Section 108.152. Financing benefits for employees of Indian tribes.

 

(1)   Election of reimbursement financing. Each Indian tribe that is an employer may, in lieu of paying contributions under ss. 108.17 and 108.18 , elect reimbursement financing for itself as a whole or for any tribal units or combinations of tribal units that are wholly owned subdivisions, subsidiaries, or business enterprises, as of the beginning of any calendar year, subject to the following conditions:

(a) The Indian tribe or tribal unit shall file a written notice of the election with the department before the beginning of that year except that, if the Indian tribe or tribal unit became an employer as of the beginning of that year, it shall file the notice within 30 days after the date of the determination that it is an employer.

(b) An Indian tribe or tribal unit whose election of reimbursement financing is terminated under sub. (2) (a) may not thereafter reelect reimbursement financing unless it has been subject to the contribution requirements of ss. 108.17 and 108.18 for at least 3 calendar years thereafter and is not, at the time of filing such reelection, delinquent under s. 108.22 .

(d) If the Indian tribe or tribal unit is an employer prior to the effective date of an election, ss. 108.17 and 108.18 shall apply to all employment prior to the effective date of the election, but after all benefits based on prior employment have been charged to any account that it has had under s. 108.16 (2) , the department shall transfer any positive balance or charge any negative balance remaining therein to the balancing account as if s. 108.16 (6) (c) and (6m) (d) applied.

(2)   Termination of election.

(a) An Indian tribe or tribal unit that elected reimbursement financing may terminate its election as of the close of the 2nd calendar year to which the election applies, or at the close of any subsequent calendar year, by filing a written notice of termination with the department before the close of that year.

(b) If an Indian tribe or tribal unit terminates an election under this subsection, the employer's contribution rate is 2.5 percent on its payroll for each of the next 3 calendar years.

(4)   Reimbursement account. The department shall maintain a reimbursement account, as a subaccount of the fund's balancing account, for each Indian tribe, tribal unit, or combination of tribal units in accordance with any valid election made under subs. (1) and (5) and subject to the procedures and conditions provided for other employers under s. 108.151 (5) .

(5)   Group reimbursement account. An Indian tribe that has elected reimbursement financing for tribal units or one or more combinations of tribal units may request to have specified tribal units treated as one employer for purposes of this chapter. The department shall approve any such request subject to the following conditions:

(a) The tribal units shall be so treated for a period of at least the 3 calendar years following their request, unless their election of reimbursement financing is terminated under sub. (2) or (6) , but the Indian tribe may discontinue the treatment as of the beginning of any calendar year following that period by filing notice with the department prior to the beginning of that calendar year.

(b) The tribal units shall be jointly and severally liable for any required reimbursements, together with any interest thereon and any penalties or tardy filing fees.

(c) The Indian tribe shall designate one or more individuals to act as an agent for all members of the group for all fiscal and reporting purposes under this chapter.

(6)   Failure to make required payments.

(a) If an Indian tribe or tribal unit fails to pay required contributions, reimbursements in lieu of contributions, penalties, interest, fees, or assessments within 90 days of the time that the department transmits to the tribe a final notice of delinquency:

1. The department shall immediately notify the federal internal revenue service and the federal department of labor of that failure.

2. Any valid election of reimbursement financing is terminated as of the end of the current calendar year.

3. The department may consider the Indian tribe not to be an employer and may consider services performed for the tribe not to be employment for purposes of this chapter.

(b) An Indian tribe whose prior election of reimbursement financing has been terminated under par. (a) may not thereafter reelect reimbursement financing unless it has been subject to the contribution requirements of ss. 108.17 and 108.18 for at least one calendar year thereafter and is not delinquent under s. 108.22 at the time that it files a request for reelection.

(c) The final notice of delinquency specified in par. (a) shall include information that failure to make full payment within the prescribed time will cause the Indian tribe to be liable for taxes under the federal Unemployment Tax Act ( 26 USC 3301 , et seq.), will cause the tribe to be precluded from electing reimbursement financing, and may cause the department to determine that the tribe is not an employer and that services performed for the tribe are not employment for purposes of this chapter.

(7)   Reports. Each Indian tribe that is an employer shall make employment and wage reports to the department under the same conditions that apply to other employers.

2001 a. 35 , 105 ; 2005 a. 86 ; 2007 a. 59 ; 2009 a. 287 ; 2015 a. 334 .