Chapter 108

108.15 108.15 Benefits for public employees.

108.15(1g) (1g) Definition. In this section, “state” includes all state constitutional offices, all branches of state government, all agencies, departments, boards, commissions, councils, committees, and all other parts or subdivisions of state government however organized or designated.

108.15(1r) (1r) Benefit payments. Benefits shall be payable from the fund to any public employee, if unemployed and otherwise eligible, based on employment by any government unit that is an employer covered by this chapter.

108.15(2) (2) Reimbursement financing. The state and every other government unit which is an employer subject to this chapter shall be subject to all its provisions except that, in lieu of contributions under ss. 108.17 and 108.18, it shall reimburse the fund for benefits charged to its account.

108.15(3) (3) Election of contribution financing. Any government unit other than the state may, in lieu of the reimbursement requirement of sub. (2), elect contribution financing under ss. 108.17 and 108.18 as of the beginning of any calendar year, subject to the following requirements:

108.15(3)(a) (a) The government unit shall file a written notice of election with the department before the beginning of that year or within 30 days after the department issues a determination that the government unit is subject to this chapter, whichever is later. An election under this subsection shall remain in effect for not less than 3 calendar years.

108.15(3)(b) (b) A government unit may thereafter terminate its election of contribution financing effective at the end of any calendar year by filing a written notice to that effect with the department before the close of such year.

108.15(3)(c) (c) No election or termination of election of contribution financing is effective if the government unit, at the time of filing notice of such election or termination of election, is delinquent under s. 108.22.

108.15(3)(d) (d) If a government unit elects contribution financing for any calendar year after the first calendar year it becomes newly subject to this chapter, it shall be liable to reimburse the fund for any benefits based on prior employment. If a government unit terminates its election of contribution financing, ss. 108.17 and 108.18 shall apply to employment in the prior calendar year, but after all benefits based on such prior employment have been charged to its contribution account any balance remaining in such account shall be transferred to the fund’s balancing account.

108.15(3)(e) (e) Each time a government unit elects or reelects contribution financing its initial contribution rate shall be 2.5 percent on its payroll for each of the first 3 calendar years in which such election or reelection is in effect. If a government unit terminates its election of contribution financing it may not reelect contribution financing within a period of 3 calendar years thereafter.

108.15(4) (4) Reimbursement accounts for government units.

108.15(4)(a) (a) For each government unit covered by this chapter which is liable for reimbursement to the fund, the fund’s treasurer shall maintain a reimbursement “employer account”, as a subaccount of the fund’s balancing account.

108.15(4)(b) (b) Each government unit’s reimbursement account shall be duly charged with any benefits based on work for such unit, and shall be duly credited with any reimbursement paid by or for it to the fund, and with any benefit overpayment from the account recovered by the department. Whenever the account of a government unit is credited with an overpayment under this paragraph, the department shall, at the close of any month, refund that amount to the government unit upon request, after deducting the amount of any reimbursements to the account of such government unit which have been billed but not paid.

108.15(4)(c) (c) Any government unit may at any time make payments into its reimbursement account in the fund.

108.15(4)(d) (d) Whenever a government unit’s reimbursement account has a positive net balance, no reimbursement of the benefits charged to that account is required under this section.

108.15(4)(e) (e) Whenever a government unit’s reimbursement account has a negative balance, any benefits chargeable to such account shall be duly paid and charged thereto; and reimbursements covering the total negative balance thus resulting shall become due pursuant to this section.

108.15(4)(f) (f) The write-off provisions of s. 108.16 (7) (c) do not apply to the reimbursement account of any government unit.

108.15(4)(g) (g) If any government unit covered by this chapter requests the department to maintain separate accounts for parts of such unit which are separately operated or financed, the department may do so for such periods and under such conditions as it may from time to time determine.

108.15(5) (5) Reimbursements and contributions.

108.15(5)(a) (a) Each government unit which is an “employer” shall include in its budget for each budgetary period an estimated amount for payment of the contributions required by ss. 108.17 and 108.18 or reimbursements required by this section, including in each case any contribution or reimbursement remaining unpaid for the current or any prior period.

108.15(5)(b) (b) The department shall monthly bill each government unit for any reimbursements required under this section, which shall be due within 20 days after the date the department issues the bill.

108.15(5)(c) (c) Reimbursements due hereunder from budget subdivisions of the state shall be paid pursuant to sub. (7).

108.15(5)(d) (d) Reimbursements due under this section or contributions due under ss. 108.17 and 108.18 from government units shall, if they remain unpaid after their due date, be collected under sub. (6) or under any other applicable provision of law.

108.15(6) (6) Delinquent payments.

108.15(6)(a) (a) Any reimbursement duly billed under this section, or contribution payable under s. 108.17 or 108.18, which remains unpaid after its applicable due date is a “delinquent payment” under s. 108.22 (1) (a).

108.15(6)(b) (b) Whenever a government unit’s “delinquent payments”, including interest and penalties thereon, total more than the benefits charged to such unit’s reimbursement account for the 6 most recent months, or contributions, including interest and penalties thereon, are delinquent for at least 2 quarters, the department shall so determine under s. 108.10.

108.15(6)(c) (c) If such delinquency is finally established under s. 108.10, the fund’s treasurer shall, in case such unit receives a share of any state tax or any type of state aid, certify to the secretary of administration the existence and amount of such delinquency.

108.15(6)(d) (d) Upon receipt of such certification, the secretary of administration shall withhold, from each sum of any such tax or aid thereafter payable to the government unit, until the delinquency is satisfied, the lesser of the following amounts:

108.15(6)(d)1. 1. The delinquent amount thus certified; or

108.15(6)(d)2. 2. One-half the sum otherwise payable to such government unit.

108.15(6)(e) (e) Any amount withheld by the secretary of administration under par. (d) shall be paid by the secretary of administration to the fund’s treasurer, who shall duly credit such payment toward satisfying the delinquency.

108.15(7) (7) State compliance and appropriations.

108.15(7)(b) (b) Each reimbursement payable by the state under this section shall be duly paid to the fund, upon filing by the fund’s treasurer of a certificate to the department of administration specifying the amount of reimbursement due and the appropriation apparently chargeable.

108.15(7)(c) (c) Each of the state’s budget subdivisions shall have each such reimbursement amount charged to and deducted from its proper appropriation, unless payment is authorized under ss. 20.865 and 20.928.

108.15(8) (8) Notice and reports. Each government unit which is an employer shall give such suitable benefit notices to its employees as the department may direct, and shall make employment and wage reports to the department under the same conditions as apply to other employers.

108.15(9) (9) Group reimbursement accounts. If any group of government units which have not elected contribution financing file a joint request, they shall be treated as one employer for the purposes of this chapter under the conditions of this subsection.

108.15(9)(a) (a) The group will be treated as one employer for at least 3 calendar years and the group may be discontinued or dissolved at the beginning of any subsequent calendar year by filing advance written notice thereof with the department before the beginning of such subsequent calendar year.

108.15(9)(b) (b) The members of the group are jointly and severally liable for any required reimbursements together with any interest thereon and any tardy filing fees.

108.15(9)(c) (c) The group shall be dissolved at the beginning of any calendar year after the required 3 calendar years of participation if any member of the group files written notice with the department in advance of such calendar year of its intended withdrawal from the group.

108.15 History History: 1971 c. 53; 1973 c. 247; 1975 c. 343; 1977 c. 133; 1981 c. 36 s. 45; 1983 a. 8, 27; 1985 a. 17; 1987 a. 38; 1993 a. 492; 1995 a. 118; 1999 a. 15; 2003 a. 33; 2007 a. 59; 2015 a. 196; 2017 a. 157; 2021 a. 231.

108.151 108.151 Financing benefits for employees of nonprofit organizations.

108.151(1) (1) Employer’s contribution rate. Each nonprofit organization which is or becomes an employer subject to this chapter shall be subject to all its provisions except as it may elect reimbursement financing in accordance with sub. (2). If such an approved election is terminated, the employer’s contribution rate shall be 2.5 percent on its payroll for each of the next 3 calendar years.

108.151(2) (2) Election of reimbursement financing. Any nonprofit organization may, in lieu of the contribution requirements of ss. 108.17 and 108.18, elect reimbursement financing, as of the beginning of any calendar year, subject to the following requirements:

108.151(2)(a) (a) It shall file a written notice to that effect with the department before the beginning of such year except that if the employer became newly subject to this section as of the beginning of such year, it shall file the notice within 30 days after the date of the determination that it is subject to this chapter.

108.151(2)(b) (b) An employer whose prior election of reimbursement financing has been terminated pursuant to sub. (3) may not thereafter reelect reimbursement financing unless it has been subject to the contribution requirements of ss. 108.17 and 108.18 for at least 3 calendar years thereafter and is not, at the time of filing such reelection, delinquent under s. 108.22.

108.151(2)(c) (c) No election of reimbursement financing shall be valid unless the employer has satisfied the requirements of sub. (4) within 60 days after it filed the notice of election.

108.151(2)(d) (d) Sections 108.17 and 108.18 shall apply to all prior employment, but after all benefits based on prior employment have been charged to any account it has had under s. 108.16 (2) any balance remaining therein shall be transferred to the fund’s balancing account as if s. 108.16 (6) (c) or (6m) (d) applied.

108.151(3) (3) Termination of election.

108.151(3)(a) (a) An employer who elected reimbursement financing may terminate its election as of the close of the 2nd calendar year to which such election applies, or at the close of any subsequent calendar year, by filing a written notice to that effect with the department before the close of such calendar year;

108.151(3)(b) (b) The department may terminate any election as of the close of any calendar year if the department determines that any of the following applies.

108.151(3)(b)1. 1. The employer has failed to make the required reimbursement payments.

108.151(3)(b)2. 2. The employer has failed to pay the required assessments authorized by sub. (7) or s. 108.155.

108.151(3)(b)3. 3. The employer no longer satisfies the requirements of sub. (4).

108.151(3)(b)4. 4. Section 108.16 (8) applies with respect to the employer.

108.151(4) (4) Assurance of reimbursement.

108.151(4)(a) (a) An employer electing reimbursement financing shall file an assurance of reimbursement with the fund’s treasurer, payable to the unemployment reserve fund, guaranteeing payment of the required reimbursement together with any interest and any tardy filing fees. The assurance shall be a surety bond, letter of credit, certificate of deposit or any other nonnegotiable instrument of fixed value.

108.151(4)(a)1. 1. The amount of assurance shall be equal to 4 percent of the employer’s payroll for the year immediately preceding the effective date of the election, or the employer’s anticipated payroll for the current year, whichever is greater as determined by the department, but the assurance may be in a greater amount at the option of the employer. The amount of the assurance shall be similarly redetermined prior to the beginning of the 3rd year commencing after the year in which it is filed and prior to the beginning of every other year thereafter.

108.151(4)(a)2. 2. Prior to the beginning of each year, an employer electing reimbursement financing shall file an assurance for the 4-year period beginning on January 1 of that year in the amount determined under subd. 1. An assurance shall remain in force until the liability is released by the fund’s treasurer.

108.151(4)(a)3. 3. No assurance may be approved unless the fund’s treasurer finds that it gives reasonable assurances that it guarantees payment of reimbursements.

108.151(4)(a)4. 4. Failure of any employer covered by the assurance to pay the full amount of its reimbursement payments when due together with any interest and any tardy filing fees shall render the assurance liable on said assurance to the extent of the assurance, as though the assurance was the employer.

108.151(4)(b) (b) The fund’s treasurer shall issue a receipt to the employer for its deposit of assurance. Any assurances shall be retained by the fund’s treasurer in escrow, for the fund, until the employer’s liability under its election is terminated, at which time they shall be returned to the employer, less any deductions made under this paragraph. The employer may at any time substitute assurances of equal or greater value. The treasurer may, with 10 days’ notice to the employer, liquidate the assurances deposited to the extent necessary to satisfy any delinquent reimbursements or assessments due under this section or s. 108.155 together with any interest and any tardy filing fees due. The treasurer shall hold in escrow any cash remaining from the sale of the assurances, without interest. The fund’s treasurer shall require the employer within 30 days following any liquidation of deposited assurances to deposit sufficient additional assurances to make whole the employer’s deposit at the prior level. Any income from assurances held in escrow shall inure to and be the property of the employer.

108.151(5) (5) Reimbursement account.

108.151(5)(a) (a) For each nonprofit organization which has elected reimbursement financing, pursuant to sub. (2), the fund’s treasurer shall maintain a reimbursement account, as a subaccount of the fund’s balancing account.

108.151(5)(b) (b) The department shall charge the employer’s reimbursement account with all regular benefits, and with its share of any extended benefits under s. 108.141, based on wages paid within each quarter ended while its election is in effect.

108.151(5)(c) (c) The employer’s reimbursement account shall be credited with any reimbursement paid by or for it to the fund, and with any benefit overpayment from the account recovered by the department.

108.151(5)(d) (d) The employer may at any time make other payments to be credited into its reimbursement account, in anticipation of future benefit charges.

108.151(5)(e) (e) Whenever the employer’s reimbursement account has a positive net balance no reimbursement of the benefits charged thereto shall be required.

108.151(5)(f) (f) Whenever an employer’s reimbursement account has a negative balance as of the close of any calendar month, the fund’s treasurer shall promptly electronically deliver to the employer, or mail to the employer’s last-known address, a bill for that portion of its negative balance which has resulted from the net benefits charged to the account within that month. Reimbursement payment shall be due within 20 days after the date the department issues the bill. Any required payment that remains unpaid after its applicable due date is a delinquent payment. Section 108.22 shall apply for collecting delinquent payments.

108.151(6) (6) Group reimbursement accounts. If any group of nonprofit organizations who have elected reimbursement financing file a joint request, they shall be treated as if they were one employer for the purposes of this chapter, provided that:

108.151(6)(a) (a) They shall be so treated for at least the 3 calendar years following their request, unless their election of reimbursement financing is terminated under sub. (3), but they may discontinue their group arrangement as of the beginning of any subsequent calendar year by filing advance notice with the department. A member of such a group may discontinue its participation in the group and the group shall be dissolved at the beginning of any calendar year after the 3rd year.

108.151(6)(b) (b) They shall be jointly and severally liable for any required reimbursements together with any interest thereon and any tardy filing fees.

108.151(6)(c) (c) They shall designate one or more individuals as agent for all members of the group for all fiscal and reporting purposes under this chapter.

108.151(6)(d) (d) If such a group is discontinued, par. (a) shall apply to each of its members.

108.151(7) (7) Uncollectible reimbursements.

108.151(7)(a) (a) In this subsection, “payroll” has the meaning given in s. 108.02 (21) (a).

108.151(7)(b) (b) Except as provided in par. (f), each employer that has elected reimbursement financing under this section and that is subject to this chapter as of the date that a rate of assessment is established under this subsection shall pay an assessment to the fund at a rate determined by the fund’s treasurer under par. (c).

108.151(7)(c) (c) The fund’s treasurer shall determine the total amount due from employers electing reimbursement financing under this section that is uncollectible as of June 30 of each year, but not including any amount that the department determined to be uncollectible before January 1, 2004. No amount may be treated as uncollectible under this paragraph unless the department has exhausted all reasonable remedies for collection of the amount, including liquidation of the assurance required under sub. (4). The department shall charge the total amounts so determined to the uncollectible reimbursable benefits account under s. 108.16 (6w). Whenever, as of June 30 of any year, that account has a negative balance of $5,000 or more, the treasurer shall, except as provided in par. (i), determine the rate of an assessment to be levied under par. (b) for that year, which shall then become payable by all employers that have elected reimbursement financing under this section as of that date.

108.151(7)(d) (d) The rate of assessment under this subsection for each calendar year shall be a rate, when applied to the payrolls of all employers electing reimbursement financing under this section for the preceding calendar year, that will generate an amount that equals the total amount determined to be uncollectible under par. (c), but not more than $200,000 for any year.

108.151(7)(e) (e) Except as provided in par. (f), the rate of each employer’s assessment under this subsection for any calendar year is the product of the rate determined under par. (d) multiplied by the employer’s payroll for the preceding calendar year, as reported by the employer under sub. (8) or s. 108.15 (8), 108.152 (7), 108.17 (2) or 108.205 (1) or, in the absence of reports, as estimated by the department.

108.151(7)(f) (f) If any employer would otherwise be assessed an amount less than $20 for a calendar year, the department shall, in lieu of requiring that employer to pay an assessment for that calendar year, apply the amount that the employer would have been required to pay to the other employers on a pro rata basis.

108.151(7)(g) (g) The department shall bill assessments to employers under this subsection in the same manner as provided in sub. (5) (f) for the month of September in each year, and the assessment is due for payment in the same manner as other payments under sub. (5) (f). If any assessment is past due, the department shall assess interest on the balance due under s. 108.22. If any employer is delinquent in paying an assessment under this subsection, the department may terminate the employer’s election of reimbursement financing under this section as of the close of any calendar year in which the employer remains delinquent.

108.151(7)(h) (h) If the payroll of an employer for any quarter is adjusted to decrease the amount of the payroll after an employment and wage report for the employer is filed under s. 108.205 (1), the department shall refund any assessment that is overpaid by the employer under this subsection as a result of the adjustment.

108.151(7)(i) (i) In lieu of or in addition to assessing employers as provided in par. (b), the fund’s treasurer may apply amounts set aside in the fund’s balancing account under s. 108.155 (2) (a) to amounts determined to be uncollectible under par. (c) by transferring those amounts to the account under s. 108.16 (6w). The fund’s treasurer may not act under this paragraph whenever the balance remaining of the amount set aside under s. 108.155 (2) (a) is less than $1,750,000 and may not act to reduce the amount set aside below that amount.

108.151(8) (8) Reports. Each nonprofit organization that is an employer shall make employment and wage reports to the department under the same conditions that apply to other employers.

108.151 History History: 1971 c. 53; 1973 c. 247; 1975 c. 343; 1979 c. 52; 1983 a. 8; 1985 a. 17; 1987 a. 38; 1989 a. 77; 1991 a. 89; 1995 a. 118; 1999 a. 15; 2005 a. 86; 2007 a. 59; 2009 a. 180; 2015 a. 334; 2017 a. 157; 2021 a. 231.

108.152 108.152 Financing benefits for employees of Indian tribes.

108.152(1) (1) Election of reimbursement financing. Each Indian tribe that is an employer may, in lieu of paying contributions under ss. 108.17 and 108.18, elect reimbursement financing for itself as a whole or for any tribal units or combinations of tribal units that are wholly owned subdivisions, subsidiaries, or business enterprises, as of the beginning of any calendar year, subject to the following conditions:

108.152(1)(a) (a) The Indian tribe or tribal unit shall file a written notice of the election with the department before the beginning of that year except that, if the Indian tribe or tribal unit became an employer as of the beginning of that year, it shall file the notice within 30 days after the date of the determination that it is an employer.

108.152(1)(b) (b) An Indian tribe or tribal unit whose election of reimbursement financing is terminated under sub. (2) (a) may not thereafter reelect reimbursement financing unless it has been subject to the contribution requirements of ss. 108.17 and 108.18 for at least 3 calendar years thereafter and is not, at the time of filing such reelection, delinquent under s. 108.22.