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Disabled, jobless and waiting for unemployment compensation
Karen Smith was receiving Social Security disability payments and working part-time as a grocery clerk when the COVID-19 pandemic began spreading in Wisconsin. Smith, who is 59, has arthritis and a lung disease, is a recovering cancer patient and also has an autoimmune disorder. She asked her doctor what she should do. “My doctor told […]
PSC halts plan to let power companies disconnect customers behind on their bills
A month and a half after announcing it would let utility companies go back to cutting off service to people behind on their bills starting this weekend, the state Public Service Commission (PSC) voted 2-1 Thursday to reverse that decision. Instead, the PSC extended a moratorium on disconnections that was first imposed March 24 until […]
Evers ‘considering’ state mask order, but wary that Supreme Court would undermine it
Once again imploring Wisconsin to return to the restraint it showed during the Safer at Home order in late March through early May, Gov. Tony Evers stressed Thursday the importance of wearing face coverings to prevent the spread of COVID-19 and said he’d like to be able to institute a statewide mask order. A statewide […]
State officials to begin review of Foxconn jobs report
Foxconn — and Wisconsin — are another step closer to learning whether the Taiwan-based company will qualify for a portion of the $3 billion in state tax credits that were part of the deal signed three years ago to bring the electronics manufacturer to Racine County. A formal audit of the company’s 2019 jobs report […]
Working Wisconsin faces new challenges in the COVID-19 pandemic
The COVID-19 pandemic imposed significant new hardships on American workers — and it’s exposed just how much hardship many of them have been enduring for years. That’s a central conclusion of a report published today, the 2020 edition of the State of Working Wisconsin. The report is published by COWS — formerly the Center on […]
Madison, Milwaukee groups join in observing Strike for Black Lives
Hospital workers knelt in silence in Madison and fast food workers walked out in Milwaukee as a coalition of unions and community activists marked the Strike for Black Lives across the country on Monday. Actions were planned in more than 25 cities, organizers said, with participants including the Service Employees International Union (SEIU), the Amalgamated […]
What will the next coronarvirus aid package look like?
Elizabeth Carey was working part-time at the Eau Claire coffeeshop her husband managed when Wisconsin’s COVID-19 emergency health order went through, shutting down bars, restaurants and many other businesses. Both of them lost their jobs, but the federal $1,200 stimulus check and $600-a-week supplemental unemployment pay allowed them to hang on — so far. “It […]
Democrats call for unemployment restriction rollback to ease backlog
With unemployment claims on hold for more state residents than live in all but two of Wisconsin’s cities, Democrats in the Wisconsin Legislature unveiled a package of proposed bills on Thursday to overhaul the system. The Democratic bills would largely remove measures that Republicans put in place over the last decade that make it harder […]
Health officials: Wisconsin COVID-19 ‘trend is going in the wrong direction’
COVID-19 continues to spread in Wisconsin, and the only way to reverse that will be by redoubling efforts to avoid large gatherings and to follow strict hygiene practices, state health officials said Thursday. The Wisconsin Department of Health Services (DHS) reported 900 confirmed new cases of the illness caused by the virus on Thursday, and […]
Payment errors add to challenges for state’s beleaguered unemployment system
Faced with record numbers of claims and payouts and complaints of long-delayed decisions on whether some applicants qualified, the state unemployment compensation system overpaid some claims in late April while possibly underpaying others, according to a Wisconsin Legislative Audit Bureau report issued Wednesday. The payment mistakes took place over a two- to three-day period April […]
The COVID-19 childcare chasm
In ordinary times, navigating childcare has been a challenge for working families for decades. COVID-19 has increased the difficulty seismically, sending shockwaves not just through households, but businesses, communities and providers alike. Last week the Wisconsin Policy Forum reported that as of May, nearly 40% of childcare providers in the state had closed as a […]
COVID-19 job losses cut millions loose from health insurance; millions more will follow
By the end of 2020, 10.1 million people in the U.S. will probably lose health insurance because they or their family members have lost work due to COVID-19, a new report released Monday forecasts — and more than 1 in 3 of them will be unable to find a replacement policy. The findings are tied […]