Wisconsin’s COVID-19 response bill (2019 Wisconsin Act 185) was enacted by the Wisconsin legislature in mid-April. It included provisions to charge unemployment claims caused by the COVID-19 public health emergency to the state’s balancing account, rather than to employers’ accounts, in order to relieve employers from increased unemployment taxes in 2021. This Act was tied to the public health emergency declared by Governor Evers which expired in May (executive order 72).

The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) announced that it is interpreting Act 185 to require Wisconsin employers to file form UCB-18823-E, a newly created form, for any initial UI claims filed between May 16 and June 30, 2020. This form must be filed by August 15, 2020. Any UI initial claims related to COVID after July 1, 2020 will have 30 days from the date the claim is filed to submit the form.

(Special thanks to Nicole Zeman for her assistance with this article.)