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Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker Signs State’s Veterans Jobs Bills

Thursday, April 5th, 2012

Wisconsin Governor Scott Walker signed three bills yesterday, designed to help military veterans in that state to find jobs.  Each of the bills had been authored by Wisconsin State Representative Evan Wynn.

Watch the local FOX affiliate’s news coverage of the event.  Representative Wynn’s press release follows below.

 

******** Representative Evan Wynn’s Press Release

(Madison, WI) – Governor Scott Walker signed into law Wednesday three bills authored by state Representative Evan Wynn that are aimed at helping veterans find jobs. The bipartisan bills were signed into law in Appleton, Wisc., at a Veterans of Foreign Wars Post and are part of Wisconsin’s 2012 Year of the Veteran initiatives.

“These bills are great for the veterans community and Wisconsin’s economy as a whole,” said Wynn. “Veterans have so much to contribute to their communities and this state, but the economic downturn of the last few years has left them with an unemployment rate double the average, with disabled veterans being hit even harder – 50 percent unemployment by some estimates.”

“With Governor Walker’s signature and the support of nearly every single member of the legislature, Wisconsin today made veterans and jobs a top priority,” added Wynn.

The bills received near unanimous support in the state Senate and Assembly, with only four votes against all three bills combined.

The first bill, now known as Act 209, waives the fee for most first-time professional and occupational licenses being sought by veterans. The second bill was signed into law as Act 211, and applies the federal guidelines when it comes to the appointment of disabled veterans to civil service jobs to the state civil service. Under the bill, a disabled veteran who is qualified for a position in state government may be appointed to that position rather than go through the state hiring process.

“Making it easier for veterans to transfer to civilian life is the least we can do to these honorable men and women who fought for us,” said Wynn. “These two bills are steps in the right direction for Wisconsin and our veterans.”

The third bill signed by Gov. Walker Wednesday, Act 212, creates a disabled veterans jobs tax credit that emphasizes full-time positions.

“Even more important that a job to disabled veterans facing 50 percent unemployment is a full-time job, which is why this bill emphasizes full-time and long-term employment by giving the largest tax credit to the employers that keep the veterans employed full-time and for more than three consecutive years,” said Wynn, who is a 22-year Army veteran himself.

Wynn also expressed his thanks to his colleagues who supported the measures in committee and on the floor with their votes and speeches, including the bipartisan coalition of 43 senators and representatives who are co-sponsors of the bills and Senator Julie Lassa and former Senator Pam Galloway, who co-authored the bills.

Rep. Wynn represents the 43rd Assembly District, which covers portions of Rock, Jefferson, Dane and Walworth counties.

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WOTC and Other Tax Extenders Must Wait

Thursday, February 16th, 2012

The House – Senate Conference has come to an agreement on what is now dubbed The Middle Class Tax Relief and Job Creation Act of 2012.  Expectations are high that both the House and Senate will quickly pass the bill.  President Obama has already indicated he will sign the bill.

Unfortunately, the tax extenders, including the general WOTC extension, were completely excluded from this legislation.  All WOTC categories except for those favoring military veterans must now wait to be extended by another yet future tax bill.

As I’ve summarized before, this situation is not unusual for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) program. Of the eight times Congress has acted to renew or extend the WOTC program, three were passed retroactively months after the program’s legislative authority had expired.

  • The first was in March 2002 after WOTC expired on December 31, 2001.
  • The second was in October 2004, about ten months after WOTC expired on December 31, 2003.
  • The worst example to date was in December 2006, when the program was reauthorized almost 12 months after its expiration.

In each of these events, the renewal was made effective retroactively back to the date of expiration.  In other words, employers were eligible to claim tax credits generated by properly certified employees hired between the expiration date and the date the WOTC program was renewed.

We continue to anticipate a similar re-authorization in 2012. For this reason, my firm will continue to process and submit WOTC applications under all employee-eligibility categories — not just for veterans.

As employers consider their strategy for 2012, they should remember that even though a general extension has not yet been passed, eligibility-categories for hiring military veterans are already authorized through 2012 by the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011. The amount of tax credit currently offered for hiring unemployed veterans goes as high as $9,600 per qualifying hire.

This is an excellent opportunity to more affirmatively recruit veterans for your workforce.

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DOL (Also) Issues New WOTC Instructions for Vow to Hire Heroes Act

Monday, December 12th, 2011

The following instructions are copied directly from the document recently published by the US Department of Labor.

Vow to Hire Heroes Act – Work Opportunity Tax Credit Provisions: Interim Instructions for State Workforce Agencies and Employers

On November 21, 2011, the President signed into law the “Vow to Hire Heroes Act”, which amends and expands the definition of Veteran target groups for the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC). These provisions became effective the day after the President signed the Act into law (November 22, 2011).

The Employment and Training Administration (ETA) is working to revise and issue ETA Forms 9061 and 9058, and update all other program-related materials, to reflect changes to the Veteran target groups. During this transition period until revised forms are issued, employers are instructed to continue to use the current ETA Form 9061.

When requesting certification for the Veteran target groups using ETA Form 9061, employers and consultants should do the following:

1) When using the hard copies of Form 9061, indicate in red at the top margin of the form the Veteran target group for which they are requesting certification.

2) When using an electronic form for the 9061 with those states that are fully automated, indicate in black at the top margin of the form the Veteran target group for which they are requesting certification.

Note: ETA will notify states with a date for the end of this transition period and the date when employers are to start using only the revised forms and program materials. State Workforce Agencies are to accept the current forms until additional guidance is provided by ETA.

3) Employers and consultants must continue to adhere to the “28-day timely filing” requirement.

4) Employers and consultants should follow any other instructions IRS may issue. States and Participating Agencies should continue to use the current ETA Form 9062 and follow its instructions, which already provide for the Veteran target groups.

State Workforce Agencies should continue to use ETA Form 9058, Report 1, until further ETA guidance.

 

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President Obama Signs Veterans’ Hiring Credit Bill

Monday, November 21st, 2011

The VOW to Hire Heroes Act was signed today by President Obama.  (see Business Week article from today.)  As previously mentioned, this bill expands the eligible-veterans categories under the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) program and extends the new categories through December 31, 2012. Unless the legislative language was modified prior to final passage, my understanding is that the new WOTC categories will become effective immediately.

Employers now have a job to do – update their WOTC screening tools to identify and document new hires who are members of the newly-targeted veteran groups. Any immediate changes, however, should be made with the understanding that the Department of Labor and IRS will also be updating WOTC regulations, documentation standards, and official WOTC forms. The last time significant changes were made to the WOTC program, it took months and multiple attempts for the government to finalize these changes.

In this regard, I should note that the bill includes language granting some degree of discretion to the Department of Labor when it comes to defining the documentation  requirements for the new categories.  On its face, the bill looks to a veteran’s unemployment insurance compensation history to document the required level of unemployment.  We hope, however, that other approaches will also be approved since not every unemployed veteran will necessarily have been eligible for unemployment insurance compensation.

Now that this bill has been signed by the President, I feel good about digging into the details of its legislative language. Stay tuned for further exploration and explanations.

Posted in Veterans, Work Opportunity Tax Credit | 2 Responses »
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VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 – Does Not Include Extension of Non-Veteran Target Groups

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

Legislative language for the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 is now available. The bill will extend WOTC categories for eligible veterans through December 31, 2012 but retains the current expiration date for all other categories. In other words, if a general extension of WOTC is not eventually included in a tax extender bill (or in some other legislation) the WOTC program will look very different in 2012.

A Senate Fact Sheet is available now with a summary of key provisions.

According to Paul Suplizio of the WOTC Coalition, this is not an unexpected development. (In fact, Paul as much as predicted this in a private correspondence to me on Tuesday afternoon — a day before the bill’s details became available.)

In the simplest terms, this veteran’s legislation involves more than the WOTC program and is written by veterans committees in Congress. Other tax issues, including an extension of the current WOTC program, must be dealt with by the tax-writing committees.

Lobbying efforts on multiple fronts continue to seek a general extension of WOTC.  The anticipated passage of this bill can only add momentum to that effort.

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Michigan State Tax Incentive Proposed for Hiring Unemployed Veterans

Wednesday, November 9th, 2011

State of Michigan Representative Charles Smiley (D)

Michigan State Representative Charles Smiley (Dem) is the leading sponsor for new state legislation that would offer a significant tax break to employers who hire an unemployed veteran.

House Bill 5144 . . . would provide 25 percent of compensation paid by an employer with less than 100 employees to their employee or $4,000, whichever is less.

“We must do better to make sure Michigan veterans get a good job” said Smiley, a member of the House Military and Veterans Affairs and Homeland Security Committee.

Read the article by Roberto Acosta.

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Senate Republicans Now Backing VOW to Hire Heroes Act

Tuesday, November 8th, 2011

Republican Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell told the Senate this morning that he would be voting FOR the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011, giving the nod for other Senate Republicans to support the measure. The act should now pass quickly through the Senate and the House.

According to Paul Suplizio, President of the WOTC Coalition, it’s somewhat unlikely that the legislation will change the current Work Opportunity Tax Credit (WOTC) program’s expiration date of December 31. We’ll know for sure later this week after legislative language has been written.

In any case, passage will be a strong token of approval for the WOTC program, helping to achieve the needed extension in another bill.  Adding these new incentives to hire unemployed veterans without extending the program would become an obvious farce.

Bottom line, it’s not over until it’s over. And it’s not over.

 

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Please Help Now – Support Passage of WOTC and the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011

Monday, November 7th, 2011

Important information today from Paul Suplizio President of the WOTC Coalition. As I mentioned yesterday, Senate Democrats hope to pass the veterans- and WOTC- related provisions of President Obama’s jobs bill this week as an amendment to a bill recently passed by the House with significant bipartisan support.

Today, Senator Majority Leader Harry Reid announced he would support bringing the measure to the Senate floor for a vote. He hopes to win sufficient bipartisan support to pass it by Veterans Day (this Friday).

 

Contacting Republican Congressional Leaders Will Be Key

Let me quote directly Mr. Suplizio.

 Whether [this bill] passes will be mostly up to Republican leaders, as most rank and file Republicans are waiting for their leaders to move. We have contacted Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and [House] Speaker John Boehner and urge veterans organizations and Coalition members with connection to these leaders through Kentucky or Ohio to reinforce the point by writing a brief line:

 “As Veterans Day approaches, we trust you will lead in urging Congress to acknowledge again the nation’s debt to those who have defended our liberties in armed conflict by according them the finest assistance possible in obtaining work when they return home. Please pass the VOW to Hire Heroes Act of 2011 as soon as possible.”

 

Key Provisions as outlined by Senate Democrats (Notice that the first three bullet points below are specific to WOTC):

* Tax credit of up to $5,600 for hiring veterans who have been looking for a job for more than six months

* Tax credit of up to $2,400 credit for hiring veterans who are unemployed for more than 4 weeks, but less than 6 months

* Tax credit of up to $9,600 for hiring veterans with service-connected disabilities who have been looking for a job for more than six months

* Makes the Transition Assistance Program (TAP)—an interagency workshop coordinated by Departments of Defense, Labor and Veterans Affairs—mandatory for service members moving on to civilian life to help them secure 21st Century jobs through resume writing workshops and career counseling

* Expands education and training opportunities for older veterans by providing 100,000 unemployed veterans of past eras and wars with up to 1-year of additional Montgomery GI benefits to go towards education or training programs at community colleges or technical schools

* Provides disabled veterans up to 1-year of additional Vocational Rehabilitation and Employment Benefits

* Allows service members to begin the federal employment process prior to separation in order to facilitate a truly seamless transition from the military to jobs at VA, Homeland Security, or the many other federal agencies in need of our veterans

 

Posted in Veterans, Work Opportunity Tax Credit | 1 Response »
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President Obama Pushes WOTC Expansion to Help Wounded Warriors and Returning Heroes

Friday, August 5th, 2011

Poster from Department of Veterans Affairs

This morning during a speech at the Washington Navy Yard, President Obama took notice of high unemployment among US military veterans. Although he did not mention the Work Opportunity Tax Credit (or WOTC) by name, he described two new or expanded hiring tax credits obviously designed to fit into the WOTC rubric.

Rebecca Kaplan of the National Journal published an article describing the event this morning.   The White House also published a fact sheet yesterday describing the proposals in some detail.

Thankfully, the Obama Administration has given the proposed tax credits exciting new names!  From the White House’s fact sheet:

 ******************************

Returning Heroes and Wounded Warrior Tax Credits

Under the Recovery Act, employers who hired certain unemployed veterans were eligible for a tax credit of up to 40 percent of the first $6,000 of wages, for a maximum credit of $2,400. This credit expired at the end of 2010.

The President will call for two new tax credits:

The Returning Heroes Tax Credit is a new hiring tax credit that will provide an incentive for firms to hire unemployed veterans.

* Short-term unemployed: A new credit of 40 percent of the first $6,000 of wages (up to $2,400) for employers who hire veterans who have been unemployed at least 4 weeks.

* Long-term unemployed: A new credit of 40 percent of the first $12,000 of wages (up to $4,800) for employers who hire veterans who have been unemployed longer than 6 months.

The Wounded Warrior Tax Credit will double the existing tax credit for long-term unemployed veterans with service-connected disabilities.

* Maintain the existing Work Opportunity Tax Credit for veterans with service-connected disabilities (currently the maximum is $4,800).

* A new credit of 40 percent of the first $24,000 of wages (up to $9,600) for firms that hire veterans with service-connected disabilities who have been unemployed longer than 6 months.

The paperwork process for claiming these credits will be simplified by streamlining the burdensome certification that firms had to undertake to claim previous credits.

 *******************************

As I reported previously, President Obama’s administration has expressed his support for extending the WOTC program at least through 2012.  

Interestingly, the last comment from the Fact Sheet about “streamlining the burdensome certification” process for these veteran categories appears to be an allusion to HR 2082 or the Work Opportunity Credit Improvements Act. 

Section 3 of HR 2082 is titled “Alternative Certification for Certain Targeted Groups.”  If enacted, Section 3 would sometimes allow employers to bypass the formal WOTC certification process although complete documentation of an employee’s eligibility would still be required.

HR 2082 does not (yet) include the new veteran categories offered by the White House; however, the obvious allusion to the existing bill’s streamlining provision suggests there may have been some coordination in the matter.   This should provide additional fuel for WOTC advocates supporting passage of HR 2082.

Posted in Federal Legislation, Veterans, Work Opportunity Tax Credit | 1 Response »
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More Senators Want to Reinstate Unemployed Veteran WOTC Group

Thursday, March 31st, 2011

U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal’s (D-CT) office issued the following press release yesterday. Interest in restoring WOTG Target Group “J” (Unemployed Veteran) has been growing since the legislation that created the category expired on December 31, 2010.  Target Group K (Disconnected Youth) also expired on December 31.

While this new legislation would reinstate the tax credit, the typical WOTC certification process would be in some manner bypassed for the sake of simplicity.  Based on the news coverage and press releases I have seen, it remains unclear to me if this credit would actually be part of the WOTC regime or if it would stand alone in some way separately. 

My guess is that it will be similar to the former Hurricane Katrina victims WOTC Group, which also did not require certification.  In that case, employees simply stated on their WOTC Prescreening Form that they lived in one of the counties affected by the Hurricane Katrina disaster.  I wll follow up on this question at another time. . . .

<begin press release:

Blumenthal Joins Bipartisan Call for Veterans Employment Tax Credit

Wednesday, March 30, 2011

(Washington, DC) – U.S. Senator Richard Blumenthal (D-CT) today announced that he is supporting and cosponsoring the bipartisan VETs Jobs Bill that would reinstate a tax credit for businesses that hire veterans who have left the service within the last five years. In addition, the bill would simplify the process for employers accessing the tax credit and for service members looking to prove their veteran status.

“Courageous men and women have served and sacrificed, and they deserve a pay check instead of an unemployment line,” said Blumenthal. “The unemployment rate for our veterans remains far too high and I am proud to join in this bipartisan effort to increase veterans’ job opportunities and provide resources to them and their families.”

Nationwide, the unemployment rate among Iraq and Afghanistan veterans averaged 11.5 percent in 2010, up from about 7 percent in 2008. This number is even higher for young veterans between the ages of 18 and 24 years old. The Department of Labor estimates that at least 1 in 5 young veterans are unemployed.

The VETs Jobs Bill, or Veterans Employment Transition Act, introduced by Senator Max Baucus (D-MT), reinstates a tax credit that expired in 2010 and aims to provide financial incentives for employers who make a commitment to hiring veterans. The tax credit is worth up to $2,400 per veteran hired. 

In addition, the bill makes it easier for employers to receive the tax credit by eliminating bureaucratic hurdles and simplifies the process for veterans seeking to document their service. Currently, the process of becoming a certified veteran is lengthy and the VETs Jobs Bill would allow discharge papers to be shown to allow employers to qualify for the credit.

Other co-sponsors of the VETs Jobs Bill include Senator Jon Tester (D-MT), Senator Chuck Grassley (R-IA) and Senator Richard Burr (R-NC). The VETs Jobs Bill is supported by the Iraq and Afghanistan Veterans of America (IAVA), the National Guard Association, and the Veterans of Foreign Wars.

# # #

Press Contact

Ty Matsdorf or Kate Hansen, (202) 224-2823
Ty_Matsdorf@blumenthal.senate.gov; Kate_Hansen@blumenthal.senate.gov

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