Wisconsin Legislature: DCF 101.195(1)(c)

Note: See s. 49.147 (6) (am), Stats., regarding vehicle loan requirements and s. 49.147 (6) (e), Stats., regarding eligibility for noncustodial parents.

History: Cr. Register, October, 1997, No. 502, eff. 11-1-97; am. (1) (b), Register, January, 2001, No. 541, eff. 2-1-01; CR 06-044: am. (2) (a) 1., Register November 2006 No. 611, eff. 12-1-06; corrections in (1) (intro.) and (c) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register November 2008 No. 635; CR 21-090: am. (1) (intro.) Register July 2022 No. 799, eff. 8-1-22.

DCF 101.18 W-2 employment position wages and benefits.

(1) Benefit levels for participants in employment positions. A participant in a Wisconsin works employment position shall receive the following wages or benefits:

(a) Trial employment match program jobs. For a participant in a trial employment match program job, the amount established in the contract between the Wisconsin works agency and the trial employment match program employer, but not less than minimum wage for every hour actually worked in the trial employment match program job, not to exceed 40 hours per week paid by the employer. Hours spent participating in education and training activities under s. DCF 101.16 (2) (c) shall be included in determining the number of hours actually worked.

(b) Community service jobs. For a participant in a community service job, a monthly grant in the amount provided under s. 49.148 (1) (b), Stats. For every hour that the participant misses work or education or training activities without good cause including any activity under s. DCF 101.16 (3) (c) 2., the Wisconsin works agency shall reduce the grant amount by the amount provided under s. 49.148 (1) (b), Stats. Good cause shall be determined by the financial and employment planner as provided under s. DCF 101.20.

(c) Transitional placements. For a participant in a transitional placement, a monthly grant in the amount provided under s. 49.148 (1) (c), Stats. For every hour that the participant fails to participate in any required activity without good cause, including any activity under s. DCF 101.16 (4) (b) 2., the Wisconsin works agency shall reduce the grant amount by the amount provided under s. 49.148 (1) (c), Stats. Good cause shall be determined by the financial and employment planner as provided under s. DCF 101.20.

(2) Custodial parent of infant.

(a) A custodial parent of a child who is 8 weeks old or less and who meets the eligibility requirements under s. DCF 101.09 (2) to (4) may receive a monthly grant in the amount provided under s. 49.148 (1m), Stats. A Wisconsin works agency may not require a participant under this subsection to participate in a trial employment match program job, CSJ, or transitional placement.

(b) For purposes of the lifetime limit on program participation and benefit receipt under ss. DCF 101.09 (2) (n) and 101.095 and the time limits for participation in a particular Wisconsin works employment position under s. DCF 101.16 (2) (e), (3) (e), or (4) (c), receipt of a grant under this subsection has the following effect:

1. The grant does not constitute participation in a Wisconsin works employment position if the child described in sub. (1) is born to the participant not more than 10 months after the date that the participant was first determined to be eligible for AFDC or for a Wisconsin works employment position.

2. The grant constitutes participation in a Wisconsin works employment position if the child described in sub. (1) is born to the participant more than 10 months after the date that the participant was first determined to be eligible for AFDC or for a Wisconsin works employment position, unless any of the following conditions are met:

a. The child was conceived as a result of a sexual assault in violation of s. 940.225 (1), (2), or (3), Stats., or in violation of s. 948.02 or 948.025, Stats., and the sexual assault has been reported to a physician and to law enforcement authorities.

b. The child was conceived as a result of incest in violation of s. 944.06 or 948.06, Stats., and the incest has been reported to a physician and to law enforcement authorities.

History: Cr. Register, October, 1997, No. 502, eff. 11-1-97; correction made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register November 2008 No. 635; CR 18-016: am. (2) (a), r. and recr. (2) (b) Register October 2021 No. 790, eff. 11-1-21; CR 21-090: am. (2) (a) Register July 2022 No. 799, eff. 8-1-22; CR 21-091: am. (1) (a), (2) (a) Register July 2022 No. 799, eff. 8-1-22; merger of (2) (a) treatments by CR 21-090 and CR 21-091 made under s. 13.92 (4) (bm), Stats., Register July 2022 No. 799.

DCF 101.19 Payment procedures.

(1) Designation of payee. CSJ or transitional placement benefits shall be made payable as appropriate to:

(a) The participant.

(b) Spouse of the participant. The spouse shall be living in the home unless designated as protective payee or appointed by a court to be the legal representative.

(2) Protective and vendor payments.

(a) If continued mismanagement of funds is a threat to the health and safety of the child as determined by the FEP, all or part of the CSJ or transitional placement benefit may be a protective payment or part of the CSJ or W-2 T benefit may be a direct payment and part a protective or vendor payment or both. The W-2 agency shall investigate reports of mismanagement before instituting protective or vendor payments.

(b) The W-2 agency shall document in the case record the reason for the authorization of protective or vendor payment and shall show the name of the eligible participant, the name of the protective or vendor payee, and the amount and form of payment authorized.

History: Cr. Register, October, 1997, No. 502, eff. 11-1-97.

DCF 101.195 Notice before taking certain actions.

(1) Twenty percent or more reduction. Before a Wisconsin works agency may take any action that would result in a 20 percent or more reduction in a participant’s benefits due to nonparticipation with Wisconsin works program requirements, the Wisconsin works agency shall issue a written notice to the participant. The notice shall be issued no later than 5 business days following the department’s notification to the Wisconsin works agency of participants subject to a potential 20 percent or more payment reduction. The notice shall contain all of the following information:

(a) The dates of nonparticipation.

(b) A description of the activities missed.

(d) The amount to be deducted from the benefit for each hour of nonparticipation.

(2) Termination. Before taking any action that would result in termination of a participant’s eligibility to participate in Wisconsin works, a Wisconsin works agency shall issue a written notice to the participant. The notice shall include a date and description of the deficiency, failure, or other behavior that has resulted in the termination of eligibility.

(3) Reasonable time to rectify.

(a) In this subsection, “reasonable time” means within 7 business days after the date of the written notice issued by the Wisconsin works agency under sub. (1) or (2).

(b) A participant who believes the Wisconsin works agency’s decision to reduce benefits or terminate eligibility is in error may, within a reasonable time, provide the Wisconsin works agency with a good cause reason for the deficiency, failure, or other behavior to avoid the reduction of benefits or termination of eligibility.

(c) If the Wisconsin works agency determines the participant had good cause under s. DCF 101.20, the Wisconsin works agency shall take action to restore the participant’s benefits or eligibility to the level determined to be appropriate by the Wisconsin works agency retroactive to the date on which the benefit or eligibility was incorrectly reduced or terminated.

(d) If the participant does not provide the Wisconsin works agency with a good cause reason within a reasonable time or if the Wisconsin works agency determines the participant did not have good cause under s. DCF 101.20, the Wisconsin works agency shall proceed with the proposed action to reduce benefits or terminate eligibility.

History: CR 17-066: cr. Register July 2018 No. 751, eff. 8-1-18.

DCF 101.20 Determination of good cause.

(1) Good cause circumstances. The FEP shall determine if a W-2 employment participant had good cause for not complying with the W-2 participation requirements or for failing to appear in person or by representative at a scheduled review under s. 49.152 (2), Stats. No good cause shall exist unless the participant provides timely notification of the good cause reason to the FEP. Good cause shall be any of the following circumstances:

(a) A required court appearance, including a required court appearance for a victim of domestic abuse.

(b) Necessary child care is unavailable and the W-2 agency is unable to provide child care or refer the participant to alternate child care arrangements.

(c) Lack of transportation with no reasonable alternative, as determined by the FEP. In determining the reasonableness of transportation alternatives, the FEP shall consider the length of the participant’s commute, participant safety, the cost of the transportation relative to the participant’s income, and other relevant factors.

(d) Participant or W-2 group member’s illness, injury, disability, or incapacity.

(e) Accommodations that have been determined necessary in a formal assessment are not available to allow the participant to complete the assigned activity.

(f) Conflict with another assigned W-2 activity or job search attempts.

(g) Inclement weather that impedes transportation or travel.

(h) School emergency.

(i) Domestic violence issues.

(j) Observance of a religious holiday.

(k) Routine medical or school appointments that cannot be scheduled at times other than during assigned activities.

(L) Child’s school holiday, excluding summer break.

(m) Any day that the worksite or training site is closed due to a site-specific holiday.

(n) Death in the participant’s immediate family. For purposes of this paragraph:

1. “Immediate family” means a participant’s spouse, nonmarital co-parent, step-parent, grandparent, foster parent, child, step-child, grandchild, foster child, brother and his spouse, sister and her spouse, aunt, uncle, son-in-law, daughter-in-law, cousin, niece and nephew of the participant or the participant’s spouse or nonmarital co-parent, and other relatives of the participant or the participant’s spouse or nonmarital co-parent if these other relatives reside in the same household as the participant.

2. A participant may be granted good cause for no more than 3 business days if only local travel is necessary to attend the funeral services. A participant may be granted good cause for no more than 7 business days if long-distance travel is required to attend the funeral services. In general, the good cause period may not exceed the week following the death of a member of the participant’s immediate family, but the FEP may lengthen the timeframe for good cause depending upon individual circumstances.

(o) Other circumstances beyond the control of the participant, but only as determined by the FEP. The FEP shall consider what a reasonable employer may allow under its absence policy and hardships that make completing activities and notifying the agency of missed activities more difficult for W-2 participants.

(2) Timely notification. The participant shall notify the FEP of the good cause reason within 7 business days after an absence from a required activity to prevent a payment reduction under s. 49.148 (1) (b) 1., (b) 3., or (c), Stats.

(3) Written documentation. In making a good cause determination, the FEP may require that the W-2 employment position participant provide written documentation that good cause existed before accepting a good cause reason for a participant’s absence from required activities if both of the following apply:

(a) The participant has a pattern of absences of more than 3 consecutive days or more than 5 days in a rolling 30-day period. An absence means being absent from any one required activity. A pattern of absences may include past absences for which a good cause reason was accepted.

(b) The FEP has reason to believe that the participant is misusing the good cause policy.

History: 1997, No. 502, eff. 11-1-97; am. (2), Register, January, 2001, No. 541, eff. 2-1-01; correction in (2) made under s. 13.92 (4) (b) 7., Stats., Register November 2008 No. 635; CR 08-034: r. and recr. Register December 2010 No. 660, eff. 1-1-11; CR 21-091: am. (1) (intro.) Register July 2022 No. 799, eff. 8-1-22.

DCF 101.21 Sanctions — Refusal to participate.

(1) In this section:

(a) “Appropriate” means consistent with an individual’s employability plan.

(b) “Employer” means a person, entity, or Wisconsin works agency that provides employment for an individual.

(d) “Individual” means a participant in a Wisconsin works employment position or a second parent in the participant’s Wisconsin works group who is subject to a work requirement under s. DCF 101.27.

(e) “Misconduct” means one or more actions or conduct evincing such willful or wanton disregard of an employer’s interests as is found in deliberate violations or disregard of standards of behavior which an employer has a right to expect of its employees, or in carelessness or negligence of such degree or recurrence as to manifest culpability, wrongful intent, or evil design of equal severity to such disregard, or to show an intentional and substantial disregard of an employer’s interests, or of an employee’s duties and obligations to an employer. In addition, “misconduct” includes any of the following:

1. A violation by an individual of an employer’s reasonable written policies concerning the use of alcohol beverages, controlled substances defined in s. 961.01(4), Stats., or controlled substance analogs defined in s. 961.01 (4m), Stats.

2. Theft of an employer’s property or services with intent to deprive the employer of the property or services permanently, theft of currency of any value, felonious conduct connected with an individual’s employment with an employer, or intentional or negligent conduct by an individual that causes substantial damage to an employer’s property.

3. Conviction of an individual of a crime, while on or off duty, if the individual is unable to perform the duties that the individual performs for an employer due to the conviction.

4. One or more threats or acts of harassment, assault, or other physical violence by an individual at an employment site.

5. Use of profane or abusive language directed toward staff or others at an employment site.

(f) “Participation period” means the 16th of one month to the 15th of the next month.

(g) “Training” means education or training assigned by the Wisconsin works agency under s. 49.147 (3) (am), (4) (am), or (5) (bm), Stats.

(2) A Wisconsin works agency shall provide to each individual in the program a written description of the following:

(a) The individual’s obligation to participate in assigned activities.

(b) The actions under sub. (3) that demonstrate a refusal to participate.

(c) The individual’s ineligibility to participate in the Wisconsin works program for 3 months if an individual in the Wisconsin works group demonstrates a refusal to participate.

(3) An individual demonstrates a refusal to participate if the individual does any of the following:

(a) Is discharged from employment for misconduct or engages in misconduct on the premises of an employer.

(b) Fails to appear or appears more than 15 minutes after the scheduled start time of an interview with a prospective employer, a job fair, or a meeting with a prospective employer that was arranged by the Wisconsin works agency.

(d) Appears for an interview or a meeting with a prospective employer wearing inappropriate attire or exhibiting inappropriate grooming after receiving written or oral directions or training on appropriate attire and grooming.

(e) Fails to complete a job application required by a prospective employer.

(f) Communicates to a prospective employer an unreasonable requirement for salary, hours of employment, or working conditions that disqualifies the individual from employment with that employer.

(g) Provides incorrect or incomplete information regarding employment qualifications in an interview or job application that disqualifies the individual from employment with the prospective employer after receiving written or oral directions or training from the Wisconsin works agency regarding interviewing and filling out employment applications.

(h) Voluntarily leaves appropriate employment or refuses a bona fide offer of appropriate employment.