DWD Bulletin - April 19, 2012

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SECRETARY'S COLUMN Dear Colleagues: The 2012 Milwaukee Manufacturing Career Expo is shaping up to be an extraordinary recruiting event. With 21 days to go, we have registered 37 employers, including Briggs & Stratton, P&H Mining Equipment and Super Steel. Only Milwaukee area manufacturers with job openings can participate in the career expo from 10 a.m. to 3 p.m., Thursday, May 10, at the State Fair Park Exposition Center. All job seekers must register in advance and get a ticket. Since the March 30 announcement of the expo, weve been taking every opportunity to promote the event and tell Milwaukee area manufacturers and job seekers especially that the expo will take recruiting to a new level. Efforts include an email blast to nearly 1,300 metro area job seekers, urging them to act now, register and get the required admission ticket. Working closely with our partners, weve been screening job seekers to make sure they have an updated resume, that they know what to expect in the application process, and that they are well prepared and ready to work. Weve got more to do in the remaining 21 days, but I want to thank Employment and Training Division Administrator Lisa Boyd and her crew, in particular Brian Solomon, the Job Service Bureau Director, and Carol Burgett, Amy Charles and many others in the Job Service Bureau who have been working to make this a success. What we have planned at State Fair Park on May 10 promises to become the model for future recruiting events, and it is illustrative of our efforts to connect job seekers to jobs, a primary goal of our Strategic Plan. As we focus on the Milwaukee Manufacturing Career Expo and the need to connect employers and job seekers in Milwaukee, I am mindful of the good work all of you are doing throughout the agency. It is an honor and a privilege to lead this agency and work with you in serving the people of Wisconsin. Sincerely,

DWD Strategic Plan Last fall, Secretary Newson presented the DWD Strategic Plan to focus the efforts and energies of all employees on fulfilling DWD's mission and vision. Our mission is advancing Wisconsins economy and business climate by empowering and supporting the workforce. Our vision is to make Wisconsin the workforce of choice. Every employee has a role to play, and as a regular feature in the Bulletin, we highlight the contributions of individuals, working to help DWD achieve goals of the Strategic Plan and

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fulfill its mission and vision.

Jill Moksouphanh helps increase UI program integrity

Name: Jill Moksouphanh Position: Adjudication Leadworker, Division of Unemployment Insurance Location: UI Call Center, Madison Years of Service: Almost 10 years

Goal No. 3: Achieve Unemployment Insurance Solvency & Increase Program Integrity Please introduce yourself and tell us how long you've been with DWD. My name is Jill Moksouphanh and I'm an Unemployment Benefits Specialist 4, Leadworker, and I've been with DWD for almost 10 years. Can you tell us a little about your job? Our main job duty is to resolve benefit eligibility issues and we do that by investigating unemployment insurance claims. For example, if someone for wants Unemployment benefits, but has been fired, we will investigate the claim. After we talk to the employer and the claimant, we'll make a formal legal determination letting them know if they're eligible for benefits. As a Leadworker I have additional duties that include providing technical assistance to the staff members of my office, training new staff, providing quality reviews and attending Rapid Responses. DWD's Strategic Plan has a number of goals. How do you help provide, and where possible, improve the services DWD delivers? Unemployment Insurance program integrity is really important and one way we maintain integrity is by making sure we're training staff to interpret and apply the law properly. This is important as it's going to help us make quality decisions.

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As a Leadworker, providing technical assistance is going to assure that cases are done without errors and without misinterpretation of the law. We want to be sure that only people who are really eligible to receive the unemployment benefits are receiving them. Also, we're taking a hard look at claimants who aren't attending the reemployment services at the Job Center. If they're not attending the services that are meant to get people back work, we're going to investigate that and potentially suspend their unemployment benefits. Another way that the integrity of the program is being maintained is that we're taking a hard look at people who are committing unemployment fraud. For example, they're working, but not reporting their wages. We're working hard to adjudicate those claims in a timely manner and stop the offenders and impose penalties if necessary. What do you enjoy most about your job? One of the things I really like about my job is that I start a case and I finish the case. I do the full investigation and I make the benefit determination myself. I get a lot of satisfaction knowing that I'm paying the benefits that are due and could potentially help someone pay their bills that month (or not). On the flipside, if someone isn't due unemployment I like that I'm helping preserve the unemployment reserve fund. As a Leadworker, I like being able to watch and help my adjudicators succeed in my unit. Larry Studesville Returns to DWD as Deputy ASD Administrator On Tuesday, April 10, Administrative Services Division Administrator Kathleen Reed announced Larry Studesvilles return to DWD as ASD Deputy Administrator. Studesville worked recently for the City of Madison, for three years, as Grants Administrator and Interim Director of Civil Rights. Prior to that, he worked as the Interim Director of Marketing and Membership for the Greater Madison Chamber of Commerce. From 1999 to 2007, he was with DWD as Executive Assistant and then ASD Division Administrator. In April 2007, he left the department on sabbatical. His career also includes work in the private sector in the utility area. We are very excited to have Larry back at DWD, ASD Administrator Reed said in announcing the appointment. I enjoy the staff at this agency, consider them to be the best, he said. I am looking forward to my ASD assignment and hope to add value. Administrator Reed recently announced two additional appointments. With the creation of the Office of Policy and Budget now reporting to the Secretarys Office, ASD made the following organizational changes:

Tami Moe has been named Bureau Director for the Bureau of Finance in ASD. Tami started working for the State of Wisconsin 24 years ago. She spent the first four years as an auditor at the Legislative Audit Bureau before moving to the Department of Veterans Affairs, where she worked for six years an Accountant. Tami started with DWD 14 years ago in the Bureau of Finance, first as a Unit Supervisor and then Section Chief. Tami earned her MBA in Accounting from the University of Wisconsin-Madison and is also a CPA. Kurtis Bock has been named Supervisor of the newly formed Office of Procurement in ASD. Kurtis started in DWD in January 2011 as the Data Warehouse Supervisor and subsequently took on additional duties as Procurement Supervisor. Prior to DWD, Kurtis worked for the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs. Kurtis earned his undergraduate degree in Accounting from Upper Iowa University and a Master's degree in Public Administration from National University.

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Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day REGISTRATION DEADLINE IS FRIDAY, APRIL 20, 2012 DWD will hold the annual event with scheduled activities in GEF-1 on April 26th 2012. The 2012 theme is Build Opportunity: 20 Years of Education, Empowerment, Experience. Check out the Take Our Daughters and Sons to Work Day website for complete details. You can also find details about this year's national event and its theme at the Foundation's website. A welcome breakfast with Deputy Secretary Jonathan Barry will be served at 8:30 am. To help celebrate the day, Secretary Newson is encouraging DWD employees in offices throughout the state to plan activities for these young visitors so that our daughters and sons can see how their parents, grandparents or significant adults in their lives spend their time at work. The day presents all with a wonderful opportunity to share their work day with these young visitors. Schedule of Events Please consider this excellent opportunity to educate and empower a young person in your life. BITS Bytes TECHNOLOGY TRUMPS OTHER LUXURIES FOR SOME Do you take your phone everywhere? Sneak peeks at Twitter during the day? Shudder at going without the Internet? Youre not alone. Recent surveys show more than half of Americans would go without other luxuries for a week before giving up their phones. Not surprisingly, smart phone users were more attached to their devices than were feature phone users. More than half of Americans would spend a week without their significant other, caffeine, chocolate, exercise, shoes and even their toothbrushrather than go a week without their phone. The addiction has been described by some people as going 24 hours without Internet akin to quitting a cigarette habit. About 40 percent of those in a TeleNav survey reported feeling lonely without the Internet and 53 percent felt upset at being deprived. A University of Maryland survey reported students who faced a day-long Internet and media blackout began to display symptoms of withdrawal. The participants reported feeling boredom, distress and a sense of being out of touch with society. Before the digital age, the mail would come once a day. Now it can come any second. Some people have become obsessed with being connected. According to the WebMD, this frenzy has had an impact on relationships and families, knocking our work-life balance off kilter. The constant interruptions can take a toll on our bodies and mental states. Multitasking can cause the brain to overheat, similar to a car engine. The brain needs breaks and recovery periods. If we dont prioritize, we can end up going every different direction and not do anything particularly well. By de-stressing and prioritizing, physical health, longevity and enjoyment of life gets better.

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We need to be clear about what matters most. But it wont happen automatically. Here are some tips for better managing our time and priorities: 1. Experiment with short periods of inaccessibility as with any addition there is a period of withdrawal and anxiety 2. Leave your smart phone at home once a week Saturdays might be the best day to start; the psychological recovery it can offer will pay dividends 3. Set a "not-to-do" list -- put boundaries around when and what you check on your smart phone 4. ELIMINATE rather than STREAMLINE whenever possible if you have an addictive impulse with an application, website, etc. stop using it 5. Buddy up ask a spouse or friend to help you enforce your new rules 6. Learn moderation some technology is great for you, some not so good Sources: TeleNav, Intersperience, University of Maryland, WebMD Division of Unemployment Insurance Receives Treasury Department Award for National Leadership in UI Debt Collection Last year, Wisconsin and New York became the first states to take part in an expanded debt collection program led by the U.S. Department of Treasury. Since 1997, the Department of Treasury has been intercepting federal income tax refunds to help states collect delinquent child support, state income taxes and other state debt. Under the federal Claims Resolution Act of 2010, the Treasury Offset Program was expanded to include collection of unemployment compensation debts. As the first states taking part in the expanded TOP effort, Wisconsin provided the federal agency lists of individuals with On April 5, Tom McHugh, Director of the UI Unemployment Insurance debt. So far, Wisconsin has collected Tax and Accounting Bureau, receives award more than $12 million. On April 5, the Division of from Steve Matteson, Chief, Safeguard Unemployment Review Team, Internal Revenue Service, Department of the Treasury. Insurance received an award for its early participation and success in collecting UI debt in partnership with the Department of Treasury.Tom McHugh, Director of the UI Tax and Accounting Bureau, received the IRS Office of Safeguard Directors Award. IRS Safeguard Review Team Chief Steve Matteson presented the award on behalf of Office of Safeguard Director Janet Miner. In accepting the award, McHugh said that his colleagues deserved credit for Wisconsins successful collection, most notably DWD Tech Support, UI Application Development, Automation Security, and the UI Bureau of Tax and Accounting. Wisconsin Public Employers Group Life Insurance Plan Amended The Wisconsin Group Insurance Board recently approved a plan amendment to the Wisconsin Public Employers (WPE) Group Life Insurance program that allows an employee to enroll or add one level of life insurance coverage due to a qualifying family status change event. The plan amendment is effective May 1, 2012.

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This amendment allows an employee who gains a dependent to enroll in or increase group life insurance coverage by one level without the need to provide satisfactory evidence of insurability, if the application is filed within 30 days of one of the following events:

the date of the employee's marriage; the date the employee establishes a domestic partnership for Wis. Stat. Chapter 40 benefit purposes; or the date of birth, adoption, placement for adoption, or award of legal guardianship of the employees dependent child.

If a qualifying event occurs while the employee is on an unpaid leave of absence, during which time insurance lapsed, the employee has 30 days from the date of return to work to apply. The policy change is on a prospective basis only. No changes will be allowed for qualifying events that occurred prior to May 1, 2012. Employees will be able to increase coverage on themselves by one level for each qualifying event, up to the plan maximum of 5 levels. This policy amendment applies to Employee coverage only. The enrollment period for Spouse & Dependent coverage has not changed. Employees may enroll for Spouse & Dependent coverage only within 30 days of: 1. first becoming eligible for WPE Group Life Insurance, or 2. the date an insured employee first has a dependent to insure, if the employee had no dependents when initially eligible. The following forms have been updated to reflect this policy change: Wisconsin Public Employers Group Life Insurance plan booklet (ET-2101) Life Insurance Application/Cancellation/Refusal form (ET-2304) Questions should be directed to Jessica Peterson, Payroll & Benefit Specialist Confidential @ 608-2666474 Donate Your Gently-Used Cell Phones for Soldiers The Department of Workforce Development (DWD) has joined with other state government agencies to collect gently-used cell phones for donation to the non-profit, Cell Phones for Soldiers. An all employee message urging donations was sent early last week. And as noted in the email, and below, all donations should be made by the end of the day, this coming Monday, April 23. Cell Phones for Soldiers is dedicated to providing deployed and returning troops from all branches of the armed services with a costfree method to communicate with their loved ones. Each recipient of a cell phone also receives two 100-minute calling cards. Founded in 2004 by 12-year-old Robbie Bergquist and his 13-year-old sister, Brittany, this program has recycled over 8.3 million cell phones and supplied them to service members to help keep military families connected. If you would like to participate, look for drop boxes that will be set up in the coming days at GEF-1, our 22 comprehensive Job Centers, along with UI Call Centers, hearing offices and other main work areas. Upon donation, each phone will be wiped of all previous data by DOAs Division of Enterprise

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Technology. Donating phones you are no longer using is a great way to support the men and women serving our country in honor of the Year of the Veteran. For those interested in participating:

All donations should be turned in to the drop box locations by end of business on Monday, April 23rd. Turn off service and remove the v-card from phones before donation. Chargers are also welcome for donation. There will a waiver that must be signed for each phone donated. DWD will arrange to send donated phones and accompanying waivers to DOA. DOA will "wipe" or delete the information on the phones before they are donated.

For more information about the charity, please visit www.cellphonesforsoldiers.com. Thank you so much for your support and contribution to this program. GEF1 Electrical Power Shutdown on May 5, 2012 TURN OFF ALL GEF1 OFFICE PCS, PRINTERS, OTHER DEVICES COB FRIDAY, MAY 4TH! On Saturday, May 5, starting at 3 p.m., Department of Administration electricians will be doing electrical work that will cause rolling power outages. The Technical Support Section in the Bureau of Information Technology Services (BITS) will shut down all servers and the storage system before the electrical work begins. During the power outage, the following will not be available: All application, web, and database servers, Thin Client access, file services (H: and S: drives) and storage system access. BITS Computer Platform Services has made arrangements to monitor mainframe jobs during the outage. All GEF1 PCs, printers, multifunction devices, and other personal items in work areas will need to be shut off by end of day Friday, May 4. It is anticipated all systems should be up and operational by 7:00 pm Saturday, May 5. Testing will not be required when systems become operational. Anyone that would like to check out applications and systems after the work has been completed may contact Duane Eide by email or phone, 608-267-9758, no later than 12:00 pm May 2 to make arrangements. TSS will send a notification once all equipment is back up and operational. Unemployment Insurance Length of Service Awards On Tuesday, March 27, the Milwaukee Benefit Center held their Employee Length of Service awards ceremony. Craig Barkelar, Unemployment Insurance Division Administrator, presided over the ceremonies and helped honor those that had reached 5, 10, 15, 20, 25 and 35 years of service! Lutfi Shahrani, Bureau Director; Bill Brueggeman, Claims Director; and Jason Schunk, Disputed Claims Supervisor, also came to enjoy the ceremony and cake. Congratulations and a big thank you to all for their years of service.

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Here are the staff that celebrated their 20+ years of service with us. 20 Years of Service

Patricia Woodard Angel Rivera

25 Years of Service

Jackie Dixon

25 Years of Service

Joan Cooper

Evacuation Stair Chair Training DWD and DCF have evacuation stair chairs on the 2nd, 3rd and 4th floors as part of the GEF-1 Emergency Evacuation Plan to assist mobility impaired individuals. We are offering training on use of the chairs to evacuate mobility impaired individuals. This training will support the Evacuation of Mobility Impaired Individuals Guidelines. This will be an onsite training demonstration for the use of the stair chair for rescue of mobility impaired individuals. The vendor-provided sessions will cover:

Details about the evacuation stair chair Q&A time in the classroom setting Instruction on use of the chair There will be a hands-on time to be transported yourself or to transport a rider down the stairs. Volunteers must feel physically capable and comfortable doing either.

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Who should attend from DWD and DCF?

Staff who were trained in 2009 this will be a refresher for you Floor captains Mobility impaired employees Designated persons, volunteer buddies, and back-ups Individuals who are interested in becoming volunteer buddies and back-ups Safety and risk personnel Human resources staff

Training Sessions in GEF1, Room F305 Wednesday, June 27, 2012

8:30-9:00 am 9:15-9:45 am 10:00-10:30 am 10-45-11:15 am

DWD staff should register via DWD Campus. DCF staff should notify Shelley Ringelstetter (266-1810) or Lorrie Simmons (261-4424) for the preferred session. Please get supervisor approval to attend. Future refresher training will be provided periodically. A training DVD is also available through the following contacts:

DWD Jeanne Benck, Rm. G400, GEF1 DCF - Nancy Buckwalter, Rm. G200, GEF1 Dane County Job Center Hosts Madison Labor Law Clinic

AMERICAN FAMILY HEADQUARTERS SITE OF MARCH 21ST LABOR LAW CLINIC The beautiful American Family Headquarters on American Parkway was the location for DWD's ever popular labor Law Clinic on March 21, 2012. The day long session was attended by 108 participants representing 84 employers. Clinic topics included:

A review of JobCenterofWisconsin.com Deciding Who Is Eligible for Unemployment Insurance Benefits An overview of Wisconsin's Labor Standards Laws Understanding the Principles of Worker's Compensation Law Fair Employment Law Basics

Gretchen Wendt's (seated, center) session was so popular participants and their questions spilled over into foyer during the break. This sight was repeated throughout the day as each DWD speaker concluded their session.

Labor Law Clinics are offered to employers at various locations throughout WI during the year. Service Dog Nominates Ken Ewers As "World's Best Dog Walker" MOZART GETTING SPECIAL TREATMENT

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It was "friendship at first sight" for Jeanne Tregoning's service dog, Mozart, and Bureau of Financial Management Accountant, Ken Ewers. It is unclear at press time what Mozart's official title is here at DWD, but we do know that Jeanne works in Administrative Services as a Policy Advisor working with grants. Ken has an affinity for Golden Retrievers and once owned a dog that looked very much like Mozart. Apparently that was all that it took for Ken to volunteer his services to walk Mozart every day that he's here. Walks are at a slow, relaxed pace as Mozart is 13 years old and Ken is just looking to take a little break. When asked to share something personal about Mozart, Jeanne seemed almost embarrassed to admit that he only knew 21 commands. According to her, Mozart's predecessor, Einstein, knew 81 commands. She was careful to explain that Mozart's lack of training was due to her job at the Department of Corrections and not his commitment to her. She also mentioned that the 21 commands he knows are the 21 important ones. You can't question the commitment of a dog that retired at age ten, but came out of retirement to serve Jeanne. Retirements Mark Rosas, an employee of the Non-Automated Claims Section, Unemployment Insurance Division is retiring after 21 years. A retirement gathering will be held on Thursday April 26 from 1:30 pm - 3 pm in GEF-1, Room H405. Please join Mark for some punch and goodies. Mark's love of books and sense of humor will be greatly missed. Best of luck on your new journey! In Memoriam JOYCE LARSON Joyce L. Larson, 72, Wisconsin Rapids, passed away on Thursday, March 8, 2012. Joyce was a Job Service Specialist based in Wisconsin Rapids, she retired about 10 years ago. She was employed by DWD for about 20 years, stating with UI then moving to Job Service. Joyce worked in the Wisconsin Rapids, and Marshfield offices during her career. View Joyce Larson's complete obituary

Becca Ramirez - Employment and Training Specialist, Milwaukee Benefit Center I wanted to send a thank you for your time and energy. Your presentation was fantastic and I have received numerous emails over the past two days mentioning how informative and

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thought provoking it was. Submitted by Anne Welter

Unemployment Insurance Division staff I would like to express my upmost appreciation for the awesome customer services your employees convey when assisting new users of your online reporting website. The person I spoke to made my day! Submitted by Tom McHugh

Orlando Taylor - Resource Room Specialist, Job Center Northeast, Milwaukee Mr. Taylor was recognized by a person he assisted who found employment with Bradley Golden Living Center as a supervisor cook. The information provided in the Resource Room is amazing. Thanks for everything. Submitted by Laneice McGee

Mark Shore - Administrative Law Judge, Madison The Worker's Compensation Division received a letter from a customer expressing his thanks to ALJ Mark Shore for the time and advice he provided to him to resolve his worker's compensation claim. He states, "You were generous with your time and knowledge. I truly appreciate it." Submitted by James O'Malley

Editor's Notes
Thank you for taking the time to read the Bulletin. It is our hope that the information found here will be of value to our readers. Most Bulletin stories come from employees, which is how we like it. Please feel free to make a submission in the future. Send a retirement announcement, a thank you note, story and/or photo of something you'd like to share with other employees. Check out the Bulletin story submission guidelines and then be sure to submit a story idea for the Bulletin.

Last Revised: April 19, 2012

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