The column below reflects the views of the author, and these opinions are neither endorsed nor supported by WisOpinion.com.
If you speak to local business owners about the challenges they face, you will hear the same story over and over – finding workers is a challenge. From manufacturing and construction, to critical industries like healthcare, Wisconsin faces a serious shortage of workers.
Unfortunately, at the same time that employers struggle to fill open positions, Wisconsin’s unemployment insurance program has helped incentivize people to stay home. This became clear during the Covid 19 pandemic, when mismanagement and a failure to even make sure applicants were fulfilling work searches led to hundreds of millions of dollars in overpayments. Some have unfortunately learned that they can take advantage of the system, collecting a check to not work.
This cannot continue. Wisconsin needs to change course, and this session I have authored Assembly Bill 164 to do just that.
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The changes made by this legislation may seem small, but they will have a big impact. This starts with a rebranding. By changing Unemployment Insurance to the “Reemployment Assistance Program”, Wisconsin would make it clear that this program is for one thing and one thing only: helping those who have lost their job find a new one.
Next, my bill ensures that fulfilling a work search requirement is meaningful. Under Reemployment Insurance, at least two of a person’s searches need to be direct contacts with employers who are hiring. Far from being a burden, this is a sensible requirement. I have never gotten a job without first directly asking to be hired, and I would venture most people can say the same. If we are serious about helping people go back to work, why wouldn’t we require this basic step?
Finally, Reemployment Assistance would make sure job seekers are fully supported and set up for success. The Department of Workforce Development would be mandated to provide universal reemployment services. All applicants for benefits would have to complete an online assessment, and then take skills training and counseling based on their results. DWD would be required to make weekly job referrals for all claimants based on their skills and abilities. In order to continue receiving benefits, an applicant would have to follow up on these referrals. All this will help make work searches more productive, reducing the amount of time between someone losing their job and finding a new one.
On April 22nd, this bill passed the Assembly on a party line vote. I have to admit, that disappointed me. This did not use to be a partisan issue. After all, it was the Obama administration that federally required unemployment insurance recipients be able, available, and actively looking to work. The voters of Wisconsin certainly do not see this as a partisan issue. In the 2023 April election, nearly 80% of them supported requiring able bodied Wisconsinites to seek work in order to receive benefits. It is common sense; a paycheck is superior to a benefits check, and the state should do everything it can to help those who have lost their job return to the workforce as soon as possible. Sadly, I do not expect Governor Evers to reverse course and sign this bill when we send it to him, but for the sake of Wisconsin’s workers and businesses, he ought to.
– Jacobson, R-Mosinee, represents Wisconsin’s 87th Assembly District, consisting of communities in Marathon, Portage, Shawano, and Waupaca Counties.
