Latest news with #AB162
Yahoo
10-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
GOP bills revamping unemployment rules get Assembly hearing
State Rep. Jerry O'Connor gives testimony in favor of a bill that would require state agencies to report on various metrics for training and workforce development programs they supervise. (Screenshot/WisEye) Republicans in the state Legislature are taking another run at changes to unemployment insurance and workforce programs in Wisconsin that Gov. Tony Evers vetoed in August 2023. While sponsors of the bills cited a couple of modifications in some measures, they are for the most part unchanged, they said during public hearings Wednesday for four bills in the Assembly's labor committee. One, AB 162, would require state agencies to compile a series of metrics on training and workforce development programs under their supervision, including the unemployment rates and median earnings of participants six months after they graduate from a program. 'We want to make certain our money's being spent in a way that generates a positive beneficial return both for taxpayers and for the individuals participating in the programs,' said state Rep. Jerry O'Connor (R-Fond du Lac), testifying in favor of the bill. 'We'd look at the percent of individuals enrolled in training programs who obtained a measurable skill gain.' O'Connor said the bill draws its performance measures from the Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA), a federal workforce training law updated in 2014. In vetoing the version of the bill that passed the last session of the Legislature, Evers said that many state programs it covered didn't fit with WIOA's reporting structure and 'have separate requirements under current state law.' Three other bills would impose tighter restrictions on the unemployment insurance (UI) system. AB 167 would expand the definition of employee misconduct that would be grounds for denying an unemployment insurance claim as well as for a worker's compensation claim. The bill would also require DWD to conduct random audits of 50% of all work searches reported by people claiming UI. AB 168 would extend the statute of limitations for prosecuting felony fraudulent UI claims to eight years. It would also require the state Department of Workforce Development (DWD) to produce more training materials for employers and UI claimants, operate a call center and expand its hours in times of higher volume, check various state and national databases to verify that UI applicants qualify, and implement 'identity-proofing' measures. AB 169 would penalize UI recipients who do not show up for a job interview they have been granted or a job they've been offered — 'commonly referred to as ghosting,' said state Rep. Dan Knodl (R-Germantown), the bill's author. A UI recipient who fails to respond to an interview request or job offer, fails to report for a scheduled job interview or who is not available to return to work at their previous job would lose unemployment benefits for the week in which that occurred. The bill does not impose the penalty for the first offense. State Rep. Joan Fitzgerald (D-Fort Atkinson) asked Knodl whether the bill had gone through the state's Unemployment Insurance Advisory Council. The joint labor-management body revises the state's UI law every two years. In the past Evers has vetoed UI proposals for not going through the council. 'This is one of those that they're not going to visit,' Knodl said. 'So that's why we're here as a stand-alone bill.' Nobody testified against the bills Wednesday, but Victor Forberger, a Madison attorney who represents people with UI claims, sent the committee a four-page memo opposing them. He wrote that DWD already does most of what AB 168 would require, and that it would 'hamstring' the department 'when new practices and resources emerge.' The measures 'will do nothing to make unemployment more useful and efficient for Wisconsin workers and employers,' Forberger wrote. SUBSCRIBE: GET THE MORNING HEADLINES DELIVERED TO YOUR INBOX
Yahoo
08-03-2025
- Politics
- Yahoo
Domestic violence survivor shares story as advocates push for change at Nevada Legislature
LAS VEGAS (KLAS) – Domestic violence advocates and survivors are pushing for change with two bills introduced at the Nevada Legislature this week. 'I was attacked several times,' Brandi Sevilla recalled. Nevada lawmaker proposes searchable domestic violence offender database Sevilla bravely shared her story of survival with 8 News Now Friday. 'Paintings being slashed, holes punched in the wall,' she said. 'TVs broken and glasses shattered, it was horrible.' She escaped a violent relationship and has spent years rebuilding her life after unimaginable trauma. 'I think there's a good majority of us out there that think, 'Oh if we love them, if we love them we can fix them,'' Sevilla said. 'And it doesn't work that way.' Nevada ranks second in the country for rates of domestic violence according to Nevada Coalition to End Domestic and Sexual Violence. FBI statistics show the state also ranks third for men murdering women, with 80% of cases happening in Clark County and Las Vegas. This week, advocates pushed for change by introducing two bill proposals at the Nevada Legislature. 'We cannot continue to deny that we are failing our women,' SafeNest CEO Liz Ortenburger said. Ortenburger was referencing Assembly Bill 216. It would require police officers to conduct an assessment and complete a questionnaire evaluating the level of danger to the domestic violence victim based on their answers. Another bill introduced to Assemblymembers was AB 162 or 'Alessandra's Law,' named for Alessandra Barlas, who was killed by her ex-boyfriend in California in 2015. 'Passing this bill would provide greater transparency,' Michelle Afshar of the Alessandra Foundation said, speaking to lawmakers. 'Potentially preventing other families from losing someone.' It would create a searchable database, similar to a sex offender registry, to see if someone has prior domestic violence convictions. It's modeled after a similar registry in Texas. To be listed, a person would have to have at least two prior misdemeanor convictions over seven years. 'I can't say with certainty that an online conviction would have prevented her murder,' Afshar said. 'But I do know it would have given us vital knowledge.' Sevilla called both proposals a step in the right direction, but she told 8 News Now she also believes court reform is necessary. 'They really need to come down on these men and women,' Sevilla said. 'Who are hurting their partners.' She hopes anyone struggling knows they are not alone. 'You've got to keep on fighting,' Sevilla concluded. 'And not give up.' If you or anyone you know is struggling with domestic violence, reach out to the following organizations: SafeNest: 702-646-4981 Shade Tree: 855-385-0072 The National Domestic Violence Hotline: 1-800-SAFE(7233) Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
