Wis. Stat. § 45.50
Veterans homes; management
Redline — January 1, 2003 → current.View current text →
Current — January 1, 2021
As of January 1, 2003
(1)
(a) Any person who has enlisted or enlists in or who has been or is inducted or ordered into active service in the U.S. armed forces pursuant to the selective training and service act of 1940 or the national guard and reserve officers mobilization act of 1940, the selective service act of 1948 and any acts amendatory thereof or supplementary thereto or P.L. 87-117 , and any person whose services are requested by the federal government for national defense work as a civilian during a period officially proclaimed to be a national emergency or a limited national emergency, who, in order to perform the training or service, has left or leaves a position, other than a temporary position, in the employ of any political subdivision of the state or in the employ of any private or other employer, shall be restored to such position or to a position of like seniority, status, pay and salary advancement as though service toward seniority, status, pay or salary advancement had not been interrupted by the absence; if:
1. The person presents to the employer evidence of satisfactory completion of the period of training or civilian service, or of discharge from the armed forces under conditions other than dishonorable;
2. The person is still qualified to perform the duties of such position;
3. The person makes application for reemployment and resumes work within 90 days after completion of the training or services, military or civilian, or was so discharged from the armed forces, or within 6 months after release from hospitalization for service-connected injury or disease;
4. The employer's circumstances have not so changed as to make it impossible or unreasonable to so restore the person; and
5. The military service was not for more than 4 years unless extended by law.
(b) In the event of any dispute arising under par. (a) , the matter shall be referred to the department of workforce development for determination except as the matters pertain to any classified employee of the state, in which case the matter shall be referred to the director of personnel. Orders and determinations of the department of workforce development under this section may be reviewed in the manner provided in ch. 227 .
(2) The service of any person who is or was restored to a position in accordance with sub. (1) shall be deemed not to be interrupted by the absence, except for the receipt of pay or other compensation for the period of the absence and he or she shall be entitled to participate in insurance, pensions, retirement plans or other benefits offered by the employer under established rules and practices relating to employees on furlough or leave of absence in effect with the employer at the time the person entered or was enlisted, inducted or ordered into the forces and service, and shall not be discharged from the position without cause within one year after restoration; and the discharge is subject to all federal or state law affecting any municipal or private employment; and subject to the provisions of contracts that may exist between employer and employee. Each county, town, city or village shall contribute or pay from September 16, 1940, all contributions of the employer to the applicable and existent pension, annuity or retirement system as though the service of the employee had not been interrupted by military service.
(3) If an employer fails or refuses to comply with subs. (1) and (2) , a person entitled to the benefits under subs. (1) and (2) may petition a court to require the employer to comply with those subsections. Upon the filing of the petition and on reasonable notice to the employer, the court may require the employer to comply with those subsections and to compensate the person for any loss of wages or benefits suffered by reason of the employer's unlawful action. The court shall order a speedy hearing and shall advance the case on the calendar. No fees or court costs shall be taxed against a person applying for these benefits. The action or proceeding commenced under this subsection against a private employer, and the trial or hearing thereof, shall be in any county in which the employment took place or in which the private employer maintains a place of business, and in all other cases shall be as provided in s. 801.50 . No person who is appointed in the service of the state or of any county, city, village or town to fill the place of a person entering the federal armed forces shall acquire permanent tenure during the period of replacement service.
(4) Any individual or employer aggrieved by the decision of the court provided in sub. (3) may appeal in accordance with the provisions of appealable orders referred to in chs. 808 and 809 ; and the employee need not file an appeal bond for the security for costs on said appeal.
(5) The restoration of classified employees of the state shall be governed by s. 230.32 . The restoration of unclassified state employees shall be governed by this section.
(1) Veterans Home at King. The department shall operate the Wisconsin Veterans Home at King and employ a commandant for the home.
(2b) Veterans Home at Union Grove. Subject to authorization under ss. 13.48 (10) and 20.924 (1) , the department may construct or renovate and operate residential, treatment, and nursing care facilities, including a community-based residential facility, to be known as the Wisconsin Veterans Home at Union Grove. The department shall employ a commandant for the Wisconsin Veterans Home at Union Grove.
(2d) Veterans Home at Chippewa Falls. Subject to authorization under ss. 13.48 (10) and 20.924 (1) , the department may develop, construct or renovate, and operate residential, treatment, and nursing care facilities and programs for veterans in northwestern Wisconsin, on the property of the Northern Wisconsin Center for the Developmentally Disabled in Chippewa Falls to be known as the Wisconsin Veterans Home at Chippewa Falls. The programs and facilities may include an assisted living facility, a skilled nursing facility, a medical clinic, an adult day health care center, an activities center, and a veterans assistance program. The department may employ a commandant for the Wisconsin Veterans Home at Chippewa Falls.
(2m) Services; staffing of homes.
(a) The department shall provide complete personal maintenance and medical care, including programs and facilities that promote comfort, recreation, well-being, or rehabilitation, to all members of veterans homes.
(b) The department may employ any personnel that are necessary for the proper management and operation of veterans homes. In compliance with the compensation plan established pursuant to s. 230.12 (3) , a commandant may recommend to the director of personnel charges for meals, living quarters, laundry, and other services furnished to employees and members of the employees' family maintained at veterans homes.
(c) For the Wisconsin Veterans Home at Chippewa Falls, in lieu of the department employing personnel as authorized under par. (b) and providing the maintenance and medical care as specified in par. (a) , the department may enter into an agreement with a private entity to operate the home and perform such management and care using personnel employed by the private entity.
(e) All moneys received as reimbursement for services to veterans homes employees or as payment for meals served to guests at veterans homes shall be accumulated in an account named “employee maintenance credits" and shall be paid into the general fund within one week after receipt and credited to the appropriation account under s. 20.485 (1) (gk) . This paragraph does not apply to any agreement entered into pursuant to par. (c) .
(f) The department may develop a program to provide stipends to individuals to attend school and receive the necessary credentials to become employed at veterans homes. If the department develops a stipend program under this paragraph, the department shall promulgate rules related to the program, including the application process, eligibility criteria, stipend amount, repayment provisions, and other provisions that the department determines are necessary to administer the program.
(3) Land acquisition. The department may acquire, by gift, purchase, or condemnation, lands necessary for the purposes of the veterans homes. Title to the lands shall be taken in the name of this state and shall be held by and for the uses and purposes of the veterans homes. No payment may be made out of the state treasury or otherwise for the land until the title has been examined and approved by the attorney general. Every such deed of conveyance shall be immediately recorded in the office of the proper register of deeds and filed with the secretary of state.
(4) Gifts and grants.
(a) The department may use moneys appropriated under s. 20.485 (1) (h) to purchase, erect, construct, or remodel buildings, to provide additions and improvements, to provide equipment, materials, supplies, and services necessary for the purposes of veterans homes, and for expenses that are necessary and incidental to acquisition of property under s. 45.51 (10) and (11) .
(b) The department may accept gifts, bequests, grants, or donations of money or of property from private sources to be administered by the department for the purposes of veterans homes. All moneys received shall be paid into the general fund and appropriated as provided in s. 20.485 (1) (h) . The department may not apply to the gifts and bequests fund interest on certificate of savings deposits for those members who do not receive maximum monthly retained income. The department shall establish for those persons upon their request individual accounts with savings and interest applied as the member requests.
(6) Water and sewer services.
(a) The department may enter into agreements for furnishing and charging for water and sewer service from facilities constructed at and for veterans homes to public and private properties lying in the immediate vicinity of veterans homes.
(b) Agreements under this subsection shall be drafted to hold harmless the department, to require all expense to be paid by the applicant, and to be terminable by the department when other water and sewer services become available to the applicant.
(7) Enforcement authority. A commandant and employees designated by the commandant may summarily arrest all persons within or upon the grounds of veterans homes who are guilty of any offense against the laws of this state or the rules governing veterans homes. For this purpose, a commandant and deputies have the power of constables.
(8) Fire fighting services. A fire department at a veterans home in response to emergency fire calls may make runs and render fire fighting service beyond the confines of a veterans home.
(10) Hospitals authorized. The department may establish a hospital at a veterans home. All hospitals established under this subsection may not have a total approved bed capacity, as defined in s. 150.01 (4m) , greater than 16 beds. The approved bed capacity of a skilled nursing facility operated at a veterans home is reduced by one bed for each approved bed at the hospital established under this subsection at that home.
(11) Medical assistance assessment exemption. A Wisconsin veterans home is exempt from paying any assessment imposed on the licensed beds in the home under s. 50.14 (2) (am) .
(12) Natural disaster or state of emergency. The department may expend moneys from the appropriation under s. 20.485 (1) (ks) to pay any necessary costs to prepare for or respond to the emergency at a veterans home. The department may expend moneys under this subsection only after all funds allocated by the federal government to veterans homes in this state for purposes of responding to the emergency have been exhausted.
Official source: Wisconsin State Legislature. Reproduced from public-domain Wisconsin statutes; confirm against the official source for the current text. Not legal advice.