108.161(1m)
(1m) The treasurer of the fund shall also credit to said account all federal moneys credited to the fund pursuant to
sub. (8).
108.161(2)
(2) The requirements of said section 903 shall control any appropriation, withdrawal and use of any moneys in said account.
108.161(3)
(3) Consistently with this chapter and said section 903, such moneys shall be used solely for benefits or employment security administration, including unemployment insurance, employment service and related statistical operations.
108.161(3m)
(3m) The fund's treasurer shall request restoration from the U.S. secretary of labor of amounts credited to the account under this section which have been used to pay benefits, unless these amounts do not exceed the balance in the account, and unless the state does not have a balance of advances outstanding from the federal unemployment account under title XII of the social security act.
108.161(4)
(4) Such moneys shall be encumbered and spent for employment security administrative purposes only pursuant to, and after the effective date of, a specific legislative appropriation enactment:
108.161(4)(a)
(a) Stating for which such purposes and in what amounts the appropriation is being made to the administrative account created by
s. 108.20.
108.161(4)(b)
(b) Directing the fund's treasurer to transfer the appropriated amounts to the administrative account only as and to the extent that they are currently needed for such expenditures, and directing that there shall be restored to the account created by
sub. (1) any amount thus transferred which has ceased to be needed or available for such expenditures.
108.161(4)(c)
(c) Specifying that the appropriated amounts are available for obligation solely within the 2 years beginning on the appropriation law's date of enactment.
108.161(4)(d)
(d) Limiting the total amount which may be obligated during any fiscal year to the aggregate of all amounts credited under
sub. (1), including amounts credited pursuant to
sub. (8), reduced at the time of any obligation by the sum of the moneys obligated and charged against any of the amounts credited.
108.161(5)
(5) The total of the amounts thus appropriated for use in any fiscal year shall in no event exceed the moneys available for such use hereunder, considering the timing of credits hereunder and the sums already spent or appropriated or transferred or otherwise encumbered hereunder.
108.161(6)
(6) The fund's treasurer shall keep a record of all such times and amounts; shall charge each sum against the earliest credits duly available therefor; shall include any sum thus appropriated but not yet spent hereunder in computing the fund's net balance as of the close of any month, in line with the federal requirement that any such sum shall, until spent, be considered part of the fund; and shall certify the relevant facts whenever necessary hereunder.
108.161(7)
(7) If any moneys appropriated hereunder are used to buy and hold suitable land, with a view to the future construction of an employment security building thereon, and if such land is later sold or transferred to other use, the proceeds of such sale (or the value of such land when transferred) shall be credited to the account created by
sub. (1).
108.161(8)
(8) If any sums are appropriated and spent hereunder to buy land and to build a suitable employment security building thereon, then any federal moneys thereafter credited to the fund or paid to the department by way of gradual reimbursement of such employment security capital expenditures, or in lieu of the estimated periodic amounts which would otherwise (in the absence of such expenditures) be federally granted for the rental of substantially equivalent quarters, shall be credited to the account created by
sub. (1), consistently with any federal requirements applicable to the handling and crediting of such moneys.
108.161(8m)
(8m) To the extent that employment security moneys finance the capital cost of acquiring office quarters, either in a separate employment security building project or in a larger state building, no rental for the quarters thus financed, or for equivalent substitute quarters, shall be charged the department or its employment security functions at any time. The department shall so certify, in applying for the federal moneys specified in
sub. (8).
108.161(9)
(9) Any land and building or office quarters acquired under this section shall continue to be used for employment security purposes. Realty or quarters may not be sold or transferred to other use without the governor's approval. The proceeds from the sale, or the value of realty or quarters upon transfer, shall be credited to the account established in
sub. (1) or credited to the fund established in
s. 108.20, or both in accordance with federal requirements. Equivalent substitute rent-free quarters may be provided, as federally approved. Amounts credited under this subsection shall be used solely to finance employment security quarters according to federal requirements.
108.162
108.162
Employment security buildings and equipment. 108.162(1)(1) The amounts appropriated under
s. 20.445 (1) (na) shall be used for employment security administration, including unemployment insurance, employment service and related statistical operations; for capital outlay to buy suitable parcels of land for buildings designed for employment security operations; and to finance the designing and construction of such buildings, and for such equipment, facilities, paving, landscaping and other improvements as are required for the proper use and operation of buildings occupied by the department for employment security administration.
108.162(2)
(2) The treasurer of the fund shall transfer the amounts appropriated under
s. 20.445 (1) (na) from the federal administrative financing account under
s. 20.445 (1) (n) only as and to the extent that they are currently needed for expenditures under this section. Any amount thus transferred which has ceased to be needed or available for such expenditures shall be restored to that account.
108.162(3)
(3) The amount obligated under this section during any fiscal year may not exceed the aggregate of all amounts credited under
s. 108.161 (1), including amounts credited under
s. 108.161 (8), reduced by the amount obligated under
s. 20.445 (1) (nb) and further reduced at the time of any obligation by the sum of the moneys obligated and charged against any of the amounts thus credited.
108.162(4)
(4) As to any building project to be financed under this section, the department shall secure advance assurance that the federal bureau of employment security will apply to that project, after its completion and occupancy, the bureau's policy of gradually reimbursing the fund for the necessary capital costs of any suitable employment security building project thus financed by federal grants covering the amounts which would otherwise be payable during the reimbursement or amortization period for the rental of substantially equivalent office quarters.
108.162(5)
(5) The governor, before approving any land purchase or transfer or building project to be financed under this section, shall consult with the building commission as to those cities and sites where early construction of a combined state office building is under active consideration with a view to determining where employment security building projects thus financed would be desirable.
108.162(6)
(6) If the building commission with the approval of the governor determines as to any city or site that employment security offices should be part of a combined state office building project, or should be built on state-owned land or on land owned by a Wisconsin state public building corporation, the amounts appropriated under
s. 20.445 (1) (na) shall be available to finance such offices or a proper employment security share of such combined project.
108.162(7)
(7) Any amount appropriated under
s. 20.445 (1) (na) which has not been obligated shall be available for employment security local office building projects, consistent with this section and
ss. 108.161 and
108.20.
108.162 History
History: 1985 a. 29 ss.
490,
1674;
1991 a. 39;
1997 a. 39.
108.17
108.17
Payment of contributions. 108.17(1)
(1) Contributions shall accrue and become payable by each employer then subject to this chapter on the first day of July, 1934, and shall be paid thenceforth in accordance with this chapter. Thereafter contributions shall accrue and become payable by any employer on and after the date on which the employer becomes newly subject to this chapter.
108.17(1m)
(1m) In the case of an employer who becomes newly subject to this chapter based on employment during a given year, contributions based on payrolls through the quarter which includes the date the employer became subject to this chapter shall not be considered as payable for the purposes of
s. 108.22 until the close of the month next following the first full quarter occurring after the quarter during which the liability was incurred. In no case may such due date be later than January 31 of the succeeding year.
108.17(2)
(2) Every employer that is subject to a contribution requirement shall file reports of contributions required under this chapter with the department, and pay contributions to the department, for such periods and in such manner as the department prescribes. Each contribution report and payment is due at the close of the month next following the end of the applicable reporting period, except as the department may assign a later due date pursuant to
sub. (1m) or general department rules.
108.17(2m)
(2m) When a written statement of account is issued to an employer by the department, showing as duly credited a specified amount received from the employer under this chapter, no other form of state receipt therefor is required.
108.17(3)
(3) If an employing unit makes application to the department to adjust an alleged overpayment by the employer of contributions or interest under this chapter, and files such an application within 3 years after the close of the calendar year in which such payment was made, the department shall make a determination under
s. 108.10 as to the existence and extent of any such overpayment, and said section shall apply to such determination. Except as provided in
sub. (3m), the department shall allow an employer a credit for any amount determined under
s. 108.10 to have been erroneously paid by the employer, without interest, against its future contribution payments; or, if the department finds it impracticable to allow the employer such a credit, it shall refund such overpayment to the employer, without interest, from the fund or the administrative account, as the case may be.
108.17(3m)
(3m) If an appeal tribunal or the commission issues a decision under
s. 108.10 (2), or a court issues a decision on review under
s. 108.10 (4), in which it is determined that an amount has been erroneously paid by an employer, the department shall, from the administrative account, credit the employer with interest at the rate of 0.75% per month or fraction thereof on the amount of the erroneous payment. Interest shall accrue from the month which the erroneous payment was made until the month in which it is either used as a credit against future contributions or refunded to the employer.
108.17(4)
(4) An employer's contribution rate for any year, once determined by the department, shall not be redetermined after the last day of February in the year for which the rate was determined unless the rate was determined based on payroll which should have been reported under a different employer's account, in which case the department may redetermine the rates with respect to all affected employers' accounts.
108.17(5)
(5) Upon application of an employer, the department may permit employers which are component members of a controlled group of corporations under
26 USC 1563 to combine wages of a single employe for purposes of determining the employers' payroll under
s. 108.02 (21) (b) if the employe is subject to transfer between the employers under the terms of a single collective bargaining agreement. The application shall specify the calendar year in which the combination is proposed to occur. This subsection does not apply to any employer for which the department has written off overdrafts under
s. 108.16 (7) (c) within the 2 calendar years preceding the year in which the combination is proposed to occur, nor to any employer whose account is overdrawn by 6% or more on the computation date for the calendar year preceding the year in which the combination is proposed to occur. If the department approves the application, the department shall specify the calendar year in which the combination is effective and the method by which the component members will report the payroll of the employe to the department.
108.17(6)
(6) If the department determines that a trustee paying wage claims for an employer in a state or federal liquidation proceeding in which priority is given to specified wage claims has insufficient funds to pay all wage claims given priority, and contributions on the wage claims given priority, in full, the department may accept less than the full amount of contributions owed by the employer on those wage claims.
108.18
108.18
Contributions to the fund. 108.18(1)(a)(a) Each employer shall pay contributions to the fund for each calendar year at whatever rate on the employer's payroll for that year duly applies to the employer pursuant to this section.
108.18(1)(b)
(b) An employer's contributions shall be credited to the employer's account in the fund, but only after any solvency contribution or special contribution paid or payable by the employer under
subs. (8) to
(9m) has been credited to the fund's balancing account.
108.18(2)(a)(a) Except as provided in
pars. (c) and
(d), an employer's contribution rate shall be 2.7% on its payroll for each of the first 3 calendar years with respect to which contributions are credited to its account, except as additional contributions apply under this section.
108.18(2)(b)
(b) As to each of those first 3 calendar years, if the employer's payroll for any such year was $20,000 or more, it shall be required to pay an additional contribution at the rate of 1.3% on that calendar year's payroll, within 60 days after notice from the department that such additional contribution is payable, if its account:
108.18(2)(b)1.
1. As of January 31 of the following calendar year was overdrawn on a cash basis, with the benefits paid and charged to the account exceeding the contributions paid and credited thereto, through the close of January 31; or
108.18(2)(b)2.
2. As of the next June 30 computation date was overdrawn, with a negative reserve percentage.
108.18(2)(c)
(c) An employer engaged in the construction of roads, bridges, highways, sewers, water mains, utilities, public buildings, factories, housing, or similar construction projects shall pay contributions for each of the first 3 calendar years at the average rate for construction industry employers as determined by the department on each computation date, rounded up to the next highest rate, except as additional contributions apply under
par. (b). This rate may in no case be more than the maximum rate specified in the schedule in effect for the year of the computation under
sub. (4).
108.18(2)(d)
(d) No later than 90 days after the department issues an initial determination that a person is an employer, any employer other than an employer specified in
par. (c), having a payroll exceeding $10,000,000 in a calendar year may elect that its contribution rate shall be one percent on its payroll for the first 3 calendar years with respect to which contributions are credited to its account. In such case, the department shall credit the amount collected in excess of this amount against liability of the employer for future contributions after the close of each calendar year in which an election applies. If an employer qualifies for and makes an election under this paragraph, the employer shall, upon notification by the department, make a special contribution after the close of each quarter equivalent to the amount by which its account is overdrawn, if any, for the preceding quarter. The department shall credit any timely payment of contributions to the employer's account before making a determination of liability for a special contribution under this paragraph. An employer does not qualify for an alternate contribution rate under this paragraph at any time during which the employer's special contribution payment is delinquent.
108.18(3)
(3) Requirements for reduced rate. As to any calendar year, an employer shall be permitted to pay contributions to the fund at a rate lower than the standard rate on its payroll for that year only when, as of the applicable computation date:
108.18(3)(a)
(a) Benefits have been chargeable to the employer's account during the 18 months preceding such date; and
108.18(3)(b)
(b) Such lower rate applies under this section; and
108.18(3)(c)
(c) Permitting the employer to pay such lower rate is consistent with the relevant conditions then applicable to additional credit allowance for such year under section 3303 (a) of the federal unemployment tax act, any other provision to the contrary notwithstanding.
108.18(3m)(a)
(a) "Schedule A" is in effect for any calendar year whenever, as of the preceding June 30, the fund has a cash balance of less than $300,000,000.
108.18(3m)(b)
(b) "Schedule B" is in effect for any calendar year whenever, as of the preceding June 30, the fund has a cash balance of at least $300,000,000 but less than $900,000,000.
108.18(3m)(c)
(c) "Schedule C" is in effect for any calendar year whenever, as of the preceding June 30, the fund has a cash balance of at least $900,000,000 but less than $1,200,000,000.
108.18(3m)(d)
(d) "Schedule D" is in effect for any calendar year whenever, as of the preceding June 30, the fund has a cash balance of at least $1,200,000,000.
108.18(4)
(4) Experience rates. Except as otherwise specified in this section, an employer's contribution rate on the employer's payroll for a given calendar year shall be based on the reserve percentage of the employer's account as of the applicable computation date, as follows: [See Figure 108.18 (4) following]
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See PDF for table 108.18(5)
(5) Limitation. Except as provided in
subs. (2) and
(8), the contribution rate for any calendar year of an employer whose reserve percentage equals or exceeds zero may in no case exceed by more than one percent on the employer's payroll the rate which applied to the employer at the close of the preceding calendar year, and the contribution rate for any calendar year of an employer whose reserve percentage is less than zero may in no case exceed by more than 2% on the employer's payroll the rate which applied to the employer at the close of the preceding calendar year.
108.18(5m)
(5m) Limitation, computation. The limitation of
sub. (5) shall be computed from the employer's experience rate assigned to it under
subs. (4),
(5) and
(6), rounded to the next highest rate.
108.18(6)
(6) Computation in special cases. If during the year ending on a computation date an employer has been liable for contributions but has had no payroll, the employer's reserve percentage as of that computation date shall be computed on the basis of the employer's most recent year (ending on a computation date which applied to the employer) of some payroll; but the employer's contribution rate for the calendar year following the computation date shall in no case be less than one percent.
108.18(7)(a)1.1. Except as provided in
pars. (b) to
(h), any employer may make payments to the fund during the month of November in excess of those required by this section and
s. 108.19 (1) and
(1e). Each payment shall be credited to the employer's account for the purpose of computing the employer's reserve percentage as of the immediately preceding computation date.
108.18(7)(a)2.
2. Each payment shall be treated as a contribution required and irrevocably paid under this chapter with respect to payrolls preceding the date it is credited except as a refund or credit is authorized under
par. (b),
(e) or
(h).
108.18(7)(b)
(b) No employer may, by means of a voluntary contribution under
par. (a), reduce the employer's contribution rate to a rate lower than the next lower rate which would have applied to the employer for the following calendar year. Any contributions in excess of the amount required to reduce an employer's rate to the extent permitted under this paragraph shall be applied against any outstanding liability of the employer, or if there is no such liability shall be refunded to the employer or established as a credit against future contributions payable by the employer, at the employer's option.
108.18(7)(c)
(c) No employer whose overdrafts have been charged to the fund's balancing account under
s. 108.16 (7) (c) may make a voluntary contribution under
par. (a) prior to the 5th calendar year commencing after the date of the most recent such charge. Any voluntary contribution made prior to that year shall be treated as an excess contribution under
par. (b).
108.18(7)(d)
(d) A payment under this subsection is timely if it is received by the department no later than November 30 following the computation date for the calendar year to which it applies, or if mailed is either postmarked no later than that date or is received by the department no later than 3 days after that date.
108.18(7)(e)
(e) The department may refund a voluntary contribution made under
par. (a) if, due to an error of the department or an employer, the department makes an adjustment after the computation date or the November voluntary contribution period to the employer's account or payroll used to calculate the employer's reserve percentage that nullifies the rate reduction obtained by the voluntary payment. No refund may be authorized after the close of the calendar year for which the rate changed by the voluntary contribution applied.
108.18(7)(f)
(f) Notwithstanding
par. (a), the department shall authorize an employer to make a voluntary contribution for the purpose of computing the employer's reserve percentage as of the immediately preceding computation date after the month of November, but in no case later than 120 days after the beginning of the calendar year to which the reserve percentage applies, in an amount sufficient to obtain a contribution rate that was:
108.18(7)(f)1.
1. Nullified by an erroneous charge or credit to the employer's account made by the department; or
108.18(7)(f)2.
2. Increased to a higher contribution rate by an erroneous charge or credit to the employer's account made by the department.
108.18(7)(g)
(g) Any payment under
par. (f) must be received by the department within 30 days after the date of notice of the rate change caused by the adjustment and within 120 days after the beginning of the year to which the rate applies.
108.18(7)(h)
(h) The department shall establish contributions other than those required by this section and
s. 108.19 (1)
and
(1e) and contributions other than those submitted during the month of November or authorized under
par. (f) as a credit against future contributions payable by the employer or shall refund the contributions at the employer's option.
108.18(8)
(8) Solvency contributions. Each employer's solvency contribution for each period of a calendar year shall be figured by applying the solvency rate determined for that year under
sub. (9) to the employer's payroll for that period, and shall be payable to the fund's balancing account by the due-date of its contribution report.
108.18(9c)
(9c) Reduction of solvency rate. The department shall reduce the solvency rate payable under
sub. (9) by each employer for each year by the rate payable by that employer under
s. 108.19 (1e) (a) for that year.
108.18(9e)
(9e) Seasonal employer solvency rate. A seasonal employer shall pay an additional solvency contribution of 2% on its payroll for each calendar year unless that rate would result in the employer paying more than the maximum total contribution and solvency rate applicable to any employer in the same year in which the rate applies, in which case the employer shall pay that solvency rate which, when combined with its contribution rate, equals that maximum total rate.
108.18(9m)
(9m) Solvency contribution exemption. No solvency contribution is required of any employer which qualifies for and elects an alternate contribution rate under
sub. (2) (d).
108.18 History
History: 1971 c. 42,
53,
211;
1973 c. 247;
1975 c. 343;
1977 c. 133;
1979 c. 12,
52;
1983 a. 8,
27,
99;
1983 a. 189 s.
329 (28);
1983 a. 384;
1985 a. 17,
40,
332;
1987 a. 38 ss.
113 to
121,
134;
1989 a. 56 s.
259;
1989 a. 77,
359;
1991 a. 89;
1993 a. 373,
492;
1995 a. 118,
225,
417;
1997 a. 39.
108.19
108.19
Contributions to the administrative account. 108.19(1)(1) Each employer subject to this chapter shall regularly contribute to the administrative account at the rate of two-tenths of one per cent per year on its payroll, except that the department may prescribe at the close of any fiscal year such lower rates of contribution under this section, to apply to classes of employers throughout the ensuing fiscal year, as will in the department's judgment adequately finance the administration of this chapter, and as will in the department's judgment fairly represent the relative cost of the services rendered by the department to each such class.
108.19(1e)(a)(a) Except as provided in
par. (b), each employer, other than an employer which finances benefits under
s. 108.15 or
108.151 shall, in addition to other contributions payable under
s. 108.18 and this section, pay an assessment to the administrative account for each year prior to the year 2000 equal to the lesser of 0.01% of its payroll for that year or the solvency contribution that would otherwise be payable by the employer under
s. 108.18 (9) for that year.
108.19(1e)(b)
(b) The levy prescribed under
par. (a) is not effective for any year unless the department, no later than the November 30 preceding that year, publishes a class 1 notice under
ch. 985 giving notice that the levy is in effect for the ensuing year.
108.19(1e)(c)
(c) Notwithstanding
par. (a), the department may, if it finds that the full amount of the levy is not required to effect the purposes specified in
par. (d) for any year, prescribe a reduced levy for that year and in such case shall publish in the notice under
par. (b) the rate of the reduced levy.
108.19(1e)(d)
(d) The department may expend the moneys received from assessments levied under this subsection for the design or development of unemployment insurance information technology systems.
108.19(1m)
(1m) Each employer subject to this chapter as of the date a rate is established under this subsection shall pay an assessment to the administrative account at a rate established by the department sufficient to pay interest due on advances from the federal unemployment account under title XII of the social security act (
42 USC 1321 to
1324). The rate established by the department for employers who finance benefits under
s. 108.15 (2) or
108.151 (2) shall be 75% of the rate established for other employers. The amount of any employer's assessment shall be the product of the rate established for that employer multiplied by the employer's payroll of the previous calendar year as taken from quarterly contribution reports filed by the employer or, in the absence of the filing of such reports, estimates made by the department. Each assessment made under this subsection is due on the 30th day commencing after the date on which notice of the assessment is mailed by the department. If the amounts collected under this subsection are in excess of the amounts needed to pay interest due, the amounts shall be retained in the administrative account and utilized for the purposes specified in
s. 108.20 (2m).
108.19(1n)
(1n) The department shall publish as a class 1 notice under
ch. 985 any rate established under
sub. (1m) within 10 days of the date that the rate is established.
108.19(1p)
(1p) Notwithstanding
sub. (1m), an employer having a payroll of $25,000 or less for the preceding calendar year is exempt from any assessment under
sub. (1m).
