(4) ADMINISTRATION. A person wishing to receive a grant under this section shall apply for a grant in the manner prescribed by the department. An applicant shall include with the application an itemized list of the applicant's expenditures for providing a workplace wellness program. The department shall promulgate rules to administer this section.
Related statute or rule
Plain language analysis
Section 250.21, Stats., requires the department to award to businesses with 50 or fewer employees, one time grants for up to 30% of the costs, excluding amounts paid to acquire, construct, rehabilitate, remodel, or repair real property, paid during the year, to provide for its employees, a workplace wellness program defined under s. 250.21 (1) (c), Stats., as a health or fitness program that includes health risk assessments and one or more of the following programs or services: • Chronic disease prevention.
• Worker injury prevention programs.
• Health screenings.
• Nutrition education.
• Health or fitness incentive programs.
• Vaccinations.
• Employee physical examinations.
The legislature under s. 250.21 (3), Stats., provides that the maximum amount that the department award to all applicants in any fiscal year is $3,000,000. Section 250.21 (3), Stats., further provides that the department may not award grants for workplace wellness programs in existence before March 15, 2014, and sunsets grant disbursements on December 31, 2018. The department is required under s. 250.21, (4), Stats., to establish rules to administer workplace wellness program grants. The department proposes to establish, by rule, an application process and application review criteria. The department proposes to grant an award of 30% or $15,000 whichever is less, of allowable costs to applicants with complete applications for costs, except excluded costs, paid by the small business in any 12-month period, within the grant funding period, as that phrase is defined in proposed s. DHS 150.02 (5). Grants may be awarded for expenses in the following categories: 1. Personnel/Staff Time
2. Health risk assessment
3. Education programs
4. Behavior change programs (campaigns, challenges, etc.)
5. Equipment
6. Incentives (cash, prizes, etc.)
7. Contracted services
Normal costs for a comprehensive workplace wellness program average about $300 per employee. Based on that figure, an employer with the maximum 50 employees would generate costs of $15,000. With potential higher costs for personnel, contractual services and purchasing of equipment, the department is setting a maximum award for a single application at $15,000.
If the $3,000,000 appropriation account under s. 20.435 (1) (bn), Stats., is depleted in a state fiscal year before all of the applicants are fully paid, the department proposes to put the applicants in the queue for payment in the next state fiscal year. If any application for a grant is not fully paid in a state fiscal year because the amount of the grant to be issued would be greater than the remaining funds in that state fiscal year, the department will pay the balance of the grant from the appropriation of the following state fiscal year. In the final year of the grant funding period, applications must be received by October 31, 2018 in order to be reimbursed before the grant funding period ends on December 31, 2018. Summary of, and comparison with, existing or proposed federal regulations
There appear to be no existing or proposed federal regulations that address the activities to be regulated by the rules.
Comparison with rules in adjacent states
Illinois:
There appears to be no existing or proposed regulations in Illinois that address the activities to be regulated by the proposed rules.
Iowa:
There appears to be no existing or proposed regulations in Iowa that address the activities to be regulated by the proposed rules.
Michigan:
There appears to be no existing or proposed regulations in Michigan that address the activities to be regulated by the proposed rules.
Minnesota:
There appears to be no existing or proposed regulations in Minnesota that address the activities to be regulated by the proposed rules.
Summary of factual data and analytical methodologies
The department formed an advisory committee to help develop the proposed rules. The committee included: one or more representatives from the Wisconsin Manufacturers and Commerce, Wisconsin – National Federation of Independent Business, Wellness Council of Wisconsin, local health departments, Eau Claire Chamber of Commerce, American Heart Association, YMCA, and M3 Insurance. The committee met three times and recommended the content contained in the rules and the related application form. The committee used the knowledge of the group to comply with the law in s. 250.21, Stats., and to make the process easy for small businesses, as defined in s. 250.21 (1), (b), Stats., to apply. The committee reviewed other state rules and processes and used an example from Massachusetts as a starting point to help draft the department’s application form. When deciding to propose, under s. DHS 150.04 (1) (a), that the department award grants for “costs paid in any 12-month period during the grant funding period” instead of “costs paid during the year” as provided in s. 250.21 (2), Stats., the department considered the entire statute and determined that paying costs in ‘any 12-month’ period within the grant funding period is more practical and administratively feasible in that the department would avoid any delays in processing applications and distributing the grants that may be caused by department staffing and workload issues. Moreover, the intent of the statute is met by using an ‘any 12-month’ period. The statute states that funding can be provided for costs between March 15, 2014 and December 31, 2018, so it is unlikely that ‘during the year’ is based on a state fiscal year, which is a July to June period. Small businesses would lose months of possible reimbursement if interpreted that way. The same is true if reimbursement is tied to a calendar year. A floating 12-month period meets the intent and is within the language of s. 250.21, Stats., whether the costs were paid by an applicant ‘during the year’ or in ‘any 12-month’ period between March 15, 2014 and December 31, 2018, because an applicant can only receive a one-time grant of no more than 30% of costs paid for a workplace wellness program that is provided between March 15, 2014 and December 31, 2018. The department’s authority to provide grants for costs that arise in ‘any 12-month’ period during the “grant funding period”, defined in proposed rule s. DHS 150.02 (5) as the period beginning on March 15, 2014 and ending on December 31, 2018, derives from s. 227.11 (2) (a), Stats., which permits the department to “…promulgate rules interpreting the provisions of any statute enforced or administered by the agency, if the agency considers it necessary to effectuate the purpose of the statute....” Analysis and supporting documents used to determine effect on small business
The proposed rules will impact businesses with 50 or fewer employees that choose to establish a workplace wellness program and apply for a grant, and the employees of such businesses. The proposed rules do not impose regulatory or other requirements on businesses, including small businesses, beyond those required under s. 251.20, Stats. Applying for a workplace wellness grant is voluntary and involves a minimum time commitment to complete the application form. Thus, costs to complete the application are negligible. Effect on small business
The proposed rules do not impose requirements on businesses, including small businesses.
Agency contact person
Statement on quality of agency data
To prepare the text and analysis of the proposed rules, the department relied on the language in ss. 227.11 (2) and 250.21, Stats. Information about the average costs per employee for a comprehensive workplace wellness program was received from Dee Edington, PhD., University of Michigan, a highly respected wellness program ROI expert. Place where comments are to be submitted and deadline for submission
Comments may be submitted to the agency contact person that is listed above until the deadline given in the upcoming notice of public hearing. The deadline for submitting comments and the notice of public hearing will be posted on the Wisconsin Administrative Rules Website at http://adminrules.wisconsin.gov after the hearing is scheduled. RULE TEXT
SECTION 1. DHS 150 is created to read:
Chapter DHS 150 (title) DHS 150 GRANTS FOR WORKPLACE WELLNESS PROGRAMS DHS 150.01 Authority and purpose. This chapter is promulgated under the authority of s. 250.21, Stats., to establish a process for awarding grants from the appropriation under s. 20.435 (1) (bn), Stats., to reimburse small businesses for costs incurred in establishing a workplace wellness program for their employees employed in this state.
