment. Falsifying, deliberately destroying, or failing to keep required payroll records on a public works project is added as an independent cause for debarment. It was previously a cause only when done in combination with one of the other three causes. Only responsible officers and directors of a business that commits a debarable offense may be debarred.
Exempt local governmental units. Local governmental units seeking an exemption from the state prevailing wage law on the grounds that they have their own local ordinance on prevailing wage must show that the they have enacted a methodology to enforce the payment of the prevailing wage rates before an exemption from the state law will be granted.
Standard contract language. Every state agency or local governmental unit must ensure that standardized language is in every prime contract that states the contractor's obligation to pay or ensure the payment of the prevailing wage rates to all workers on the project.
Miscellaneous. The classification of projects is updated to reflect current construction industry practices.
The prevailing wage rate determination for projects of a local governmental agency or exempt municipality may be posted at the place normally used to post public notices if there is no appropriate site on a project to post it. This provision does not apply to state-owned projects.
The list of debarred contractors will be sent to exempt local governmental units quarterly only if there has been a change in the list. The debarment list may be sent by a method other than first-class mail.
A written summary or tape recording of a debarment hearing must be requested before the hearing.
2. Statutory updates
Statutory references and terminology are updated to be consistent with 1995 Wisconsin Act 215. The term “municipality" is changed to “local governmental unit" and “fringe benefit" is changed to “economic benefit." The rule is amended to reflect the statute's addition of demolition work to prevailing wage law coverage. The rule repeals language on hours of labor because the statute now determines what is considered standard hours of labor and what is considered overtime.
3. Clarification
Definitions of the terms “project," “service and maintenance work," and “supply and installation contract" are created. The definition of “project" is important because the prevailing wage law does not apply to a project that has an estimated cost of completion below a particular dollar amount. Definitions of “service and maintenance work" and “supply and installation contract" are created to clarify when work falls in these two categories that are not covered under the prevailing wage law.
“Truck driver" is added to the phrase “laborer, worker, or mechanic" in various places throughout the rule that refer to covered employees. The addition of “truck driver" is for clarification and consistency with statutory language and is not a substantive change. The definition of “public works project" is amended to include information formerly contained in the definition of “erection, construction, remodeling, or repairing" and “erection, construction, remodeling, or repairing" is repealed as a defined term. The definition of the term “trade or occupation" is rewritten for clarity.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
Contractors on public works projects may be affected by the rule changes but the changes will not have a significant economic impact on a substantial number of small businesses. A focus group representing the major parties with interests related to these rules agreed on the substantive changes.
Fiscal Estimate
None of the substantive changes in the rule have a fiscal effect on state or local governments. The two most significant changes affecting government are intended to ensure that existing law is clear and applied consistently. First, the proposed rule provides that local governments must show they have enacted a methodology for enforcing a prevailing wage ordinance before they will be exempted from the state prevailing wage law. Second, state agencies and local governments must ensure that standardized language on the application of the prevailing wage law is in every prime contract. Other changes affecting government are minor with no fiscal effect.
Contact Information
The proposed rule is available on the Internet site for the DWD Equal Rights Division at
www.state.wi.us/er/hearing.htm. A Word 97 email attachment or paper copy may be obtained at no charge by contacting:
Elaine Pridgen
Office of Legal Counsel
Dept. of Workforce Development
P.O. Box 7946
Madison, WI 53707-7946
(608) 267-9403
Written Comments
Written comments on the proposed rules received at the above address no later than January 31, 2000, will be given the same consideration as testimony presented at the hearing.
Notice of Submission of Proposed Rules to the Presiding Officer of each House of the Legislature, Under S. 227.19, Stats.
Please check the Bulletin of Proceedings for further information on a particular rule.
Ch. HFS 145 - Relating to control of communicable diseases.
SS. Phar 1.01 and 1.02 and ch. Phar 15 - Relating to the preparation of sterile pharmaceuticals by pharmacists.
Ch. PSC 113 - Relating to service rules for electric utilities in the general area related to the technical and administrative aspects of electric service adequacy and consumer protection.
Ch. PSC 160 - Relating to the provision of universal telecommunications service and administration of the universal service fund.
