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LRB-0323/1
MIM&MES:amn
2019 - 2020 LEGISLATURE
November 27, 2019 - Introduced by Senators Ringhand, Carpenter, Hansen,
Larson, Shilling, Schachtner, Miller, Smith, Bewley, Johnson, Erpenbach,
Wirch and Risser, cosponsored by Representatives Pope, Crowley, Sargent,
Shankland, Stuck, Zamarripa, Gruszynski, Neubauer, C. Taylor, Billings,
Hesselbein, Vining, Spreitzer, Kolste, Emerson, Considine, Anderson,
Sinicki, Riemer, Fields, Milroy, Subeck, Doyle, Hebl, Goyke and Hintz.
Referred to Committee on Insurance, Financial Services, Government
Oversight and Courts.
SB596,2,3 1An Act to repeal 103.10 (1) (a) 1., 103.10 (1) (a) 2., 103.10 (1m) and 103.10 (14)
2(b); to renumber 103.10 (14) (a); to renumber and amend 103.10 (1) (a)
3(intro.); to amend 103.10 (1) (b), 103.10 (1) (c), 103.10 (3) (a) 1., 103.10 (3) (b)
43., 103.10 (6) (b) (intro.), 103.10 (6) (b) 1., 103.10 (7) (a), 103.10 (7) (b) (intro.),
5103.10 (7) (b) 1., 103.10 (12) (c), 103.12 (2), 103.12 (3), 111.322 (2m) (a), 111.322
6(2m) (b), 165.68 (1) (a) 3. and 227.03 (2); and to create 20.445 (1) (w), 25.17 (1)
7(er), 25.52, 71.05 (6) (b) 54., 103.10 (1) (ap), 103.10 (1) (dm), 103.10 (1) (dp),
8103.10 (1) (gm), 103.10 (3) (b) 4., 103.10 (6) (c), 103.10 (7) (d), 103.105 and 103.12
9(4) of the statutes; relating to: the establishment of a family and medical leave
10insurance program; family leave to care for a grandparent, grandchild, or
11sibling and for the active duty of a family member; the employers that are
12required to allow an employee to take family or medical leave; creating an
13individual income tax deduction for certain family or medical leave insurance
14benefits; allowing a local government to adopt ordinances requiring employers

1to provide leave benefits; providing an exemption from emergency rule
2procedures; providing an exemption from rule-making procedures; granting
3rule-making authority; making an appropriation; and providing a penalty.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
Introduction
This bill expands the family and medical leave law to allow an employee covered
under that law to take family leave to care for a grandparent, grandchild, or sibling
and for the active duty of a family member, lowers the threshold number of employees
above which an employer must allow an employee to take family or medical leave,
and establishes a family and medical leave insurance program under which certain
covered individuals may receive benefits while taking family or medical leave.
Family and medical leave expansion
Under current law, an employer, including the state, that employs at least 50
individuals on a permanent basis in this state must allow 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 up
to eight weeks of family leave in a 12-month period for the birth or adoptive
placement of a child or to care for a child, spouse, parent, or domestic partner of the
employee or a parent of the spouse or domestic partner of the employee who has a
serious health condition; and up to two weeks of medical leave in a 12-month period
when the employee has a serious health condition that makes the employee unable
to perform the employee's employment duties.
This bill requires an employer, including the state, to allow an employee to take
family or medical leave as provided under current law. The bill also allows an
employee to take family leave as provided under current law to care for a
grandparent, grandchild, or sibling of the employee who has a serious health
condition. In addition, the bill requires an employer to allow an employee to take
family leave because of any qualifying exigency, as determined by the Department
of Workforce Development by rule, arising out of the fact that the spouse, child,
domestic partner, parent, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling of the employee is on
deployment with the U.S. armed forces to a foreign country (covered active duty) or
has been notified of an impending call or order to covered active duty.
Family and medical leave insurance program
The bill creates a family and medical leave insurance program, to be
administered by DWD, under which a covered individual who is on family or medical
leave is eligible, beginning on January 1, 2024, to receive up to 12 weeks of family
or medical leave insurance benefits as specified in the bill from the family and
medical leave insurance trust fund created under the bill (trust fund). For purposes
of the bill:
1. A “covered individual" is an individual who worked for any 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 who elects coverage under the program, regardless of
whether the individual is employed or unemployed at the time the individual files
an application for family or medical leave insurance benefits.
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 child, spouse, domestic partner, parent, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling who
has a serious health condition; or because of any qualifying exigency arising out of
the fact that the family member is on covered active duty or has been notified of an
impending call or order to covered active duty.
3. “Medical leave" means leave from employment when a covered individual
has a serious health condition that makes the individual unable to perform his or her
employment duties, leave from self-employment when a covered individual has a
serious health condition that makes the individual unable to perform the duties of
his or her self-employment, or leave from availability for employment when a
covered individual has a serious health condition that makes the individual unable
to perform the duties of any suitable employment.
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 a covered individual who earned less than 30 percent of the state annual
median wage in the calendar year before the individual's application year, 95 percent
of that individual's average weekly earnings.
2. For a covered individual who earned at least 30 percent, but 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.
3. For a covered individual who earned at least 50 percent, but less than 80
percent, of the state annual median wage in the calendar year before the individual's
application year, 85 percent of that individual's average weekly earnings.
4. For a covered individual who earned at least 80 percent of the state annual
median wage in the calendar year before the individual's application year, 66 percent
of that individual's average weekly earnings.
In addition, the benefits payable cannot exceed $1,000 per week, adjusted
according to the consumer price index.
In addition, the bill provides that family or medical leave insurance benefits are
payable beginning on the sixth day of family or medical leave, except that if a covered
individual uses ten or more days of family or medical leave insurance benefits in an
application year, those benefits are also payable with respect to the first five days of
family or medical leave. The bill also provides that no family or medical leave
insurance benefits are payable for any period of family or medical leave in which a
covered individual is substituting paid leave of any other type provided by his or her
employer or in which a covered individual is receiving unemployment benefits or
worker's compensation benefits. Finally, with respect to family or medical leave
insurance benefits, the bill provides that those benefits are exempt from state income
taxation.

Beginning on January 1, 2023, the bill requires each individual employed in
this state, including an individual employed by the state, and each self-employed
individual who elects coverage under the family and medical leave insurance
program to contribute to the trust fund a percentage of his or her wages from
employment or income from self-employment determined by DWD in consultation
with the commissioner of insurance that is sufficient to finance the payments of
benefits under the program and the administration of the program. 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 does the following:
1. Allows a covered individual whose claim for family or medical leave
insurance benefits is denied by DWD to request a hearing on the denial and requires
DWD to process the request for hearing in the same manner that requests for
hearings on unemployment insurance claims are processed under current law.
2. Allows DWD to seek repayment of family or medical leave insurance benefits
that are paid erroneously or as a result of willful misrepresentation in the same
manner that DWD recovers erroneous payments of unemployment insurance
benefits under current law or to waive recovery of an erroneous payment of those
benefits if the erroneous payment was not the fault of the person who received it and
if requiring repayment would be contrary to equity and good conscience.
3. Provides that if an individual willfully makes a false statement or
representation, or willfully fails to disclose a material fact, to obtain family or
medical leave insurance benefits, the individual is disqualified from receiving those
benefits for one year after the date of the disqualification.
Finally, the bill allows a city, village, town, or county to enact and enforce
ordinances requiring employers to provide leave from employment to their
employees if those ordinances are more generous than those provided under state
law.
Because this bill relates to an exemption from state or local taxes, it may be
referred to the Joint Survey Committee on Tax Exemptions for a report to be printed
as an appendix to the bill.
For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be
printed as an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do
enact as follows:
SB596,1 1Section 1. 20.445 (1) (w) of the statutes is created to read:
SB596,5,22 20.445 (1) (w) Family and medical leave insurance trust fund. From the family
3and medical leave insurance trust fund, all moneys deposited in that fund under s.
4103.105 (8) for the payments of family or medical leave insurance benefits under s.

1103.105 (3) (c) and for the administration of the family or medical leave insurance
2program under s. 103.105.
SB596,2 3Section 2. 25.17 (1) (er) of the statutes is created to read:
SB596,5,44 25.17 (1) (er) Family and medical leave insurance trust fund (s. 25.52);
SB596,3 5Section 3. 25.52 of the statutes is created to read:
SB596,5,9 625.52 Family and medical leave insurance trust fund. There is created
7a separate nonlapsible trust fund designated as the family and medical leave
8insurance trust fund, to consist of all moneys deposited in that fund under s. 103.105
9(8).
SB596,4 10Section 4 . 71.05 (6) (b) 54. of the statutes is created to read:
SB596,5,1411 71.05 (6) (b) 54. For taxable years beginning after December 31, 2023, any
12amount of family or medical leave insurance benefits received by a covered
13individual, as defined in s. 103.105 (1) (d), in the taxable year to which the
14subtraction relates.
SB596,5 15Section 5. 103.10 (1) (a) (intro.) of the statutes is renumbered 103.10 (1) (a)
16and amended to read:
SB596,5,1817 103.10 (1) (a) “Child" means a natural, adopted, or foster child, a stepchild, or
18a legal ward to whom any of the following applies: .
SB596,6 19Section 6. 103.10 (1) (a) 1. of the statutes is repealed.
SB596,7 20Section 7. 103.10 (1) (a) 2. of the statutes is repealed.
SB596,8 21Section 8 . 103.10 (1) (ap) of the statutes is created to read:
SB596,5,2222 103.10 (1) (ap) “Covered active duty" means any of the following:
SB596,5,2423 1. In the case of a member of a regular component of the U.S. armed forces, duty
24during the deployment of the member with the U.S. armed forces to a foreign country.
SB596,6,4
12. In the case of a member of a reserve component of the U.S. armed forces, duty
2during the deployment of the member with the U.S. armed forces to a foreign country
3under a call or order to active duty under a provision of law specified in 10 USC 101
4(a) (13) (B).
SB596,9 5Section 9. 103.10 (1) (b) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB596,6,96 103.10 (1) (b) Except as provided in sub. (1m) (b) 2. and s. 452.38, “employee"
7means an individual employed in this state by an employer, except the employer's
8parent child, spouse, domestic partner, or child parent, grandparent, grandchild, or
9sibling
.
SB596,10 10Section 10. 103.10 (1) (c) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB596,6,1611 103.10 (1) (c) Except as provided in sub. (1m) (b) 3., “employer" “Employer”
12means a person engaging in any activity, enterprise, or business in this state
13employing at least 50 individuals on a permanent basis. “ Employer" includes the
14state and any office, department, independent agency, authority, institution,
15association, society, or other body in state government created or authorized to be
16created by the constitution or any law, including the legislature and the courts.
SB596,11 17Section 11. 103.10 (1) (dm) of the statutes is created to read:
SB596,6,1818 103.10 (1) (dm) “Grandchild" means the child of a child.
SB596,12 19Section 12. 103.10 (1) (dp) of the statutes is created to read:
SB596,6,2020 103.10 (1) (dp) “Grandparent" means the parent of a parent.
SB596,13 21Section 13. 103.10 (1) (gm) of the statutes is created to read:
SB596,6,2322 103.10 (1) (gm) “Sibling" means a brother, sister, half brother, half sister,
23stepbrother, or stepsister, whether by blood, marriage, or adoption.
SB596,14 24Section 14. 103.10 (1m) of the statutes is repealed.
SB596,15 25Section 15. 103.10 (3) (a) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:
SB596,7,2
1103.10 (3) (a) 1. In a 12-month period no employee may take more than 6 weeks
2of family leave under par. (b) 1. and, 2., and 4.
SB596,16 3Section 16. 103.10 (3) (b) 3. of the statutes is amended to read:
SB596,7,64 103.10 (3) (b) 3. To care for the employee's child, spouse, domestic partner, or
5parent, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling, if the child, spouse, domestic partner, or
6parent, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling has a serious health condition.
SB596,17 7Section 17 . 103.10 (3) (b) 4. of the statutes is created to read:
SB596,7,118 103.10 (3) (b) 4. Because of any qualifying exigency, as determined by the
9department by rule, arising out of the fact that the spouse, child, domestic partner,
10parent, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling of the employee is on covered active duty
11or has been notified of an impending call or order to covered active duty.
SB596,18 12Section 18. 103.10 (6) (b) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB596,7,1713 103.10 (6) (b) (intro.) If an employee intends to take family leave because of the
14planned medical treatment or supervision of a child, spouse, domestic partner, or
15parent, grandparent, grandchild, or sibling or intends to take medical leave because
16of the planned medical treatment or supervision of the employee, the employee shall
17do all of the following:
SB596,19 18Section 19. 103.10 (6) (b) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:
SB596,7,2219 103.10 (6) (b) 1. Make a reasonable effort to schedule the medical treatment
20or supervision so that it does not unduly disrupt the employer's operations, subject
21to the approval of the health care provider of the child, spouse, domestic partner,
22parent, grandparent, grandchild, sibling, or employee.
SB596,20 23Section 20 . 103.10 (6) (c) of the statutes is created to read:
SB596,8,324 103.10 (6) (c) If an employee intends to take leave under sub. (3) (b) 4. that is
25foreseeable because the spouse, child, domestic partner, parent, grandparent,

1grandchild, or sibling of the employee is on covered active duty or has been notified
2of an impending call or order to covered active duty, the employee shall provide notice
3of that intention to the employer in a reasonable and practicable manner.
SB596,21 4Section 21. 103.10 (7) (a) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB596,8,95 103.10 (7) (a) If an employee requests family leave for a reason described in sub.
6(3) (b) 3. or requests medical leave, the employer may require the employee to provide
7certification, as described in par. (b), issued by the health care provider or Christian
8Science practitioner of the child, spouse, domestic partner, parent, grandparent,
9grandchild, sibling,
or employee, whichever is appropriate.
SB596,22 10Section 22. 103.10 (7) (b) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
SB596,8,1211 103.10 (7) (b) (intro.) No employer may require certification under par. (a)
12stating more than the following:
SB596,23 13Section 23. 103.10 (7) (b) 1. of the statutes is amended to read:
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