LRB-3297/1
MED&GMM:emw
2015 - 2016 LEGISLATURE
November 12, 2015 - Introduced by Senators Ringhand,
Lassa, Hansen, Wirch,
Carpenter, Erpenbach, C. Larson, Miller, Risser and Shilling, cosponsored
by Representatives Pope, Genrich, Stuck, Zepnick, Barnes, Berceau,
Billings, Bowen, Brostoff, Considine, Goyke, Hebl, Hesselbein, Hintz,
Johnson, Jorgensen, Kolste, Mason, Ohnstad, Riemer, Sargent,
Shankland, Spreitzer, Subeck, C. Taylor and Zamarripa. Referred to
Committee on Labor and Government Reform.
SB385,2,2
1An Act to repeal 103.10 (1) (a) 1., 103.10 (1) (a) 2. and 103.10 (14) (b);
to
2renumber 103.10 (14) (a);
to renumber and amend 103.10 (1) (a) (intro.);
to
3amend 103.10 (1) (b), 103.10 (1) (c), 103.10 (1m) (b) 4., 103.10 (3) (a) 1., 103.10
4(3) (b) 3., 103.10 (6) (b) (intro.), 103.10 (6) (b) 1., 103.10 (7) (a), 103.10 (7) (b)
5(intro.), 103.10 (7) (b) 1., 103.10 (12) (c), 111.322 (2m) (a) and 111.322 (2m) (b);
6and
to create 20.445 (1) (w), 25.17 (1) (er), 25.52, 71.05 (6) (b) 53., 103.10 (1)
7(ap), 103.10 (1) (dm), 103.10 (1) (dp), 103.10 (1) (gm), 103.10 (3) (b) 4., 103.10
8(6) (c), 103.10 (7) (d) and 103.11 of the statutes;
relating to: the establishment
9of a family and medical leave insurance program; family leave to care for a
10grandparent, grandchild, or sibling and for the active duty of a family member;
11the employers that are required to permit an employee to take family or medical
1leave; granting rule-making authority; making an appropriation; and
2providing a penalty.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Introduction
This bill expands the family and medical leave law to permit an employee
covered under that law to take family leave to care for a grandparent, grandchild, or
sibling, lowers the threshold number of employees above which an employer must
permit an employee to take family or medical leave, and establishes a family and
medical leave insurance program under which certain covered individuals may
receive benefits while taking family or medical leave.
Family and medical leave expansion
Under current law, an employer, including the state, that employs at least 50
individuals on a permanent basis in this state must permit an employee who has
been employed by the employer for more than 52 consecutive weeks and who has
worked for the employer for at least 1,000 hours during the preceding 52 weeks to
take up to eight weeks of family leave in a 12-month period for the birth or adoptive
placement of a child or to care for a child, spouse, parent, or domestic partner of the
employee or a parent of the spouse of the employee who has a serious health
condition; and up to two weeks of medical leave in a 12-month period when the
employee has a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform
the employee's employment duties.
This bill requires an employer, including the state, that employs at least 25
employees on a permanent basis in this state to permit an employee to take family
or medical leave as provided under current law. The bill also permits an employee
to take family leave as provided under current law to care for a grandparent,
grandchild, or sibling of the employee who has a serious health condition. In
addition, the bill requires an employer to permit an employee to take family leave
because of any qualifying exigency, as determined by the Department of Workforce
Development (DWD) by rule, arising out of the fact that the spouse, child, domestic
partner, parent, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling of the employee is on
deployment with the U.S. armed forces to a foreign country (covered active duty) or
has been notified of an impending call or order to covered active duty.
Family and medical leave insurance program
The bill creates a family and medical leave insurance program, to be
administered by DWD, under which a covered individual who is on family or medical
leave is eligible, beginning on January 1, 2020, to receive up to 12 weeks of family
or medical leave insurance benefits as specified in the bill from the family and
medical leave insurance trust fund created under the bill (trust fund). For purposes
of the bill:
1. A "covered individual" is an individual who worked for an employer for at
least 680 hours in the calendar year prior to the year in which the covered individual
claims family or medical leave insurance benefits (application year) or a
self-employed individual who elects coverage under the program, regardless of
whether the individual is employed or unemployed at the time the individual files
an application for family or medical leave insurance benefits.
2. "Family leave" means leave from employment, self-employment, or
availability for employment for the birth or adoptive placement of a new child or to
care for a child, spouse, domestic partner, parent, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling
who has a serious health condition.
3. "Medical leave" means leave from employment when a covered individual
has a serious health condition that makes the individual unable to perform his or her
employment duties, leave from self-employment when a covered individual has a
serious health condition that makes the individual unable to perform the duties of
his or her self-employment, or leave from availability for employment when a
covered individual has a serious health condition that makes the individual unable
to perform the duties of any suitable employment.
Under the bill, the amount of family or medical leave insurance benefits for a
week for which those benefits are payable is as follows:
1. For a covered individual who earned less than 30 percent of the state annual
median wage in the calendar year before the individual's application year, 95 percent
of that individual's average weekly earnings.
2. For a covered individual who earned at least 30 percent, but less than 50
percent, of the state annual median wage in the calendar year before the individual's
application year, 90 percent of that individual's average weekly earnings.
3. For a covered individual who earned at least 50 percent, but less than 80
percent, of the state annual median wage in the calendar year before the individual's
application year, 85 percent of that individual's average weekly earnings.
4. For a covered individual who earned at least 80 percent of the state annual
median wage in the calendar year before the individual's application year, 66 percent
of that individual's average weekly earnings.
In addition, the bill provides that family or medical leave insurance benefits are
payable beginning on the sixth day of family or medical leave, except that if a covered
individual uses ten or more days of family or medical leave insurance benefits in an
application year, those benefits are also payable with respect to the first five days of
family or medical leave. The bill also provides that no family or medical leave
insurance benefits are payable for any period of family or medical leave in which a
covered individual is substituting paid leave of any other type provided by his or her
employer or in which a covered individual is receiving unemployment benefits or
worker's compensation benefits. Finally, with respect to family or medical leave
insurance benefits, the bill provides that those benefits are exempt from state income
taxation.
Beginning on January 1, 2019, the bill requires each individual employed in
this state, including an individual employed by the state, and each self-employed
individual who elects coverage under the family and medical leave insurance
program to contribute to the trust fund a percentage of his or her wages from
employment or income from self-employment determined by DWD in consultation
with the commissioner of insurance that is sufficient to finance the payments of
benefits under the program and the administration of the program. The bill requires
DWD to collect those contributions in the same manner as DWD collects
contributions to the unemployment reserve fund under current law.
Finally, the bill:
1. Permits a covered individual whose claim for family or medical leave
insurance benefits is denied by DWD to request a hearing on the denial and requires
DWD to process the request for hearing in the same manner that requests for
hearings on unemployment insurance claims are processed under current law.
2. Permits DWD to seek repayment of family or medical leave insurance
benefits that are paid erroneously or as a result of willful misrepresentation in the
same manner that DWD recovers erroneous payments of unemployment insurance
benefits under current law or to waive recovery of an erroneous payment of those
benefits if the erroneous payment was not the fault of the person who received it and
if requiring repayment would be contrary to equity and good conscience.
3. Provides that if an individual willfully makes a false statement or
representation, or willfully fails to disclose a material fact, to obtain family or
medical leave insurance benefits, the individual is disqualified from receiving those
benefits for one year after the date of the disqualification.
For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be
printed as an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SB385,1
1Section
1. 20.445 (1) (w) of the statutes is created to read:
SB385,4,62
20.445
(1) (w)
Family and medical leave insurance trust fund. From the family
3and medical leave insurance trust fund, all moneys deposited in that fund under s.
4103.11 (7) for the payments of family or medical leave insurance benefits under s.
5103.11 (2) (c) and for the administration of the family or medical leave insurance
6program under s. 103.11.
SB385,2
7Section
2. 25.17 (1) (er) of the statutes is created to read:
SB385,4,88
25.17
(1) (er) Family and medical leave insurance trust fund (s. 25.52);
SB385,3
9Section
3. 25.52 of the statutes is created to read:
SB385,5,2
1025.52 Family and medical leave insurance trust fund. There is created
11a separate nonlapsible trust fund designated as the family and medical leave
1insurance trust fund, to consist of all moneys deposited in that fund under s. 103.11
2(7).
SB385,4
3Section
4. 71.05 (6) (b) 53. of the statutes is created to read:
SB385,5,74
71.05
(6) (b) 53. For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2019, any
5amount of family or medical leave insurance benefits received by a covered
6individual, as defined in s. 103.11 (1) (d), in the taxable year to which the subtraction
7relates.
SB385,5
8Section
5. 103.10 (1) (a) (intro.) of the statutes is renumbered 103.10 (1) (a)
9and amended to read:
SB385,5,1110
103.10
(1) (a) "Child" means a natural, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, or
11a legal ward
to whom any of the following applies:.
SB385,6
12Section
6. 103.10 (1) (a) 1. of the statutes is repealed.
SB385,7
13Section
7. 103.10 (1) (a) 2. of the statutes is repealed.
SB385,8
14Section
8. 103.10 (1) (ap) of the statutes is created to read:
SB385,5,1515
103.10
(1) (ap) "Covered active duty" means any of the following:
SB385,5,1716
1. In the case of a member of a regular component of the U.S. armed forces, duty
17during the deployment of the member with the U.S. armed forces to a foreign country.
SB385,5,2118
2. In the case of a member of a reserve component of the U.S. armed forces, duty
19during the deployment of the member with the U.S. armed forces to a foreign country
20under a call or order to active duty under a provision of law specified in
10 USC 101 21(a) (13) (B).
SB385,9
22Section
9. 103.10 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB385,5,2523
103.10
(1) (b) Except as provided in sub. (1m) (b) 2., "employee" means an
24individual employed in this state by an employer, except the employer's
parent, child, 25spouse, domestic partner,
or child parent, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling.
SB385,10
1Section
10. 103.10 (1) (c) of the statutes is amended to read: