Fall workforce package, granting rule-making authority, making an appropriation, and providing a penalty. (FE)

The bill allows such a grant to be used to reserve child care placements for local business employees, pay child care tuition, and other costs related to child care.

Under the bill, a grant recipient must provide at least 25 percent matching funds.

The bill allows DCF to promulgate rules to administer the grant program, including to determine eligibility for a grant.

Family and medical leave expansion Under the current family and medical leave law, an employer that employs at least 50 individuals on a permanent basis must permit an employee who has been employed by the employer for more than 52 consecutive weeks and who has worked for the employer for at least 1,000 hours during the preceding 52 weeks to take family leave to care for the employee's child, spouse, domestic partner, or parent who has a serious health condition. Employers covered under the law must also permit an employee covered under the law to take up to two weeks of medical leave in a 12-month period when that employee has a serious health condition. An employee may file a complaint with the Department of Workforce Development regarding an alleged violation of the family and medical leave law within 30 days after either the violation occurs or the employee should reasonably have known that the violation occurred, whichever is later.

This bill makes the following changes to the family and medical leave law:

1. Requires employers covered under the law to permit employees covered under the law to take family leave to provide for a grandparent, grandchild, or sibling who has a serious health condition.

2. Decreases the number of hours an employee is required to work before qualifying for family and medical leave to 680 hours during the preceding 52 weeks.

3. Increases the amount of weeks an employee is able to take in family and medical leave for any eligible reason to 12 weeks.

4. Extends the time period in which an employee may file a complaint with DWD to 300 days after either the violation occurs or the employee should reasonably have known that the violation occurred, whichever is later.

5. Removes the age restriction from the definition of “child” for various purposes under the family and medical leave law.

6. Requires employers to permit employees to take family leave in the instance of an unforeseen or unexpected gap in child care for an employee's child, grandchild, or sibling or because of a qualifying exigency as to be determined by DWD related to covered active duty, as defined in the bill, or notification of an impending call or order to covered active duty of an employee's child, spouse, domestic partner, parent, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling who is a member of the U.S. armed forces.

7. Requires employers to permit employees to take family leave to address issues related to the employee or the employee's child, spouse, domestic partner, parent, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling being the victim of domestic abuse, sexual abuse, or stalking.

8. Requires employers to permit employees to take family leave to care for a child, spouse, domestic partner, parent, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling of an employee who is in medical isolation and requires employers to permit employees to take medical leave when an employee is in medical isolation. The bill defines “medical isolation” to include when a local health officer or the Department of Health Services advises that an individual isolate or quarantine; when a health care professional, a local health officer, or DHS advises that an individual seclude herself or himself when awaiting the results of a diagnostic test for a communicable disease or when the individual is infected with a communicable disease; and when an individual's employer advises that the individual not come to the workplace due to a concern that the individual may have been exposed to or infected with a communicable disease.

Family and medical leave benefits insurance program This bill creates a family and medical leave benefits insurance program, to be administered by DWD, under which a covered individual who is on certain family or medical leave is eligible, beginning on January 1, 2025, to receive up to 12 weeks of family or medical leave insurance benefits as specified in the bill from the family and medical leave benefits insurance trust fund created under the bill. For purposes of the bill, the following definitions apply:

1. A “covered individual" is an individual who worked for the same employer for at least 680 hours in the calendar year prior to the year in which the covered individual claims family or medical leave insurance benefits (application year) or a self-employed individual or employee of a small employer who elects coverage under the program.

2. “Family leave" means leave from employment, self-employment, or availability for employment for the birth or adoptive placement of a new child; to care for a family member who has a serious health condition or is in medical isolation; for covered active duty; or to address issues related to being the victim of domestic abuse, sexual abuse, or stalking.

3. “Medical leave" means leave from employment, self-employment, or availability for employment when a covered individual is in medical isolation or has a serious health condition that makes the employee unable to perform his or her employment duties.

Under the bill, the amount of family or medical leave insurance benefits for a week for which those benefits are payable is as follows:

1. For the amount of the covered individual's average weekly earnings that are less than 50 percent of the state annual median wage in the calendar year before the individual's application year, 90 percent of that individual's average weekly earnings.

2. For the amount of the covered individual's average weekly earnings that are more than 50 percent of the state annual median wage in the calendar year before the individual's application year, 50 percent of that individual's average weekly earnings.

Beginning on January 1, 2025, the bill requires each individual employed in this state by an employer that regularly employs at least 50 individuals, including an individual employed by the state, and any self-employed individual or employee of a small employer who elects coverage under the family and medical leave benefits insurance program to contribute to the trust fund a percentage of his or her wages from employment or income from self-employment. Under the bill, each employer must contribute the same amount as an employee. The bill requires DWD to collect those contributions in the same manner as DWD collects contributions to the unemployment reserve fund under current law.

The bill provides that an employer that provides paid family and medical leave benefits that are identical to or more generous than those provided under the program may request an exemption from participation in the program. The bill requires DWD to promulgate rules to provide exemptions from participation in the program.

The bill further does the following:

1. Requires DWD to promulgate rules providing for a right to a hearing in cases of disputes involving an individual's eligibility for benefits or status as a covered individual under the program.

2. Requires DWD to promulgate rules providing for a right to a hearing in cases involving the liability of employers for contributions under the program.

3. Allows DWD to seek repayment of family or medical leave insurance benefits that are paid erroneously or as a result of willful misrepresentation. The bill allows DWD to establish other procedures for recovering overpayments and allows DWD to utilize procedures under the unemployment insurance law.

Paid family and medical leave This bill requires the administrator of the Division of Personnel Management in the Department of Administration to develop a program for paid family and medical leave of 12 weeks annually for most state employees. The bill requires the administrator to submit the plan for approval as a change to the state compensation plan to the Joint Committee on Employment Relations. If JCOER approves the plan, the plan becomes effective immediately.

The bill also requires the Board of Regents of the University of Wisconsin System to develop a plan for a program for paid family and medical leave of 12 weeks annually for employees of the system and requires the board to submit the plan to the administrator of the Division of Personnel Management in DOA with its compensation plan changes for the 2023-25 biennium.

UW–Madison engineering building This bill amends the 2023-25 Authorized State Building Program to add one project for the University of Wisconsin–Madison. The project involves the demolition of an engineering facility and construction of a replacement engineering building at UW–Madison. The bill transfers $197,336,000 from the general fund to the capital improvement fund for purposes of the project.

Moneys transferred to capital improvement fund 2023 Wisconsin Act 19 transferred moneys from the general fund to the capital improvement fund to fund projects in the 2023-25 Authorized State Building Program. This bill specifies that those moneys may be used for those projects.

Current law generally provides that the capital improvement fund may be used only for purposes of public debt.

2023 Wisconsin Act 19 also provided the following:

1. That excess moneys transferred to the capital improvement fund under the act not used to fund projects authorized in the 2023-25 Authorized State Building Program must be transferred back to the general fund.

2. That moneys transferred to the capital improvement fund under the act, not to exceed $20,000,000, may be used to offset building program project budget cost overruns caused by inflation.

This bill provides that all moneys transferred to the capital improvement fund under the act not specified under item 1 above, or are not used to offset cost adjustments with respect to any building project authorized in the 2023-25 Authorized State Building Program, must be transferred back to the general fund.

Funding for the UW System This bill provides additional funding for the UW System under its general program operations appropriation.

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