Green Bay Reporter

Republican legislators in Wisconsin started the Stronger Workforce Initiative that’ll address the employment crisis facing small businesses within the state.

The initiative has sponsors from the state’s Senate and the Assembly.

“Opportunities for Wisconsin's workforce have changed,” Sen. Chris Kapenga wrote on Twitter. “There's an abundance of high-wage jobs and a large number of available workers. Today, we introduced the Stronger Workforce Initiative to help remove the government-created barriers between the two.”

This bill would tie unemployment benefits to the state unemployment rate.

“Everyone has seen the enormous amount of ‘help wanted’ signs throughout Wisconsin,” Kapenga said in a release. “Employers are desperate to fill vacant jobs, and the lack of willing workers has reached crisis levels. There’s an abundance of high-wage jobs and a large number of available workers. 

Under this bill, if the claimant schedules and does not show up for a job interview, there would be required investigation and, if verified, deem the claimant ineligible for benefits that week.

“I think it’s incredibly important to protect people who, through no fault of their own, have lost their positions, but we also have to do everything we can to protect this system so it's there for people when they need it,” State Rep. Jon Plumer said to Spectrum News 1.

This bill requires DHS to implement a work requirement for able-bodied adults without dependents to participate in the FoodShare program.

“While (Gov. Tony) Evers invests in addressing the longstanding workforce challenges, the GOP seeks to continue their ongoing effort to make it harder for people who are unemployed to get back on their feet,” Senate Minority Leader Janet Bewley said in a statement to Spectrum News 1.