Month: March 2021

Paying for your meal would be different, and potentially more expensive, under a plan being pushed by Democrats at the Wisconsin Capitol.

State Sen. Chris Larson, D-Milwaukee, and Rep. Francesca Hong, D-Madison, introduced legislation on Monday to end the state’s tipped minimum wage.

“A livable wage is non-negotiable in our state,” Hong said in a statement. “It is our moral duty to ensure that our neighbors can provide for themselves and their loved ones. A good first step in ensuring dignity for working-class Wisconsinites is to eliminate the tipped minimum wage.”

Servers, bartenders, and others who get tips in the state’s restaurants can make as little as $2.33, compared to the $7.25 for non-tipped employees. Many restaurants and stores pay far more than the minimum wage.

Larson said ending the tipped minimum wage, and ending tips, would be more fair for some people who work in restaurants.

The Wisconsin Restaurant Association last month said there was a conversation to be had about the minimum wage, but now is not the time to start talking about raising another cost for restaurants that have been struggling.

“Now is not the time to raise the minimum wage or eliminate the tip credit. Restaurants are experiencing the worst economic downturn in history during the COVID-19 pandemic. Some restaurants will not see an economic recovery until 2023, or later,” the Association said in a statement. “The restaurant industry needs time to recover, but at the same time, the Wisconsin Restaurant Association and its members are ready to have a conversation about a balanced way to address wage levels in the foodservice industry and the unique impact any change would have on the economic recovery of its employees and restaurant operators.”

On February 26, 2021, the U.S. Departments of Health Services, Labor, and the Treasury jointly issued guidance clarifying coverage requirements for diagnostic COVID-19 testing.

The additional guidance was provided in the form of frequently asked questions (FAQs).  The new FAQs respond to questions regarding use of medical screening criteria, location of testing sites, and coverage for asymptomatic individuals. Specifically, the FAQs provide the following guidance:

• Insurers cannot require the presence of symptoms or a recent known or suspected exposure or use medical screening criteria to deny a claim for COVID-19 diagnostic testing.
• Insurers must cover the test without cost sharing (including deductibles, copayments, and coinsurance), prior authorization, or other medical management requirements.
• Insurers must assume that the receipt of the COVID-19 test reflects an “individual clinical assessment” when an individual seeks and receives a COVID-19 diagnostic test or is referred for a COVID-19 diagnostic test from a health care provider including individuals who are asymptomatic or without known or suspected exposure.
• Insurers are required to cover COVID-19 diagnostic tests provided through state or locally administered testing sites, including “drive-through” testing sites when the purpose of the testing is for individualized diagnosis.
• Insurers are required to cover COVID-19 diagnostic tests including point-of-care or “rapid” tests provided the test meets one of the criteria established in the FFCRA section 6001 (a) (1), as amended by section 3201 of the CARES Act.

Restaurant workers in Wisconsin are now eligible for the COVID-19 vaccine, after the state health department changed its website following the announcement of the 1C phase on Thursday.

A spokesperson for the Wisconsin Department of Health Services said in a statement to TMJ4 News: “We added that eligibility today due to the increased supply of vaccine and in recognition of the public-facing role of restaurant workers.”

Restaurant workers had been one of the last groups of frontline workers who were not eligible for the vaccine.

President Joe Biden told U.S. states on Thursday to make all adults eligible for a coronavirus vaccine by May 1. Hem also encouraged Americans to keep up mitigation efforts – wearing masks, keeping social distance and practicing good hygiene – to stop the virus and its variants from spreading.

President Biden said he was ordering U.S. states, territories and tribes to make all adults eligible to receive a coronavirus vaccine by May 1. The White House has said it would have enough vaccine supply to vaccinate the adult population by the end of May. About 10% of Americans so far have been fully vaccinated.

Administration officials said he would deploy 4,000 more troops to help with the vaccine effort, bringing the total number to 6,000. The White House is also seeking to expand the pool of people able to administer shots to include dentists, optometrists, paramedics, veterinarians and medical students.

Gov. Tony Evers will likely control how billions of dollars in federal COVID-19 stimulus money is spent in Wisconsin despite a GOP-backed effort to give state lawmakers more power and oversight of the funds.

The U.S. House of Representatives gave final approval on Wednesday to a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package. According to estimates released last month by the House Committee on Oversight and Reform, Wisconsin is set to receive roughly $5.7 billion, about $3.2 billion of which would be directed to state government.

Current state law gives the governor broad powers to spend federal money sent to the state. Under a bill from GOP lawmakers, the Legislature’s state budget committee, which is controlled by Republicans, would have the power to block Evers administration spending plans. The administration would have to submit all plans to the committee, which would have 14 days to meet and vote to block any proposal. The committee’s power would only apply to federal coronavirus aid received before June 30, 2022.

Supporters of the bill include Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester, and state Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg. They argue the Legislature, which plays a key role in crafting the state budget every two years, should be involved in disbursing the aid, in part because it’s so substantial.

“We feel it’s important to have legislative input into the process, to give our say, to represent our areas of the state, our constituents, and give that oversight,” LeMahieu said during an Assembly committee hearing on Wednesday.

The governor’s spokesperson, Britt Cudaback, confirmed Wednesday that Evers would veto the bill if it makes it to his desk.

The House is set to vote on the measure late Wednesday morning, and then it will head to President Joe Biden’s desk for his signature. The Senate passed the bill in a 50-49 vote last week after making changes to the original version passed by the House.

Under the legislation, those making $80,000 or under and married couples making $160,000 or less will receive stimulus checks of up to $1,400 per person. The bill would also provide $1,400 per dependent. The bill would expand the annual child tax credit to $3,600 for children up to age 5 and $3,000 for children ages 6 to 17 years old. It would also extend $300 a week in enhanced unemployment benefits, which was set to run out over this coming weekend, until September 6, 2021.

In addition to direct payments and child tax credits, the bill would provide $14 billion for vaccine distribution, $49 billion for Covid-19 testing, contact tracing and personal protective equipment. It also includes $125 billion for K-12 schools and nearly $40 billion for high education. It would provide $39 billion in child care grants, $25 billion in rental assistance and $30 billion for public transit as well.

As eligibility for the COVID-19 widens to more groups in the coming weeks, the state’s top health official said employers will play an important role in helping their employees access the vaccine when the time comes.

Interim Wisconsin Department of Health Services secretary Karen Timberlake said the role of employers varies, but could include allowing employees to take off work to get vaccinated, hosting on-site vaccine clinics or simply sharing information about vaccine safety with employees.

“We think you have a role to play,” Timberlake told GMC members. “And we do think that the most important thing you can be doing is helping your employees with access to good, fact-based, science-based information about vaccine efficacy and safety, vaccine availability, what the plan is for your workplace when your employees become eligible.”

“We know that employers are a very trusted messenger for their employees around these kinds of matters, so our job as a health department is to equip you with the facts you need,” she added.

Employers should consider how transportation challenges could prevent employees from accessing the vaccine and potentially partner with a local health department or health systems to ease those issues. With vaccine appointments generally being held during traditional work hours, Timberlake said employers should also consider allowing employees to get their shot on paid time.

House Democrats are expected to pass the final version of a $1.9 trillion coronavirus relief package on Tuesday.

The Senate voted 50-49 to approve the plan on Saturday, with all Democrats voting in support of the measure — and all Republicans opposed — following a marathon debate of more than 24 hours.

The colossal package would bring a new round of payments to Americans still battling against the economic impacts of the coronavirus pandemic, and it includes an increase to the child tax credit and an extension of supplemental unemployment benefits through September 6, 2021.

Democrats are eager to get the final bill to Biden’s desk for his signature before current federal unemployment benefits expire on March 14.

In a statement on Saturday, House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said he expects the president to be able to sign the legislation early this week.

Gov. Tony Evers’ proposal to allow local governments to increase sales taxes with voter approval is “dead on arrival,” according to state GOP leaders.

Under the governor’s sales tax plan, which was included inhis 2021-23 state budget proposal, counties and municipalities with populations over 30,000 would be able to increase sales tax by 0.5 percent, as long as the increase was approved by voters through a ballot referendum.

“There is no chance this is going to happen,” said Assembly Speaker Robin Vos, R-Rochester.  “I think the problem we are looking at, especially in Milwaukee, is systematic problems where they have made bad decisions over decades they now do not have the courage to solve. Now they want to go to taxpayers for an easy, quick fix. That is just not going to happen.”

The Wisconsin Counties Association supports the governor’s plan, saying it would provide much-needed help funding state-mandated local government programs. Other groups, including the Metropolitan Milwaukee Association of Commerce, have also come out in support of the proposal.

Senate Majority Leader Devin LeMahieu, R-Oostburg, indicated Senate Republicans may be more open to the plan if the sales tax increases were directed toward property tax relief. But he said it’s “very doubtful” counties would choose to use the money that way.