(1) GOOD CAUSE
CIRCUMSTANCES. The FEP shall determine if a W-2 employment participant had good
cause for not complying with the W-2 participation requirements or for failing
to appear in person or by representative at a scheduled review under s.
49.152(2),
Stats. No good cause shall exist unless the participant provides timely
notification of the good cause reason to the FEP. Good cause shall be any of
the following circumstances:
(a) A required
court appearance, including a required court appearance for a victim of
domestic abuse.
(b) Necessary child
care is unavailable and the W-2 agency is unable to provide child care or refer
the participant to alternate child care arrangements.
(c) Lack of transportation with no reasonable
alternative, as determined by the FEP. In determining the reasonableness of
transportation alternatives, the FEP shall consider the length of the
participant's commute, participant safety, the cost of the transportation
relative to the participant's income, and other relevant factors.
(d) Participant or W-2 group member's
illness, injury, disability, or incapacity.
(e) Accommodations that have been determined
necessary in a formal assessment are not available to allow the participant to
complete the assigned activity.
(f)
Conflict with another assigned W-2 activity or job search attempts.
(g) Inclement weather that impedes
transportation or travel.
(h)
School emergency.
(i) Domestic
violence issues.
(j) Observance of
a religious holiday.
(k) Routine
medical or school appointments that cannot be scheduled at times other than
during assigned activities.
(l)
Child's school holiday, excluding summer break.
(m) Any day that the worksite or training
site is closed due to a site-specific holiday.
(n) Death in the participant's immediate
family. For purposes of this paragraph:
1.
"Immediate family" means a participant's spouse, nonmarital co-parent,
step-parent, grandparent, foster parent, child, step-child, grandchild, foster
child, brother and his spouse, sister and her spouse, aunt, uncle, son-in-law,
daughter-in-law, cousin, niece and nephew of the participant or the
participant's spouse or nonmarital co-parent, and other relatives of the
participant or the participant's spouse or nonmarital co-parent if these other
relatives reside in the same household as the participant.
2. A participant may be granted good cause
for no more than 3 business days if only local travel is necessary to attend
the funeral services. A participant may be granted good cause for no more than
7 business days if long-distance travel is required to attend the funeral
services. In general, the good cause period may not exceed the week following
the death of a member of the participant's immediate family, but the FEP may
lengthen the timeframe for good cause depending upon individual
circumstances.
(o) Other
circumstances beyond the control of the participant, but only as determined by
the FEP. The FEP shall consider what a reasonable employer may allow under its
absence policy and hardships that make completing activities and notifying the
agency of missed activities more difficult for W-2 participants.
(2) TIMELY NOTIFICATION. The
participant shall notify the FEP of the good cause reason within 7 business
days after an absence from a required activity to prevent a payment reduction
under s.
49.148(1) (b) 1., (b) 3., or (c), Stats.
(3) WRITTEN DOCUMENTATION. In making a good
cause determination, the FEP may require that the W-2 employment position
participant provide written documentation that good cause existed before
accepting a good cause reason for a participant's absence from required
activities if both of the following apply:
(a)
The participant has a pattern of absences of more than 3 consecutive days or
more than 5 days in a rolling 30-day period. An absence means being absent from
any one required activity. A pattern of absences may include past absences for
which a good cause reason was accepted.
(b) The FEP has reason to believe that the
participant is misusing the good cause policy.
