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Speaker Robin Vos accused Democrats today of “trapping” people in unemployment instead of “giving them the opportunity to work” as the Assembly passed legislation that would add new requirements to receive the benefit. 

Meanwhile, Rep. Tip McGuire, D-Kenosha, said the bill would “restrict people’s access to the benefits they’ve earned.” 

The Assembly today signed off along party lines 53-42 on AB 164, which would add new requirements for those completing required work searches to remain eligible for unemployment insurance benefits. Current law requires those under UI must take work search actions every week. The bill would add requirements for direct contact with potential employees and posting a resume on the Department of Workforce Development job site as part of the required work searches. 

McGuire said this comes at a time when many federal workers’ jobs are at risk and constituents are “worried,” slamming Republican lawmakers for “threatening” people’s benefits. 

Vos criticized opponents of the bill for letting UI claimants take advantage of the system and not meet the requirements to be ready for work. 

“This frustrates me that the people on the left focus most of their time on trying to keep people out of work, to give them benefits, rather than what this bill actually does to try to make sure people have the access to benefits that they deserve, but also that we incentivize them to do it the right way,” Vos said. 

The Assembly also passed AB 165 53-42, which would prohibit local governments from using public funds to provide individuals a guaranteed income program.

Rep. Ryan Clancy, D-Milwaukee, argued the bill would “jeopardize” constituents who rely on direct aid. 

“Where are the constituents anywhere in Wisconsin who wake up and decide that mothers who need the dollars to provide for their children are the problem?” he said. 

Rep. Scott Allen, R-Waukesha, said he doesn’t object to using private dollars to support those in need, but said he doesn’t support using taxpayer dollars for an unnecessary program. 

“We have to draw the line at taxpayer dollars,” Allen said. “Mr. Speaker, using the force of government to take money from those who have earned it with hard work, and giving it to those who haven’t earned it looks like universal basic income … quacks like communism” 

The Assembly also voted: 

  • 53-42 on AB 169, which would allow employers to report prospective employees to the Department of Workforce Development if they don’t show up for an interview, cancel an interview or decline a job offer. Under the bill, DWD would have to consider this information when determining a person’s eligibility for unemployment insurance. The bill would also assume that the employee had not conducted a reasonable search for work in the given week and so would not be eligible for UI.
  • 53-42 on AB 73 to recognize specialized treatment courts and commercial courts for specific cases and clarify what kind of cases are eligible to go before commercial courts. 
  • 53-42 to pass AB 162, which would require agencies overseeing workforce development programs to track and report at least annually on the performance of the programs. 
  • 56-39 to pass AB 166, which would require higher education institutions to report cost and student outcome data and make the data available to high school seniors and juniors for career planning. 
  • 53-42 on AB 167, which would make changes to what is considered misconduct under unemployment insurance laws. Those charged with misconduct in the workplace are ineligible for UI benefits until certain requalification criteria are satisfied.
  • 53-42 on AB 168, which would make several changes to UI law, including requiring identity verification for certain benefits and requiring DWD to provide training on the UI system for employers and claimants. 
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