(The Center Square) – The Wisconsin Assembly passed a series of bills late Tuesday related to change rules for unemployment, including renaming it to reemployment assistance.
The rules included requiring four work search actions per week, specific direct contact with potential employers, loading a current resume into the state database and barring those who were fired for theft from an employer from receiving benefits.
The bills allow employers to report when an applicant declines or fails to respond to a request for an interview or an acceptable work offer.
The bills passed on a Republican party-line vote of 53-42. The series of bills are similar to a group of unemployment bills that passed the Legislature last year but were vetoed by Wisconsin Gov. Tony Evers.
“This is better for taxpayers and it’s better for those currently receiving unemployment benefits,” said Rep. Brent Jacobsen, R-Mosinee.
Democrats in the Assembly criticized requirements that programs receiving funding from the Department of Workforce Development report metrics related to program success and the additional work search requirements, including two direct contact requirements per week.
The bill’s authors said the requirement was intentionally left vague because that direct contact can differ depending on industry.
Rep. Ryan Clancy, D-Milwaukee, said that the bills kicked those who were vulnerable when they were down and added unnecessary requirements to push individuals into jobs that do not fit their skillset.
The bills also block local governments from offering guaranteed income programs, direct payments to individuals without work requirements.
Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Burlington, said that his business is always hiring and has an issue with individuals pretending to be interested in jobs or interviews but then not showing up, reporting to the state that they have fulfilled their work search requirements without actually looking for available employment.
These bills address those issues rather than allowing the state to pay individuals to not work, he said.
Rep. Duke Tucker, R-Grantsburg, said that $250 million has been paid to people who have not fulfilled the state’s work search requirement and the bills help keep the unemployment fund solvent while encourages those receiving benefits to secure employment.
Rep. Rob Kreibich, R-New Richmond, sponsored a bill that extends the period of time where law enforcement can investigate unemployment fraud from six to eight years and also would add resources to staff the unemployment call center.
Kreibich said that there was more than $130 billion nationally taken through fraud from unemployment insurance during the COVID-19 pandemic and only $5 billion was recovered.
