NFIB criticizes Evers for vetoing unemployment reform

One of the state’s largest small-business associations is criticizing Gov. Tony Evers for vetoing four Republican-authored bills, including three aimed at changing Wisconsin’s unemployment insurance (UI) system and another meant to prevent state and local governments from restricting the use or sale of gas-powered vehicles and devices.

The state director of the National Federation of Independent Business (NFIB), Luke Bacher, said the measures were “commonsense” reforms that would have helped small employers.

Evers, in multiple veto messages, argued that the bills could delay benefit payments, create unnecessary burdens on job seekers, conflict with federal requirements, or limit local governments’ ability to respond to climate and energy concerns.

Evers vetoed the measures on October 31.

Bacher said small employers have been facing persistent staffing shortages, and the bills would have strengthened the integrity of the UI system while protecting consumers’ access to gas-powered products.

“Places like California have seen their radical ideas, like banning gas-powered cars, spread to other states around the nation,” Bacher said. “NFIB believes that consumers should not be forced to buy electric cars and snowblowers.” 

Bacher said the unemployment reform bills were designed to ensure that those who are able to work are genuinely seeking employment.

One of the measures would have required the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) to give employers at least 12 business days to respond to initial UI information requests.

Bacher said the current short turnaround creates problems for employers, especially small business owners, because notices often arrive by mail, and delays outside their control can lead to missed response windows.

In his veto message, Evers said lengthening the employer response period could delay UI processing and put the state at risk of missing federal timeliness benchmarks. Federal standards require that 87 percent of first benefit payments be made within 14 days and that 80 percent of adjudications be completed within 21 days.

“Because 12 business days could be up to 18 calendar days, the bill’s change would make it more difficult for the department to meet the federal benchmarks, potentially jeopardizing Wisconsin’s eligibility for full federal administrative funding for the Ul program, which serves as the department’s primary source of funding for claim administration,” Evers wrote. 

DWD already provides employers with adequate time to respond while ensuring timely benefits for eligible workers, Evers asserted.

Don’t ghost me

The governor likewise rejected a bill that sought to address what bill supporters describe as a growing practice of “ghosting” — job applicants scheduling interviews solely to fulfill UI work-search requirements, with no intention of appearing.

The bill would have allowed employers to report instances of interview no-shows, job refusals, job recalls, and similar situations to the DWD. The agency would then have been required to evaluate whether the claimant remained attached to the labor market and had made a reasonable effort to search for work. 

The bill also required claimants to provide weekly verification of all job offers or interview opportunities.

“Given the current workforce shortage faced by small businesses, we need to ensure those who are able to work are genuinely seeking employment,” Bacher said.

But Evers said the current law already requires claimants to be available for work, actively seek work, report job search activities, and accept suitable job offers.

“Failure to comply with these existing requirements may result in disqualification from benefits, repayment of overpayments, or penalties,” the governor wrote. “Moreover, it imposes these additional responsibilities on the department without allocating any additional resources, thereby increasing administrative burden without improving outcomes.”

Moreover, Evers wrote, he objected to creating additional barriers for people applying for and receiving benefits from a program that is designed to support people and families experiencing economic hardship, as well as creating additional mandates for the department in administering those benefits.

UI fraud

A third measure would have required the DWD to adopt specific identity-verification procedures, extend the statute of limitations for prosecuting UI-related fraud, require additional training for both employers and claimants, mandate weekly database tracking, and require notifications related to fraud.

Evers said DWD already uses comprehensive fraud prevention strategies, including identity verification.

“[T]he department currently offers education and resources not only to employers but also to individuals navigating the unemployment claims process,” Evers wrote. “As such, the bill’s requirements for training and informational materials are redundant. In addition, the bill includes new notification requirements that are unnecessary given the department’s existing practices and would create added administrative complexity. This legislation would increase the department's workload without allocating any additional funding or support to manage these new duties.”

Modifications to UI law should be reviewed by the Unemployment Insurance Advisory Council, or in consultation with the council and the department, Evers wrote.

The fourth vetoed measure would have prohibited state agencies and local governments from restricting the use or sale of gas-powered vehicles or devices based on energy source.

NFIB stated that the bill was necessary to prevent “radical ideas” such as California-style bans from taking hold in Wisconsin.  Evers said he opposed the measure for the same reasons he vetoed similar legislation in 2023. 

“I continue to object to the Legislature permanently preventing state agencies and local units of government from taking steps to limit certain types of devices based on energy source,” he wrote. “In the 2023 session, the Legislature passed two bills … based on the apparent fear that there could be a groundswell of arbitrary restrictions placed on certain vehicles and other devices that has, as of this writing, still has not meaningfully materialized now two years later. I vetoed those bills then for the same reasons that I am vetoing this bill now.”

The governor argued that preempting state and local authority would hinder efforts to mitigate climate change impacts on agriculture, recreation, and flooding.

“As innovative clean energy technologies and industries continue to improve, evolve, and become more competitive, cost efficient, and accessible, we should be working to make it easier, not harder, for our state to meet the needs of a 21st-century infrastructure, workforce, and economy,” Evers wrote. “This bill ignores that basic reality.”

The bill, he wrote, would not only jeopardize the state’s and local communities’ ability to meet current and future consumer needs and demands but also diminish Wisconsin’s collective ability to help combat climate change. 

Bacher said the vetoes collectively represented a missed opportunity.

“These unemployment reform measures are commonsense and would help the small businesses of Wisconsin,” he said.

Richard Moore is the author of “Dark State” and may be reached at richardd3d.substack.com.