SB1,,160 (g) “Family or medical leave insurance benefits” means benefits payable under this section from the family and medical leave benefits insurance trust fund.

SB1,,161 (h) “Medical leave” means leave from employment, self-employment, or availability for employment for any of the reasons in s. 103.10 (4).

SB1,,162 (i) “Self-employed individual” means a sole proprietor, partner of a partnership, member of a limited liability company, or other individual engaged in a vocation, profession, or business for himself or herself and not for an employer.

SB1,,163 (j) “Small employer” means a person engaging in any activity, enterprise, or business in this state employing fewer than 50 individuals on a permanent basis.

SB1,,164 (k) “State annual median wage” means the median hourly wage for all occupations in this state in a calendar year, as determined by the bureau of labor statistics of the U.S. department of labor, multiplied by 2,080.

SB1,,165 (2) Election by self-employed individual or small employer. A self-employed individual or small employer 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 or small employer intends to continue coverage under this section. A self-employed individual or small employer 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.

SB1,,166 (3) Eligibility for benefits. (a) Except as otherwise provided in sub. (6), a covered individual who is on family leave 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).

SB1,,167 (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) and (5).

SB1,,168 (4) Amount of benefits. Except as provided in sub. (6), the amount of family or medical leave insurance benefits payable for a week shall be based upon the covered individual’s average weekly earnings, as follows:

SB1,,169 (a) For the amount of the covered individual’s average weekly earnings that are less than 50 percent of the state annual median wage in the calendar year before the covered individual’s application year, 90 percent of the covered individual’s average weekly earnings.

SB1,,170 (b) For the amount of the covered individual’s average weekly earnings that are more than or equal to 50 percent of the state annual median wage in the calendar year before the covered individual’s application year, 50 percent of the covered individual’s average weekly earnings.

SB1,,171 (5) Duration of benefits. 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.

SB1,,172 (6) Employer exemption from participation in paid family and medical leave benefits insurance program. (a) If an employer provides family and medical leave benefits that are identical to or more generous than benefits provided under this section, the employer may elect to not participate in the paid family and medical leave benefits insurance program under this section. If the department grants an exemption under this subsection, the employer shall pay benefits that are at least identical to benefits under this section, and an employee is entitled to be paid those benefits.

SB1,,173 (b) An employer that elects to not participate in the paid family and medical leave benefits insurance program under this section shall request an exemption from the department in writing, in the manner prescribed by the department. An exemption from participation is not effective until approved by the department in writing.

SB1,,174 (c) The department may grant a written exemption from participation to an employer who complies with this subsection and all rules promulgated by the department under par. (g).

SB1,,175 (d) The department may withdraw its written exemption order granted under par. (c) if the department determines that an employer is not providing paid family and medical leave benefits to employees that are at least identical to those provided under this section.

SB1,,176 (e) If an employee believes that his or her employer that has an exemption under this subsection has violated the employee’s right to paid family and medical leave benefits identical to those provided under this section, the employee may file a complaint with the department alleging the violation, and the department shall process the complaint in the same manner as complaints filed under s. 103.10 (12) (b) are processed. If the department finds that an employer has violated this subsection, the department may order the employer to take action to remedy the violation, including providing the paid family and medical leave benefits, and, notwithstanding s. 814.04 (1), paying reasonable actual attorney fees to the employee.

SB1,,177 (f) After the completion of an administrative proceeding under par. (e), including judicial review, an employee or the department may bring an action in circuit court against an employer to recover damages caused by a violation of this subsection. Section 103.10 (13) (b) applies to the commencement of an action under this paragraph.

SB1,,178 (g) The department shall promulgate rules to implement this subsection.

SB1,,179 (7) Federal 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:

SB1,,180 (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.

SB1,,181 (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.

SB1,,182 (c) Upon making a deduction under par. (b), transfer the amount deducted from the family and medical leave benefits insurance trust fund to the federal internal revenue service.

SB1,,183 (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.

SB1,,184 (8) Family and medical leave benefits insurance trust fund. (a) The department shall determine the amount of the required contribution by each employee, self-employed individual who elects coverage under sub. (2), and each employer. The required contribution shall be based on the employee’s wages or the self-employed individual’s earnings. The required contribution for an employee shall be equally shared between each employee and the employee’s employer.

SB1,,185 (b) Each employer shall withhold from the wages of its employees the amount determined by the department under this subsection.

SB1,,186 (c) The department shall promulgate rules to establish procedures for filing wage reports and collecting the contributions withheld by employers and employer-required contributions under par. (a). The department may utilize the quarterly wage reports submitted under s. 108.205 in lieu of separate contribution reports and may utilize the procedures for collecting contributions that apply to the collection of contributions to the unemployment reserve fund under s. 108.17.

SB1,,187 (cm) The department shall promulgate rules providing for a right to a hearing in cases involving the liability of employers for contributions under this subsection. The department’s decisions shall be subject to the rights and procedures for contested cases under ch. 227.

SB1,,188 (d) The department shall collect contributions from self-employed individuals pursuant to procedures established by the department under sub. (12) (b).