Various changes in the unemployment insurance law

Discharges for certain conduct or violations of certain work rules or policies Currently, if an employee is discharged for misconduct connected with his or her employment (interpreted by the courts to include only misconduct that evinces willful or wanton disregard of the employer's interests or carelessness or negligence in the performance of duties to such degree or recurrence as to manifest culpability or wrongful intent or exhibiting such behavior as to endanger the physical safety of persons on the work site) the employee is ineligible to receive benefits until seven weeks have elapsed since the end of the week in which the discharge occurs and the employee earns wages, or certain other amounts treated as wages, after the week in which the discharge occurs equal to at least 14 times the employee's weekly benefit rate in employment covered by the unemployment insurance law of any state or the federal government. In addition, all wages earned with the employer that discharges the employee are excluded in determining the amount of any future benefits to which the employee is entitled. However, if an employee is discharged for failing to notify an employer of tardiness or absenteeism that becomes excessive under certain conditions, the employee is ineligible to receive benefits until six weeks have elapsed since the end of the week in which the discharge occurs and the employee earns wages, or certain other amounts treated as wages, after the week in which the discharge occurs equal to at least six times the the employee's weekly benefit rate in work covered by the unemployment insurance law of any state or the federal government. In addition, if an employee's work is suspended by an employer for good cause connected with the employee's work, the employee is ineligible to receive benefits until three weeks have elapsed since the end of the week in which the suspension occurs or until the suspension ends, whichever occurs first.

This bill deletes the current disqualifiers for discharges resulting from absenteeism or tardiness and for disciplinary suspensions but retains the disqualifier for misconduct. The bill also creates a new disqualifier that applies to certain discharges or suspensions that do not result from misconduct, as currently defined. Under the bill, an employee who is discharged for intentional conduct connected with his or her employment that a reasonable person would not engage in, if the conduct is documented by the employee's employer and the employee knew or should have known that the conduct would not be considered reasonable by the employer, or for a knowing violation of a reasonable and uniformly enforced rule or policy of his or her employer, when reasonably applied, is ineligible to receive benefits until six weeks have elapsed since the end of the week in which the discharge occurs and the employee earns wages, or certain other amounts treated as wages, after the week in which the discharge occurs equal to at least six times the employee's weekly benefit rate in employment covered by the unemployment insurance law of any state or the federal government. An employee who is suspended rather than discharged for such a violation is ineligible to receive benefits until at least three weeks have elapsed since the end of the week in which the suspension occurs or the suspension ends, whichever occurs first.

Extended training Currently, a claimant is generally required to be able to work and available for work in order to remain eligible for unemployment insurance benefits. However, benefits may not be denied to an otherwise eligible claimant because the claimant is enrolled in a vocational training course or basic education course that is a prerequisite to such training that is approved by DWD ("approved training") under certain conditions. Current law also permits a claimant who has exhausted all rights to benefits and is enrolled in an approved training course and who meets certain other qualifications to potentially qualify to receive up to 26 weeks of additional benefits while enrolled in that training ("extended training"). The costs of extended training benefits for those employers who are subject to a requirement to pay contributions (taxes) are charged to the balancing account of the unemployment reserve fund (a pooled account funded by all employers who pay contributions to the fund), and the costs for those employers who are not subject to a contribution requirement are billed directly to the employers.

This bill provides that if the average rate of total unemployment in this state, as determined by the U.S. secretary of labor, is equal to or lower than 6.5 percent for any calendar quarter, DWD must publish a notice to that effect in the Wisconsin Administrative Register. Under the bill, no claimant may qualify to begin receiving extended training benefits in any week that begins after publication of the notice.

Voluntary termination of employment Currently, if an employee voluntarily terminates his or her work for an employer, the employee is generally ineligible to receive benefits until four weeks have elapsed since the end of the week in which the termination occurs and the employee earns wages after the week in which the termination occurs equal to at least four times the employee's weekly benefit rate in employment covered by the unemployment insurance law of any state or the federal government. However, an employee may terminate his or her work and receive benefits without requalifying under this provision, among other reasons, if an employee's spouse changed his or her place of employment to a place to which it is impractical to commute and the employee terminated his or her work to accompany the spouse to that place. This bill deletes this exception to the requalification requirement.

Interest on delinquent payments Currently, if an employer does not make a payment required under the UI law to DWD by the due date, the employer must pay interest on the amount owed equal to one percent per month or fraction thereof from the date that the payment became due. This bill changes the interest rate on delinquent payments to that monthly rate that annaualized is equal to 2 percent more than the prime rate as published in the Wall Street Journal as of September 30 of the preceding year for each month or fraction thereof that the employer is delinquent.

Payment of benefits during incarceration Currently, with certain exceptions, an employee is eligible to receive benefits for any week in which the employee receives no wages only if the employee is able to work and available for work during that week. If an employee is incarcerated for an offense that constitutes misconduct connected with his or her employment, the employee is ineligible to receive benefits until the employee requalifies, and any wages earned with the discharging employer are discounted in determining the employee's benefit amount. This bill provides, in addition, that an employee's weekly benefit amount is reduced by one-fifth for each day of any week in which the employee is incarcerated for up to 5 days in a week.

Authority of appeal tribunals Currently, DWD is directed by law to appoint appeal tribunals to administratively hear and decide disputed UI claims and other matters arising under the UI law. This bill provides that the actions of appeal tribunals must be consistent with applicable state and federal law.