Analysis Prepared by the Department of Workforce Development
Statutory authority: ss. 49.15 and 49.151
Statutes interpreted: ss. 49.15 and 49.151
This proposed rule implements requirements created by 1997 Wisconsin Act 27 for two-parent families under the Wisconsin Works (W-2) program. The rule provides that if a W-2 participant resides with the second parent of a child in common for whom the family receives federally-funded child care assistance, the second parent must participate in prescribed work activities. The second parent must participate in work activities for at least the difference between 55 hours and the number of hours the parent in the W-2 employment position participates in assigned employment and training activities. A second parent who is disabled or caring for a severely disabled child is not required to participate in the work activities.
Participation by the second parent has no effect on the W-2 benefit amount. If a second parent who is required to participate refuses to participate 3 times, the parent in the W-2 employment position will be ineligible to participate in that employment component. Employment components under W-2 are W-2 Transitions, Community Service Jobs, and Trial Jobs.
The W-2 agency may offer the second parent the opportunity to voluntarily participate in work activities if the family is not receiving federally-funded child care assistance.
Initial Regulatory Flexibility Analysis
Privately-run W-2 agencies will be affected by the rule change, but the rule will not have a significant economic impact because there is no material change from current procedures.
Fiscal Estimate
Costs for implementation of the two-parent participation requirement when a family receives federally-funded child care assistance were included in the 1997-98 biennial budget, 1997 Wisconsin Act 27. The rule offers optional participation to the second parent when the family does not receive child care assistance. Optional participation by the second parent may increase the W-2 agency caseload slightly. Participation by the second parent does not increase the benefit amount and costs of training the second parent are not funded by W-2.
Contact Information
The proposed rule is available on the Internet site for the DWD Division of Economic Support at
www.dwd.state.wi.us/des/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 4, 2000, will be given the same consideration as testimony presented at the hearing.
Notice of Hearings
Workforce Development
(Unemployment & Compensation,
Chs. DWD 100-150)
Notice is hereby given that pursuant ss. 103.005(1), 108.04(2)(b), and 227.11(2), Stats., the Department of Workforce Development will hold three public hearings to consider the creation, amendment, and repeal of proposed rules relating to a limited waiver of the work search requirement, ability to work and availability for work, and various minor changes relating to Unemployment Insurance.
Hearing Information
January 19, 2000 GEF 1 Bldg., Room 400X
Wednesday 201 E. Washington Ave.
10:00 a.m. Madison, WI
February 8, 2000 State Office Bldg.
Tuesday Basement Room 40
1:30 p.m. 819 North 6th Street
Milwaukee, WI
February 10, 2000 State Office Bldg.
Thursday Room #4
11:00 a.m. 2610 Industrial Street
Wisconsin Rapids, WI
If you have special needs or circumstances that may make communication or accessibility difficult at a 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. 103.005(1), 108.04(2)(b), 108.14(2), 227.11(2)
Statute interpreted: s. 108.04(2)(a)1
Limited Waiver of the Work Search Requirement
Section 108.04(2), Stats., provides that a claimant for unemployment insurance benefits must search for work. The statute authorizes the Department of Workforce Development to promulgate rules waiving the work search requirement under conditions to be stated by the department. The existing ch. DWD 127 allows the department to waive a claimant's work search requirement if the claimant has been laid off from work but has a reasonable expectation of reemployment by an employer within 12 weeks after the week in which the claimant files a claim for unemployment insurance benefits.
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.
