AB666,10,24 (m) “Parent" means a natural parent, foster parent, adoptive parent, stepparent, or legal guardian of an employee or of an employee's spouse or domestic partner.

AB666,11,3 (n) “Self-employed individual” means a sole proprietor, partner of a partnership, member of a limited liability company, or other self-employed individual engaged in a vocation, profession, or business in this state.

AB666,11,4 (o) “Serious health condition" has the meaning given in s. 103.10 (1) (g).

AB666,11,6 (p) “Sibling" means a brother, sister, half brother, half sister, stepbrother, or stepsister, whether by blood, marriage, or adoption.

AB666,11,7 (q) “Spouse" means an employee's legal husband or wife.

AB666,11,10 (r) “State annual median wage" means the median hourly wage for all occupations in this state, as determined by the bureau of labor statistics of the U.S. department of labor, multiplied by 2,080.

AB666,11,12 (s) “Waiting period" means the period under sub. (5) (b) 1. for which no family or medical leave insurance benefits are payable.

AB666,12,2 (2) Election by self-employed individual. A self-employed individual may elect to be covered under this section by filing a written notice of election with the department in a form and manner prescribed by the department by rule. An initial election under this subsection becomes effective on the date on which the notice of election is filed, shall be for a period of not less than 3 years, and may be renewed for subsequent one-year periods by the filing of a written notice with the department that the self-employed individual intends to continue his or her coverage under this section. A self-employed individual who elects coverage under this section may withdraw that election no earlier than 3 years after the date of the initial election or at such other times as the department may prescribe by rule by providing notice of that withdrawal to the department not less than 30 days before the expiration date of the election. A self-employed individual who elects coverage under this section must have worked at least 680 hours in self-employment in the calendar year prior to the individual's application year.

AB666,12,9 (3) Eligibility for benefits. (a) A covered individual who is on family or medical leave is eligible to receive family or medical leave insurance benefits in the amount specified in sub. (4) and for the duration specified in sub. (5). No family or medical leave insurance benefits are payable for any period of family or medical leave for which a covered individual is substituting paid leave of any other type provided by his or her employer or for which a covered individual is receiving unemployment insurance benefits under ch. 108 or worker's compensation benefits under ch. 102.

AB666,12,21 (b) To receive family or medical leave insurance benefits, a covered individual shall file a claim for those benefits within the time and in the manner that the department prescribes by rule. On receipt of a claim for family or medical leave insurance benefits, the department may request from the individual's employer or from the self-employed individual any information necessary for the department to determine the individual's eligibility for those benefits and the amount and duration of those benefits. The employer or self-employed individual shall provide that information to the department within the time and in the manner that the department prescribes by rule. If the department determines that a covered individual is eligible to receive family or medical leave insurance benefits, the department shall provide those benefits to the individual as provided in subs. (4) to (6).

AB666,12,24 (4) Amount of benefits. (a) Subject to pars. (b) and (c), the amount of family or medical leave insurance benefits for a week of leave for which those benefits are payable is as follows:

AB666,13,3 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.

AB666,13,6 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.

AB666,13,9 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.

AB666,13,12 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.

AB666,13,17 (b) The amount of family or medical leave insurance benefits for a fractional week of leave for which those benefits are payable is one-seventh of the covered individual's weekly benefit amount under par. (a) multiplied by the number of days of leave taken that week. Family or medical leave insurance benefits are not payable for a period of leave of less than one day in duration.

AB666,14,2 (c) The weekly benefit amount of a covered individual's family or medical leave insurance benefits may not exceed $1,000. On April 1 of each year, the department shall adjust the maximum daily payment under this paragraph by a percentage equal to the average annual percentage change in the U.S. consumer price index for all urban consumers, U.S. city average, as determined by the U.S. department of labor, for the 12 months ending on December 31 of each calendar year. The department shall make pro rata payment of benefits to covered individuals who are receiving benefits on the date the consumer price index was adjusted, retroactive to the date of the adjustment. The department shall annually have the maximum amount of the weekly benefit published in the Wisconsin Administrative Register.

AB666,14,6 (5) Duration of benefits. (a) The maximum number of weeks for which family or medical leave insurance benefits are payable in an application year is 12 weeks. A covered individual may be paid family or medical leave insurance benefits continuously, or at the option of the covered individual, intermittently.

AB666,14,14 (b) 1. Except as provided in subd. 2., no family or medical leave insurance benefits are payable for the first 5 calendar days in an application year for which a covered individual is eligible for those benefits. Except as provided in subd. 2., family or medical leave insurance benefits are payable beginning on the 6th calendar day in an application year for which a covered individual is eligible for those benefits. The first payment of family or medical leave insurance benefits shall be made no later than 2 weeks after a covered individual files a claim for those benefits and subsequent payments shall be made no less often than semimonthly.

AB666,14,19 2. If a covered individual uses 10 or more days of family or medical leave insurance benefits in an application year, those benefits shall also be payable with respect to the covered individual's waiting period. An employer may not require a covered individual to use paid or unpaid leave of any other type provided by the employer during the covered individual's waiting period.

AB666,14,23 (6) Employer-provided benefits. Nothing in this section prohibits an employer from providing employees with rights to family or medical leave insurance benefits that are more generous to the employee than the rights provided under this section.

AB666,15,3 (7) Tax treatment of benefits. With respect to the federal income taxation of family or medical leave insurance benefits, the department shall do all of the following:

AB666,15,9 (a) At the time an individual files a claim for those benefits, advise the individual that those benefits may be subject to federal income taxation, that requirements exist under federal law pertaining to estimated tax payments, and that the individual may elect to have federal income taxes withheld from the individual's benefit payments and may change that election not more than one time in an application year.

AB666,15,13 (b) Allow the individual to elect to have federal income tax deducted and withheld from the individual's benefit payments, allow the individual to change that election not more than one time in an application year, and deduct and withhold that tax in accordance with the individual's election as provided under 26 USC 3402.

AB666,15,16 (c) Upon making a deduction under par. (b), transfer the amount deducted from the family and medical leave insurance trust fund to the federal internal revenue service.

AB666,15,19 (d) In deducting and withholding federal income taxes from an individual's benefit payments, follow all procedures specified by the federal internal revenue service pertaining to the deducting and withholding of federal income tax.

AB666,15,23 (8) Family and medical leave insurance trust fund. (a) Each employee and each self-employed individual who elects coverage under sub. (2) shall contribute to the family and medical leave insurance trust fund a percentage of his or her wages from employment or income from self-employment.

AB666,16,5 (b) The department shall determine the amount of the contribution required under par. (a). In determining that percentage, the department shall consult with the commissioner of insurance, who shall recommend a percentage that is sufficient to pay the benefits under sub. (3) (b) and to pay for the administration of the family and medical leave insurance program under this section but does not exceed the amount necessary to ensure the solvency of the family and medical leave insurance trust fund.

AB666,16,7 (c) Each employer shall withhold from the wages of its employees the amount determined by the department under this subsection.