Why would the Wisconsin Association of Staffing Services hire a lobbyist?
Why would we need your financial assistance?

As an association, non-profit, or corporation identifies its legislative goals and objectives, strengths and opportunities, limitations and threats, the organization also needs to determine if they have the internal resources to address the identified issues, or if they need help from the outside.  One important question that continuously arises is whether or not staff and board members have the time to effectively manage governmental activities.  Many organizations decide to contract with a government relations team to manage specific legislative efforts at the local, state, and federal level. 

The decision to hire an experienced government relations team will benefit our association by staying on top of issues important to our business, enabling us to act quickly and effectively when necessary.  In politics, outside appearances bear little resemblance to reality.  Having a good team on the ground, monitoring issues and educating decision makers about the nuances of our industry is vital in furthering our agenda and provides us with a distinct advantage over our competitors.

Probably the single most critical issue we’re facing at the state level today are the so-called “fair share” health insurance bills being promoted by the AFL-CIO in 28 states this year including Wisconsin.  They present the most serious economic challenge ever to the staffing industry.  The Wisconsin bill would have applied to employers with over 10,000 employees, but there is a great danger that new bills will be introduced next year that will cover employers with far fewer workers and would cover most staffing firms.  A bill in New York this year would have imposed a $3.00 per hour per employee charge on employers that would have wiped out the entire profits of the industry.

Another perennial danger are so-called temporary worker “bill of rights” proposals, also sponsored by the unions.  These would impose costly operating burdens on staffing firms, including detailed written job descriptions prior to assignment, disclosure to employees of client bill rates, and mandated wage and benefit parity with the client’s regular workforce.  Such bills have been introduced in over a dozen states in the last several years and some provisions, such as the employee notice requirements, have passed in Illinois and New Mexico creating significant operating issues.

Other issues that may affect the staffing industry during the upcoming session:

•    Taxation issues--continued efforts by the Department of Revenue to tax services provided by the staffing industry;
•    Monitor possible changes to Labor Regulations--there are annual amendments to the unemployment compensation and workman's compensation statutes and rules, among other issues like the minimum wage and employer/employee workplace requirements that continually arise.