(a) Each agency may 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, but a rule is not valid if the rule exceeds the bounds of correct interpretation.
Section 230.04 (1), Stats., reads: (1) The administrator is charged with the effective administration of this chapter. All powers and duties, necessary to that end, which are not exclusively vested by statute in the commission, the division of equal rights, the director or appointing authorities, are reserved to the administrator. Section 230.04 (5), Stats, reads: (5) The administrator shall promulgate rules on all matters relating to the administration of the division and the performance of the duties assigned to the administrator, except on matters relating to those provisions of subch. II for which responsibility is specifically charged to the director. Section 230.35 (2), Stats, reads in part: (2) Leave of absence with pay owing to sickness and leave of absence without pay, other than annual leave and leave under s. 103.10, shall be regulated by the rules of the administrator, except that unused sick leave shall accumulate from year to year. 5. Estimate of amount of time that state employees will spend developing the rule and of other resources necessary to develop the rule:
The amount of time needed for rule development by Department staff and the amount of other resources necessary are indeterminate.
6. List with description of all entities that may be affected by the proposed rule:
The rule revisions will affect state employees covered by the rules, and agencies and appointing authorities who implement and/or make decisions based on them.
7. Summary and preliminary comparison with any existing or proposed federal regulation that is intended to address the activities to be regulated by the proposed rule:
The Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA) provided federal Emergency Paid Sick Leave (EPSL) and Expanded FMLA leave (EFMLA) for state employees beginning April 1, 2020 and in effect through December 31, 2020. These leave provisions are in addition to any leave programs offered by the state. The emergency rules being proposed are intended to work in conjunction with these federal leave provisions and to provide coverage where gaps in the federal leave may occur or after the federal leave options have expired.
8. Anticipated economic impact of implementing the rule (note if the rule is likely to have a significant economic impact on small businesses):
These rule revisions are not likely to have a significant economic impact on small businesses.
The economic impact of these proposed rule revisions will be dependent on the actual usage by state employees.
