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AB622 • 2025

various changes to the unemployment insurance law

various changes to the unemployment insurance law

Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor
Representatives Arney, Anderson, Bare, Brown, Clancy, DeSmidt, Goodwin, Hong, Joers, Kirsch, Mayadev, McCarville, Miresse, Moore Omokunde, Ortiz-Velez, Palmeri, Phelps, Roe, Snodgrass, Stubbs, Subeck, Taylor, Tenorio and Udell, cosponsored by Senators Carpenter, Dassler-Alfheim, Habush Sinykin, Larson, Ratcliff, Smith and Spreitzer
Last action
2026-03-23
Official status
A - Workforce Development, Labor, and Integrated Employment
Effective date
Not listed

Plain English Breakdown

Using official source text because the generated explanation was unavailable or could not be confirmed against the official bill text.

various changes to the unemployment insurance law

various changes to the unemployment insurance law Status: A - Workforce Development, Labor, and Integrated Employment

What This Bill Does

  • various changes to the unemployment insurance law Status: A - Workforce Development, Labor, and Integrated Employment

Limits and Unknowns

  • This entry is temporarily using official source text because the generated explanation could not be confirmed against the official bill text during the last sync.

Bill History

  1. 2026-03-23 Asm.

    Failed to pass pursuant to Senate Joint Resolution 1

  2. 2026-01-27 Asm.

    Fiscal estimate received

  3. 2025-11-11 Asm.

    Representatives Johnson and Sinicki added as coauthors

  4. 2025-11-07 Asm.

    Introduced by Representatives Arney , Anderson , Bare , Brown , Clancy , DeSmidt , Goodwin , Hong , Joers , Kirsch , Mayadev , McCarville , Miresse , Moore Omokunde , Ortiz-Velez , Palmeri , Phelps , Roe , Snodgrass , Stubbs , Subeck , Taylor , Tenorio and Udell ; cosponsored by Senators Carpenter , Dassler-Alfheim , Habush Sinykin , Larson , Ratcliff , Smith and Spreitzer

  5. 2025-11-07 Asm.

    Read first time and referred to Committee on Workforce Development, Labor, and Integrated Employment

Official Summary Text

various changes to the unemployment insurance law
Status: A - Workforce Development, Labor, and Integrated Employment

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
Wisconsin Legislature: AB622: Bill Text

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2025
»
Related Documents
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Proposal Text
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AB622: Bill Text

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2025 - 2026 LEGISLATURE
LRB-4448/1
MED:wlj
2025 ASSEMBLY BILL 622
November 7, 2025 - Introduced by Representatives
Arney
,
Anderson
,
Bare
,
Brown
,
Clancy
,
DeSmidt
,
Goodwin
,
Hong
,
Joers
,
Kirsch
,
Mayadev
,
McCarville
,
Miresse
,
Moore Omokunde
,
Ortiz-Velez
,
Palmeri
,
Phelps
,
Roe
,
Snodgrass
,
Stubbs
,
Subeck
,
Taylor
,
Tenorio
and
Udell
, cosponsored by Senators
Carpenter
,
Dassler-Alfheim
,
Habush Sinykin
,
Larson
,
Ratcliff
,
Smith
and
Spreitzer
. Referred to Committee on Workforce Development, Labor, and Integrated Employment.
AB622,1,3
1
An Act

to repeal
108.04 (7) (t) 1.;
to amend
108.04 (7) (e), 108.04 (7) (t) 2.,
2
108.04 (8) (d) (intro.) and 108.04 (8) (dm) of the statutes;
relating to:
various
3
changes to the unemployment insurance law.
Analysis by the Legislative Reference Bureau
This bill makes various changes to the unemployment insurance law, as follows:
Acceptance of suitable work
Under current law, if a claimant for UI benefits fails, without good cause, to accept suitable work when offered, the claimant is ineligible to receive benefits until he or she earns wages after the week in which the failure occurs equal to at least six times the claimant’s weekly UI benefit rate in covered employment. Current law specifies what is considered “suitable work” for purposes of these provisions, with different standards applying depending on whether six weeks have elapsed since the claimant became unemployed. Once six weeks have elapsed since the claimant became unemployed, the claimant is required to accept work that pays lower and involves a lower grade of skill.
This bill modifies the provisions described above so that the claimant is not required to accept less favorable work until
10 weeks
have elapsed since the claimant became unemployed.
Quits due to nonsuitable work
Under current law, unless an exception applies, if a claimant for UI benefits quits his or her job, the claimant is generally ineligible to receive UI benefits until he or she qualifies through subsequent employment. Under one such exception, if a claimant quits his or her job and 1) accepted work that was not suitable work under the UI law or work that the claimant could have refused; and 2) terminated the work within 30 calendar days after starting the work, the claimant remains eligible to collect UI benefits. Under the bill, this exemption applies if the claimant terminated that work within
10 weeks
after starting the work.
Quits due to relocations
Under current law, unless an exception applies, if an employee quits his or her job, the employee is generally ineligible to receive UI benefits until he or she qualifies through subsequent employment.
Under one such exception, if the employee’s spouse is a member of the U.S. armed forces on active duty and is relocated, and the employee quits his or her job in order to relocate with his or her spouse, the employee remains eligible to collect UI benefits. This bill expands this exception so that it applies to an employee who quits employment in order to relocate with a spouse who is required by any employer, not just the U.S. armed forces, to relocate.
For further information see the state and local fiscal estimate, which will be printed as an appendix to this bill.
The people of the state of Wisconsin, represented in senate and assembly, do enact as follows:
AB622,1
1
Section
1
.
108.04 (7) (e) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB622,3,2
2
108.04
(7)
(e) Paragraph (a) does not apply if the department determines that
3
the employee accepted work that the employee could have failed to accept under sub.
4
(8) and terminated the work on the same grounds and within the first
30 calendar
5
days

10 weeks
after starting the work, or that the employee accepted work that the
6
employee could have refused under sub. (9) and terminated the work within the
7
first
30 calendar days

10 weeks
after starting the work. For purposes of this
8
paragraph, an employee has the same grounds for voluntarily terminating work if
9
the employee could have failed to accept the work under sub. (8) (d) to (em) when it
1
was offered, regardless of the reason articulated by the employee for the
2
termination.
AB622,2
3
Section
2
.
108.04 (7) (t) 1. of the statutes is repealed.
AB622,3
4
Section
3
.
108.04 (7) (t) 2. of the statutes is amended to read:
AB622,3,7
5
108.04
(7)
(t) 2. The employee’s spouse was required by
the U.S. armed forces
6
his or her employing unit
to relocate to a place to which it is impractical for the
7
employee to commute.
AB622,4
8
Section
4
.
108.04 (8) (d) (intro.) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB622,3,11
9
108.04
(8)
(d) (intro.) With respect to the first
6

10
weeks after the employee
10
became unemployed, “suitable work,” for purposes of par. (a), means work to which
11
all of the following apply:
AB622,5
12
Section
5
.
108.04 (8) (dm) of the statutes is amended to read:
AB622,3,18
13
108.04
(8)
(dm) With respect to the
7th

11th
week after the employee became
14
unemployed and any week thereafter, “suitable work,” for purposes of par. (a),
15
means any work that the employee is capable of performing, regardless of whether
16
the employee has any relevant experience or training, that pays wages that are
17
above the lowest quartile of wages for similar work in the labor market area in
18
which the work is located, as determined by the department.
AB622,6
19
Section

6
. Initial applicability.
AB622,3,21
20
(
1
) The treatment of s. 108.04 (7) (t) 1. and 2. first applies to determinations
21
issued under s. 108.09 on the effective date of this subsection.
AB622,3,23
22
(
2
) The treatment of s. 108.04 (7) (e) first applies to determinations issued
23
under s. 108.09 on the effective date of this subsection.
AB622,4,2
1
(
3
) The treatment of s. 108.04 (8) (d) (intro.) and (dm) first applies to
2
determinations issued under s. 108.09 on the effective date of this subsection.
AB622,7
3
Section

7
. Effective date.
AB622,4,5
4
(
1
)

This act takes effect on the first Sunday of the 2nd month beginning after
5
publication.
AB622,4,6
6
(end)

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