Under the bill, the penalty for a first or second such violation remains as specified under current law, the penalty for a third violation is $3,000, and the penalty for a fourth or subsequent violation is $4,000.
Currently, an uninsured employer must pay to DWD an amount that is equal to the greater of the following: 1) twice the amount that the uninsured employer would have paid for worker’s compensation coverage during periods in which the employer was uninsured in the preceding three years or 2) $750 or, if certain conditions apply, $100 per day.
The bill provides that the amounts an uninsured employer must pay to DWD for a determination of a failure to carry worker’s compensation insurance are as follows:
1. For a first or second determination, the amounts specified in current law.
2. For a third determination, the greater of the following: a) three times the amount that the uninsured employer would have paid for worker’s compensation coverage during periods in which the employer was uninsured in the preceding three years or b) $3,000.
3. For a fourth or subsequent determination, the greater of the following: a) four times the amount that the uninsured employer would have paid for worker’s compensation coverage during periods in which the employer was uninsured in the preceding three years or b) $4,000.
False or fraudulent worker’s compensation insurance applications
Current law specifies criminal penalties for various types of insurance fraud, which are punishable as either a Class A misdemeanor or a Class I felony, depending on the value of the claim or benefit. The bill adds to the list of criminally punishable insurance fraud the following: 1) the presentation of false or fraudulent applications for worker’s compensation insurance coverage and 2) the presentation of applications for worker’s compensation insurance coverage that falsely or fraudulently misclassify employees in order to lower premiums.
Also, under current law, if an insurer or self-insured employer has evidence that a worker’s compensation claim is false or fraudulent, the insurer or self-insured employer must generally report the claim to DWD. If, on the basis of the investigation, DWD has a reasonable basis to believe that criminal insurance fraud has occurred, DWD must refer the matter to the district attorney for prosecution. DWD may request assistance from DOJ to investigate false or fraudulent activity related to a worker’s compensation claim. If, on the basis of that investigation, DWD has a reasonable basis to believe that theft, forgery, fraud, or any other criminal violation has occurred, DWD must refer the matter to the district attorney or DOJ for prosecution. The bill extends these requirements to insurers that have evidence that an application for worker’s compensation insurance coverage is fraudulent or that an employer has committed fraud by misclassifying employees to lower the employer’s worker’s compensation insurance premiums.
Unemployment insurance
Worker misclassification penalties
Current law requires DWD to assess an administrative penalty against an employer engaged in construction projects or in the painting or drywall finishing of buildings or other structures who knowingly and intentionally provides false information to DWD for the purpose of misclassifying or attempting to misclassify an individual who is an employee of the employer as a nonemployee under the unemployment insurance (UI) law. The penalty under current law is $500 for each employee who is misclassified, not to exceed $7,500 per incident. In addition, current law provides for criminal fines of up to $25,000 for employers who, after having previously been assessed such an administrative penalty, commit another violation. Current law additionally requires DWD to assess an administrative penalty against such an employer who, through coercion, requires an employee to adopt the status of a nonemployee; the penalty amount is $1,000 for each employee so coerced, but not to exceed $10,000 per calendar year. Penalties are deposited into the unemployment program integrity fund.
The bill does the following: 1) removes the $7,500 and $10,000 limitations on the administrative penalties and provides that the penalties double for each act occurring after the date of the first determination of a violation; 2) removes the limitations on the types of employers to whom the prohibitions apply, making them applicable to any type of employer; and 3) specifies that DWD may make referrals for criminal prosecution for alleged criminal misclassification violations regardless of whether an employer has been subject to any other penalty or assessment under the UI law.
Social security disability insurance payments
Under current law, in any week in any month that a claimant is issued a benefit under the federal Social Security Disability Insurance program (SSDI payment), that claimant is ineligible for UI benefits. The bill repeals that prohibition and instead requires DWD to reduce a claimant’s benefit payments by the amount of SSDI payments. The bill requires DWD to allocate a monthly SSDI payment by allocating to each week the fraction of the payment attributable to that week.
Jobs and job training
Worker advancement initiative
The bill requires DWD to establish and maintain a worker advancement initiative, through which DWD offers subsidized employment and skills training with local employers, targeted to individuals in sectors of the workforce that have not recovered from the loss of employees due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This program includes targeted subprograms related to the following: 1) health-care workforce opportunities; 2) training opportunities for jobs that require a commercial driver license; and 3) reengaging out-of-work, barriered, and underserved individuals through system transformation, through which DWD must find methods to more effectively reach and serve population groups that are underserved and disconnected from the labor force.
Grants to local workforce development boards
The bill creates a grant program administered by DWD to provide grants to local workforce development boards for youth services and training. Under the program, DWD must provide grants for tutoring, mentoring, supportive services, paid and unpaid work experiences, preapprenticeship programs, internships, on-the-job training, occupational skills training, leadership development opportunities, counseling, financial literacy education, entrepreneurial skills training, and education regarding labor market information, employment information, and postsecondary education and training preparation.
The bill also creates a new continuing GPR appropriation to DWD for the purpose of providing grants under the local workforce development board youth services and training grant program.
Workforce innovation grant program
The bill requires DWD to establish and operate a program to provide grants to regional organizations to design and implement plans to address their region’s workforce challenges that arose during or were exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Green jobs training program grants
The bill creates a green jobs training program to be administered by DWD. Under the program, DWD is required to award grants to public and private organizations for the development and implementation of green jobs training programs. The bill defines “green jobs” as jobs that produce goods or provide services that benefit the environment or conserve natural resources. The bill also allows DWD to require a public or private organization, as a condition of receiving a grant, to provide matching funds at a percentage to be determined by DWD.
Clean energy training and reemployment
The bill requires DWD to establish and administer a clean energy training and reemployment program to connect workers with employers and use other apprenticeship and technical college programs to deliver training for clean energy jobs.
Discrimination
Fair employment; civil actions
Under current fair employment law, an individual who alleges that an employer has violated employment discrimination, unfair honesty testing, or unfair genetic testing laws may file a complaint with DWD seeking action that will effectuate the purpose of the fair employment law, including reinstating the individual, providing back pay, and paying costs and attorney fees.
The bill allows DWD or an individual who is alleged or was found to have been discriminated against or subjected to unfair honesty or genetic testing to bring an action in circuit court to recover compensatory and punitive damages caused by the act of discrimination, unfair honesty testing, or unfair genetic testing, in addition to or in lieu of filing an administrative complaint. The action in circuit court must be commenced within 300 days after the alleged discrimination, unfair honesty testing, or unfair genetic testing occurred. The bill does not allow such an action for damages to be brought against a local governmental unit or against an employer that employs fewer than 15 individuals.
Under the bill, if the circuit court finds that a defendant has committed employment discrimination, unfair honesty testing, or unfair genetic testing, the circuit court may award back pay and any other relief that could have been awarded in an administrative proceeding. In addition, the circuit court must order the defendant to pay to the individual found to have been discriminated against or found to have received unfair genetic testing or unfair honesty testing compensatory and punitive damages in the amount that the circuit court finds appropriate, except that the total amount of damage awarded for future economic losses and for pain and suffering, emotional distress, mental anguish, loss of enjoyment of life, and other noneconomic losses and punitive damages is subject to the following limitations:
1. If the defendant employs 100 or fewer employees, no more than $50,000.
2. If the defendant employs more than 100 but fewer than 201 employees, no more than $100,000.
3. If the defendant employs more than 200 but fewer than 501 employees, no more than $200,000.
4. If the defendant employs more than 500 employees, no more than $300,000.
The bill requires DWD to annually revise these amounts on the basis of the change in the consumer price index in the previous year, if any positive change has occurred.
Fair employment; discrimination based on conviction record
The bill provides that it is employment discrimination because of conviction record under the fair employment law for a prospective employer to request conviction information from a job applicant before the applicant has been selected for an interview.
The bill, however, does not prohibit an employer from notifying job applicants that an individual with a particular conviction record may be disqualified by law or the employer’s policies from employment in particular positions.
Fair employment; discrimination based on gender expression and gender identity
Current fair employment law prohibits discrimination in employment on the basis of a person’s sex or sexual orientation. The bill also so prohibits discrimination on the basis of an individual’s gender identity or gender expression. “Gender expression” is defined in the bill as an individual’s actual or perceived gender-related appearance, behavior, or expression, regardless of whether these traits are stereotypically associated with the individual’s assigned sex at birth. “Gender identity” is defined in the bill as an individual’s internal understanding of the individual’s gender, or the individual’s perceived gender identity.
Administration and finance
Worker’s compensation uninsured employers fund
Under current law, the uninsured employers fund (UEF) is used to pay worker’s compensation benefits on claims filed by employees who are injured while working for uninsured employers in this state. The money for the UEF comes from, among various sources, penalties assessed against uninsured employers. The bill changes the appropriation for the UEF from a sum sufficient appropriation to a continuing appropriation.
Reimbursements for supplemental worker’s compensation benefits
Under current law, insurers are required to pay supplemental benefits to certain employees who were permanently disabled by an injury that is compensable under the worker’s compensation law. DWD is authorized to collect up to $5,000,000 from insurers that provide worker’s compensation insurance to provide those supplemental benefits. This money must be used exclusively to provide reimbursements to insurers that pay those supplemental benefits and that request reimbursements.
The bill creates a new, separate appropriation in the worker’s compensation operations fund to provide these reimbursements. The bill does not increase revenue to DWD or collections from insurers.
Migrant labor fees
Under current law, migrant labor contractor and camp fees are deposited in the state general fund and not credited to a specific appropriation. The bill instead requires that the fees be credited to the DWD auxiliary services appropriation and authorizes that appropriation to be used for administrative costs related to the migrant labor program administered by DWD.
Migrant labor law enforcement
The bill creates a new annual GPR appropriation to DWD for the purpose of enforcement of laws related to wages, hours, and working conditions of migrant workers, the certification, maintenance, and inspection of migrant labor camps, and the recruitment and hiring of migrant workers.
ENVIRONMENT
Water quality
PFAS standards
The bill requires DNR to establish and enforce various standards for perfluoroalkyl and polyfluoroalkyl substances (PFAS). The PFAS group of substances includes several thousand chemicals; two of the most well known are perfluorooctanoic acid (PFOA) and perfluorooctane sulfonic acid (PFOS).
The bill requires DNR to establish, by rule, acceptable levels and standards, monitoring requirements, and required response actions for any PFAS in drinking water, groundwater, surface water, air, solid waste, beds of navigable waters, and soil and sediment, if DNR determines that the substance may be harmful to human health or the environment. These rules must cover, at a minimum, PFOA and PFOS, as well as perfluorohexane sulfonic acid (PFHxS), perfluorononanoic acid (PFNA), and perfluorobutane sulfonic acid (PFBS).
The bill also requires DNR to establish air emission standards for PFAS to provide adequate protection for public health and welfare, taking into account energy, economic, and environmental impacts and other costs related to the emission source.
Under current law, DNR maintains a list of substances that have a reasonable probability of entering the groundwater resources of the state and that are shown to involve public health concerns. Under the bill, DNR is required to add to this list PFOA, PFOS, PFHxS, PFNA, PFBS, and all other PFAS that have a reasonable probability of entering the groundwater resources of the state and that are shown to involve public health concerns. Under current law, DHS recommends enforcement standards for substances on this list, which DNR then proposes as DNR rules in its rule-making process. Until DNR establishes such rules, the bill requires DNR to apply any DHS-recommended groundwater enforcement standard for any PFAS as an interim standard for groundwater and as an interim maximum containment level for drinking water.
The bill also provides that DNR may, if it determines doing so is necessary to protect human health or the environment, require a person who possesses or controls PFAS to provide proof of financial responsibility for remediation and long-term care to address contamination by a potential discharge of PFAS or environmental pollution that may be caused by a discharge of PFAS.
In addition, the bill requires DNR to set criteria for certifying laboratories to test for PFAS, and to certify laboratories that meet these criteria. Before these criteria are set, the bill allows DNR to require testing for PFAS to be done according to nationally recognized standards.
Finally, the bill requires a person who generates solid or hazardous waste at a site or facility under investigation by DNR to provide DNR with access to information relating to any transportation to or treatment, storage, or disposal at another site, facility, or location.
PFAS municipal grant program
The bill creates a municipal grant program, administered by DNR, to address PFAS. Under the program, DNR must provide grants to cities, towns, villages, counties, tribal governments, utility districts, lake protections districts, sewerage districts, and municipal airports (municipalities). DNR may award a grant only if the applicant tested or trained with a PFAS-containing fire fighting foam in accordance with applicable state and federal law, or a third party tested or trained with PFAS-containing fire fighting foam within the boundaries of the municipality; the applicant applied biosolids to land under a water pollution permit issued by DNR; or PFAS are impacting the applicant’s drinking water supply or surface water or groundwater within the municipality and the responsible party is unknown or is unwilling or unable to take the necessary response actions.
Under the bill, grants provided under this program may be used to investigate potential PFAS impacts in order to reduce or eliminate environmental contamination; treat or dispose of PFAS-containing fire fighting foam containers; sample a private water supply within three miles of a site or facility known to contain PFAS or to have caused a PFAS discharge; provide a temporary emergency water supply, a water treatment system, or bulk water to replace water contaminated with PFAS; conduct emergency, interim, or remedial actions to mitigate, treat, dispose of, or remove PFAS contamination; remove or treat PFAS in public water systems in areas where PFAS levels exceed the maximum contaminant level for PFAS in drinking water or an enforcement standard for PFAS groundwater or in areas where the state has issued a health advisory for PFAS; or sample and test water in schools and daycares for PFAS contamination.
An applicant that receives a grant under this program must contribute matching funds equal to at least 20 percent of the amount of the grant. The applicant must apply for a grant on a form prescribed by DNR and must include any information that DNR finds is necessary to determine the eligibility of the project, identify the funding requested, determine the priority of the project, and calculate the amount of a grant. In awarding grants under this program, DNR must consider the applicant’s demonstrated commitment to performing and completing eligible activities, including the applicant’s financial commitment and ability to successfully administer grants; the degree to which the project will have a positive impact on public health and the environment; and any other criteria that DNR finds necessary to prioritize the funds available for awarding grants.
PFAS-containing fire fighting foam appropriation
Current law establishes a continuing appropriation from the environmental fund for the collection of PFAS-containing fire fighting foam. The bill allows this appropriation to also be used to provide assistance to local fire departments in replacing PFAS-containing fire fighting foam with PFAS-free fire fighting foam.
Lead service line replacement
The bill creates a continuing appropriation from the general fund to the environmental improvement program for projects involving forgivable loans to private users of public water systems to replace lead service lines.
Under current law, DOA and DNR administer the safe drinking water loan program (SDWLP), which provides financial assistance from the environmental improvement program to local governmental units and to the private owners of community water systems that serve local governmental units for projects for the planning, designing, construction, or modification of public water systems. DNR establishes a funding list for SDWLP projects and DOA allocates funding for those projects.
Well compensation grant program
The bill makes changes to the well compensation grant program currently administered by DNR.
Under current law, an individual owner or renter of a contaminated private well may apply for a grant from DNR to cover a portion of the costs to treat the water, reconstruct the well, construct a new well, connect to a public water supply, or fill and seal the well. To be eligible for a grant, the well owner’s or renter’s annual family income may not exceed $65,000. A grant awarded under the program may not cover any portion of a project’s eligible costs in excess of $16,000 and, of those costs, may not exceed 75 percent of a project’s eligible costs, meaning that a grant may not exceed $12,000. In addition, if the well owner’s or renter’s annual family income exceeds $45,000, the amount of the award is reduced by 30 percent of the amount by which the annual family income exceeds $45,000.
The bill increases the family income limit to $100,000. In addition, under the bill, a well owner or renter whose family income is below the state’s median income may receive a grant of up to 100 percent of a project’s eligible costs, not to exceed $16,000. The bill also eliminates the requirement to reduce an award by 30 percent if the well owner’s or renter’s family income exceeds $45,000.
The bill also expands the grant program to allow an owner or renter of a transient noncommunity water supply to apply for a grant. A “transient noncommunity water supply” is defined in the bill as a water system that serves at least 25 persons at least 60 days of the year but that does not regularly serve at least 25 of the same persons over six months per year.
Under current law, a well that is contaminated only by nitrates is eligible for a grant only if the well is a water supply for livestock, is used at least three months in each year, and contains nitrates in excess of 40 parts per million. The bill eliminates these restrictions for claims based on nitrates, and instead allows grants to be issued for wells based on contamination by at least 10 parts per million of nitrate nitrogen. The bill also allows grants to be issued for wells contaminated by at least 10 parts per billion of arsenic, or by a perfluoroalkyl or polyfluoroalkyl substance in an amount that exceeds any applicable health advisory or standard for that substance.
Under current law, DNR must issue grants in the order in which completed claims are received. Under the bill, if there are insufficient funds to pay claims, DNR may, for claims based on nitrate contamination, prioritize claims that are based on higher levels of nitrate contamination.
Requiring notification of water-related permit violations
Under the bill, if DNR finds that the holder of a Wisconsin Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (WPDES) permit has violated a limitation under the permit that is based on a groundwater standard, DNR must notify the county health department and county land and conservation department in the county in which the permit holder is located and the county health department and county land and conservation department in any adjacent county that DNR determines may be negatively affected by the violation. The bill requires DNR to provide these notices within seven business days after confirming that a violation has occurred. The bill also allows DNR to establish, by rule, procedures for providing the required notice. Finally, the bill requires DNR to create and maintain a notification system for notifying county health departments, county land and conservation departments, and interested parties of the violations but requires that the notification system ensure that county health departments and county land and conservation departments are notified of a violation at least 24 hours before anyone else is notified.
Concentrated animal feeding operations
Under current law, a person who operates a concentrated animal feeding operation (CAFO) must have a WPDES permit from DNR. A CAFO is a livestock operation that contains at least 1,000 animal units, that discharges pollutants into a navigable water, or that contaminates a well. Current law requires a CAFO operator with a WPDES permit to pay an annual fee of $345 to DNR. The bill increases the amount of this annual fee to $545.
Well construction notification fee
Under current law, no person may construct a high capacity well, which is a well with a capacity of more than 100,000 gallons per day, without prior approval of DNR and payment of a $500 fee. Prior to construction of a well that is not a high capacity well, the owner of the property where the well is to be constructed must notify DNR and pay a fee of $50. The bill increases the notification fee to $70.
Well construction variances application fee
Under current law, DNR regulates groundwater withdrawal. Administrative rules promulgated by DNR establish requirements for the construction of wells and provide that a person may request a variance from those rules if strict compliance with the requirements is not feasible. DNR may determine whether a variance is justified and may condition the issuance of a variance on additional construction features to safeguard groundwater. The bill requires DNR to collect a $100 fee from a person requesting a well construction variance.
Ballast water discharge
