Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez secured Republican support for her resolution and, unlike the Hispanic Caucus, was able to get a scheduled floor vote. Ortiz-Velez speaks at a press conference in January. Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner.

Monday marks the start of Hispanic Heritage Month, and this year’s celebration could be the first time that the Wisconsin Legislature officially recognizes the month. 

Assembly Joint Resolution 83 recognizes that Hispanic Heritage Month runs from Sept. 15 through Oct. 15 and that it presents an opportunity to honor the contributions of Hispanics and Latinos to the “past, present and future” of Wisconsin and the country. The month starts halfway through September because Sept. 15 marks the anniversary of independence from Spanish rule for  several Central American countries, including Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras and Nicaragua.

The Assembly unanimously passed the resolution authored by Milwaukee Democrat Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez, though its journey to the floor was marred by a public dispute among Democratic lawmakers. Black History Month resolutions have also stirred controversy in the past and for many years faced roadblocks to passage. This year the Black History Month resolution passed smoothly. 

Ortiz-Velez authored her resolution after she was not included as an author on a similar effort  by members of the Hispanic Legislative Caucus. Ortiz-Velez had declined to join the newly formed caucus, and its members explained that the authors of their resolution were exclusively  caucus members. 

Ortiz-Velez’s resolution differed from the caucus version in that it doesn’t honor the work of any specific individuals. 

Ortiz-Velez secured Republican support for her resolution and, unlike the Hispanic Caucus, was able to get a scheduled floor vote.

Ortiz-Velez said on the floor that in writing her resolution she “wanted to make sure that I focused on the values that bind us together, so everyone can feel that they were included and had a seat at the table.” She noted in her speech that Hispanic and Latino people make up 7.8% of the state’s population — the largest minority group in Wisconsin. 

“Across the state, Hispanic and Latino families are helping revitalize small towns and urban neighborhoods by opening businesses and buying homes and restoring vacant properties, supporting local schools and churches,” Ortiz-Velez said. “Hispanic and Latino Wisconsinites share the same core values… faith, family, hard work and service to community and country.”

The resolution states that Hispanic and Latino people settled in the area before Wisconsin achieved statehood in 1848 and that the 20th century was a time when Central and South Americans increasingly migrated to Wisconsin for work, becoming a “vital part of Wisconsin’s agricultural economy.”

“Wisconsin has become home to more than 450,000 Hispanics and Latinos, who represent one of the fastest-growing demographic groups in the state,” the resolution states. “Hispanics and Latinos live and work all across the state, enriching and revitalizing rural and urban communities alike.” 

It also recognizes that Hispanic and Latino residents have served as elected officials and “have risked their lives to defend the United States in every armed conflict in modern history.” 

Several lawmakers spoke in favor of the resolution ahead of the unanimous vote last week, including Rep. Priscilla Prado (D-Milwaukee), the leader of the Hispanic Legislative Caucus. 

Prado said the resolution was a “long overdue acknowledgment of the meaningful contributions that Hispanic communities have made to our great state.” 

“Unity is possible, even if we disagree on other issues, and at a time when division can feel ever so present, this resolution promises to lean into our shared humanity. It is not about winners or losers. It’s about the community I represent, and that I identify with,” Prado said. “Today, let’s pass this resolution, not just as a formality, but with excitement and heartfelt recognition to our Hispanic communities and their contribution to our great state.” 

Ortiz-Velez said in a statement that if the resolution passes the Senate, it will be the first time a joint resolution recognizing Hispanic Heritage Month will have ever passed the full Legislature. 

The resolution also has bipartisan support in the Senate with Sen. Rachael Cabral-Guevara (R-Appleton) as the leading coauthor. The Senate does not have a scheduled floor session during September. 

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Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez (D-Milwaukee) speaks at a press conference in January 2025. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez of Milwaukee is leaving the Assembly Democratic caucus — a decision that comes after leadership alleged that she made comments about shooting three of her colleagues. 

Ortiz-Velez has been at the center of several disagreements over the last several weeks with her colleagues, including a public dispute with the newly-formed Hispanic Legislative Caucus over resolutions to highlight Hispanic Heritage Month. 

Ortiz-Velez said she was excluded from being an author on the resolution, though the leader of the caucus Rep. Priscilla Prado (D-Milwaukee) has said the caucus agreed to limit authors to members. Ortiz-Velez had earlier declined to be a part of the caucus. She decided to write her own resolution honoring Hispanic Heritage Month, and her resolution, which has Republican and Democratic cosponsors, is now being set up to be voted on this week.

Last week her access to the Wisconsin State Capitol was revoked due to an alleged threat, though Assembly Speaker Robin Vos’ office said the revocation was done in error, the threat was found to be not credible and her access restored. 

Assembly Minority Leader Greta Neubauer (D-Racine) initially confirmed that Ortiz-Velez had left the caucus but declined to speak on the issue. 

On Friday, however, eight Democratic leaders, including Neubauer, said in a statement to the Journal Sentinel that Ortiz-Velez “made a comment about shooting three members of our caucus who she has had personal disagreements with.”

“This is unacceptable behavior, especially given the heightened political environment and the murder of Representative Melissa Hortman and her husband earlier this year,” the lawmakers said. “We are not in a position to ignore comments like these and referred it to Human Resources. After conversations with the Speaker’s office, we spoke with Capitol Police as well. We appreciated them looking into the matter and handling it from there.”

Former Minnesota Rep. Melissa Hortman and her husband were the victims of a politically-motivated assassination in June. 

Ortiz-Velez told the Journal Sentinel that she did not make a threat, but rather used a “poorly worded hyperbole.” 

“What I was trying to express is that I want peace with people, but others seem to keep attacking me, and if they attack me, I have a right to defend myself. And if someone perceived it differently, I’m very sorry, and I will be certain to refrain from that kind of language in the future,” Ortiz-Velez said. 

Ortiz-Velez has previously split from her caucus on other votes. She was the only Democrat to vote for the new legislative maps that were drawn by Gov. Tony Evers and that Republican lawmakers decided to adopt, she was one of a handful of Democrats to vote for the recent state budget in July and also recently was the only Democrat on a bill, vetoed by Evers, that would have declared gig workers to be independent contractors.

According to WisPolitics, Ortiz-Velez also alleges that her colleagues were trying to keep her from testifying on AB 306, a Republican bill that would restrict an executive emergency powers, because she plans to accuse Milwaukee County Executive David Crowley, who plans to run for governor, of abusing his power during the COVID-19 pandemic. 

“I left the caucus because they’ve been terrible to me,” Ortiz-Velez told WisPolitics.

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“The Trump administration is threatening our state’s fundamental values by commanding ICE and its agents to ignore due process, rip people from their communities and repeatedly violate basic human rights,” Rep. Darrin Madison (D-Milwaukee) said. (Photo by Baylor Spears/Wisconsin Examiner)

Wisconsin Democrats are calling for prohibitions on state and local support for the Trump administration’s mass deportations and for greater transparency surrounding law enforcement officers and Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) officers helping carry out arrests. 

Lawmakers, led by the Democratic Socialist caucus, proposed a package of five bills to meet those goals at a press conference Thursday. Federal agents have used increasingly aggressive tactics to arrest immigrants as they seek to advance the Trump administration’s immigration agenda. In Wisconsin, ICE arrests have doubled under Trump with agents arresting an average of 85 people per month since January. 

“The Trump administration is threatening our state’s fundamental values by commanding ICE and its agents to ignore due process, rip people from their communities and repeatedly violate basic human rights,” Rep. Darrin Madison (D-Milwaukee) said. The bills, he said, will implement “strong accountability measures so that all Wisconsinites, regardless of their background, are welcome and safe here.”

Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez (D-Milwaukee) said that most of the people being detained by the Trump administration aren’t criminals. According to ABC News, a recent report found that since late May, people with no criminal convictions and no pending criminal charges have started to make up an increasing percentage of those arrested by ICE. 

“The vast majority have been people who pose no public threat,” Ortiz-Velez said. “They are the essential workers that put food on our tables, milk the cows and keep the meat factories operating. They build our homes, and they’re our neighbors, and they’re our friends.” 

Republicans, who hold majorities in the Senate and Assembly, would be necessary for the bills to advance.

Rep. Ryan Clancy (D-Milwaukee) said it’s unlikely Republicans will sign on. 

“We hope that our Republican colleagues will work with us on common-sense legislation, especially when the stakes are this high, but no, I don’t anticipate any support from our Republican legislative colleagues on this,” Clancy said. 

Republicans introduced a bill earlier this year that would require local law enforcement to cooperate with ICE. It passed the Assembly in March. 

One of the bills in the Democratic package is a measure introduced earlier this year by Ortiz-Velez to do the opposite by prohibiting cooperation of law enforcement with ICE

Another bill would require law enforcement officers to identify themselves when arresting someone including making their name and badge number visible, providing the authority for arrest or detention and prohibiting them from covering their face or wearing a disguise. Face coverings would be allowed if worn for safety or protection.

Violations would be a Class D felony and carry a penalty of maximum $100,000 fine.

Leaders of the Department of Homeland Security have said agents are covering their faces to protect themselves from doxing and threats, according to NPR. 

“It’s not normal for any law enforcement officer, any agency to wear masks and hide their identity, nor is it safe,” Ortiz-Velez said. “No exception should be made here.” 

One bill would prohibit state employees and police officers from aiding in the detention of someone if the person is being detained on the “sole basis that the individual is or is alleged to be not lawfully present in the United States.” The bill would also prohibit law enforcement agencies in Wisconsin from participating in 287(g) agreements.

The federal 287(g) program provides the opportunity for state and local law enforcement agencies to partner with ICE, allowing local officers to perform certain immigration-related duties, including identifying, processing and detaining removable immigrants in local jails. 

According to the ACLU of Wisconsin, there are 13 counties in Wisconsin as of the end of July that formally participate in the program. Several have joined this year including Kewaunee, Outagamie, Washington, Waupaca, Winnebago and Wood. 

“It’s important to remember as we’re here at the state capitol that Wisconsin has shown strong opposition to policies like 287(g),” said Christine Neumann-Ortiz, executive director and co-founder of Voces de la Frontera, a nonprofit immigrant rights organization. 

Neumann-Ortiz noted that in 2016 thousands protested immigration legislation that Republicans were proposing at the time, and it ultimately failed.

“People can make the change,” Neumann-Ortiz said.

Another bill would prohibit state and local facilities from being used to hold detained immigrants and would prohibit funds from being used to establish new immigrant detention facilities. The bill’s co-author, Rep. Christian Phelps (D-Eau Claire), called it “the Communities, Not Cages” bill. 

“Over the past eight months, my constituents have stopped me at events and contacted my office and shared personal stories of fear and horror that grows and comes with watching the Trump regime abduct, detain and deport people they perceive to be immigrants without due process without accountability, often without even showing their faces,” Phelps said. “Our constituents in every corner of the state wish for us to be welcoming, safe and humane — a state that invests in communities and not in cages.” 

The final bill would establish a grant program run by the Department of Administration for community-based organizations in Wisconsin to support them in providing civil legal services to people and families in immigration matters.

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At a news conference Tuesday in the state Capitol, Rachel Smith of New Berlin speaks in favor of a bill that would make app-based drivers independent contractors and allow the businesses they drive for to provide some benefits. The bill was authored by Sen. Julian Bradly, on the right. (Photo by Erik Gunn/Wisconsin Examiner)

Backers of legislation that would block drivers from app-based rideshare and delivery businesses from being declared employees are making a full-court press to persuade Gov. Tony Evers to sign the measure into law.

If enacted, AB 269 would automatically classify drivers for Uber, Lyft, DoorDash and similar businesses as independent contractors — bypassing current Wisconsin laws that differentiate independent contractors from direct employees. It would exclude those drivers from Wisconsin’s unemployment insurance, workers compensation and minimum wage laws.

The bill would also allow those businesses to set up payroll plans to fund benefit programs for drivers, but it would not require them to do so.

Along with other bills that passed both houses after May 8, the Legislature’s calendar requires the independent contractor measure to go to Evers on Thursday, Aug. 7. Evers hasn’t spoken publicly about the bill, but opponents contend it deprives drivers of worker protections in return for meager benefits.

“It just seems to be a PR move to entrench drivers’ status as independent contractors,” said state Rep. Ryan Clancy (D-Milwaukee), who drives for Lyft and who voted against the bill in the Assembly. 

A heavy lobbying campaign for which DoorDash has been the most visible sponsor has put all the attention on the benefits provision. On Tuesday, Chamber for Progress, a tech business lobbying group, organized a press conference in the state Capitol to urge Evers to sign the bill.

State Sen. Julian Bradley (R-New Berlin), the bill’s Senate author, said it would allow the driving-app companies “to voluntarily contribute to portable benefit accounts that travel with the worker and allow them to use the funds for health care, sick time or retirement without stripping workers of their independence.”

Gig workers “want to be independent,” said Ruth Whittaker, of Chamber for Progress. “We should protect their independence and the flexibility of gig work, and we should also give them access to benefits.”

Joe DeRose, a retired state employee, said his work driving for DoorDash provided “flexible income to help with rising costs” without tying him to a fixed schedule.

“I strongly support portable benefits,” DeRose said. “These accounts would let app-based workers save for unforeseen events or retirement without giving up the flexibility that makes this work so appealing.”

Rachel Smith of New Berlin said she delivers for DoorDash while building an online wellness business.

“The reality is, like many entrepreneurs and independent workers, I don’t have access to traditional benefits, so this portable benefits legislation would change that,” Smith said. “Portable benefits would let me plan for my future without giving up the freedom that makes this work possible in the first place.”

“Without this offer, there are no portable benefits,” said state Rep. Sylvia Velez-Ortiz (D-Milwaukee), who cast the only Democratic vote for the bill in the Assembly. “This is something that the platforms are wanting to do on their own, and government should not stand in their way of doing what they know is right.”

While Evers hasn’t said whether he’ll sign or veto the bill, its passage with only Republican votes — besides that of Ortiz-Velez — has almost always been a precursor to a veto.

Wisconsin labor laws include a series of tests to determine if a worker is an independent contractor or an employee.

An employee is covered by unemployment insurance, workers compensation insurance and state labor standards that include minimum wage, work hours and overtime regulations. An independent contractor is not.

The worker-business relationship must meet each one of nine qualifications to be exempt from workers comp law. It must meet 6 out of 9 qualifications to be exempt from unemployment insurance. And it must meet all six qualifications to be exempt from the state’s wage and hour laws.

The bill would make the app-based rideshare and delivery companies automatically exempt from all three areas of employment law. 

They could lose the exemption only if they flunked all four parts of a new four-part test — by prescribing when drivers must be logged in; terminating a driver for turning down an assignment; restricting drivers from working for other app-based companies; and restricting drivers from any other lawful job or business.

“This is a dangerous bill for working people,” Stephanie Bloomingdale, president of the Wisconsin AFL-CIO, said Tuesday.

“It is a bill that will carve out our existing tests to determine unemployment, workers’ comp, wage and hour [standards] with a very simplistic four-part test that would forever remove drivers’ ability to access those kind of benefits that we fought for for decades,” Bloomingdale said in an interview.

“They could offer benefits without taking away these tests,” she added. “And what they’re really after is taking away these tests.

Although Bradley described the bill as giving Wisconsin gig drivers “access to benefits like health care, dental and retirement savings,” critics say that those kinds of benefits are unlikely to accrue under the system the law describes. 

In Pennsylvania, DoorDash has established a trial benefits program without a law in place there. A report commissioned for the program found that participants on average were able to save about $400 over the course of a year.

“It’s just a savings account with a very meager contribution from the companies,” said Laura Padin, director of Work Structures at the National Employment Law Project (NELP), who sent a letter to Evers urging him to veto the bill. “Real employment-based benefits are worth so much more than that.”

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A bill that passed both the Assembly and the Senate Wednesday would automatically classify ride-share and certain delivery drivers as independent contractors. (Photo by Michael M. Santiago/Getty Images)

Legislation that would declare that drivers for app-based ride-share and delivery businesses are independent contractors will go to Gov. Tony Evers after clearing both houses of the Legislature Wednesday.

The legislation also authorizes the affected companies to offer drivers benefit plans without classifying them as employees.

After two previous attempts to pass the bill, in the Legislature’s 2021-22 and 2023-24 sessions, the Senate and Assembly votes Wednesday — mostly along party lines — marked the first time the measure will get to the governor’s desk.

The bill — AB 269 — applies to drivers for delivery and transportation businesses such as Uber, Lyft and DoorDash who are hired by customers using online apps or similar technology.

It defines those drivers as independent contractors who are not subject to laws guaranteeing minimum wage, unemployment compensation and workers compensation.

Update: The bill passed the Assembly on a vote of 56-36, but as of Friday, the Assembly’s official journal of the session reported that three of four Assembly Democrats who were recorded as voting “yes” for the bill asked that their votes be registered as “no,” and their requests were granted, resulting in a new tally of 53-39. One Democrat supported the bill. 

WisPolitics.com reported the changed votes on Friday. WisPolitics.com also reported that according to the office of Assembly Majority Leader Tyler August, Assembly chief clerk’s office and the Legislative Technical Services Bureau “conducted a thorough testing” of the Assembly’s electronic voting system and found no problems.

In the Senate, the bill passed 16-15, with no Democratic support and one Republican, Sen. Steve Nass (R-Whitewater) voting in opposition.

As of Wednesday the Wisconsin Ethics Commission had no public reports on money spent lobbying for or against the legislation. But since early this year DoorDash has been running digital ads on WisPolitics.com and elsewhere promoting the legislation’s “portable benefits” provision.

DoorDash issued a statement Wednesday lauding the bill’s passage. “Dashers and customers in Wisconsin have sent hundreds of letters to the governor, urging him to sign the bill into law,” the company stated.

If Evers signs the measure, Wisconsin would be the first state in the country to enact such legislation. DoorDash has pilot benefit programs without legislation in Pennsylvania, Maryland and Georgia, the company said.

While the bill authorizes the companies to offer the benefit plans, it does not require them to do so. It sets the standards of coverage for such plans if they are offered. It also allows the businesses to establish deferred compensation retirement plans for their drivers.

“This bill will provide meaningful, affordable benefit opportunities for these independent contractors,” said Rep. Alex Dallman (R-Green Lake) at an Assembly press conference before Wednesday’s floor session. “They’ll be able to solidify that they get to choose when and where they want to work, the freedom that they have to be able to earn benefits through the work that they provide for these different companies, and be able to really set themselves up for a future of success by having things such as health insurance.”

A new independent contractor standard

The legislation lists four practices that would exclude a ride-share or delivery company from the independent contractor protections: If it requires drivers to be logged into the service on certain dates, certain times or for a minimum number of hours; if it terminates a driver’s contract for not accepting a specific service request; if it bars drivers from working with other such businesses; and if it bars drivers from working in any other occupation or business.

A company would have to flunk all four of those provisions to be disqualified.

In both the Senate and the Assembly, critics said the bill would serve the contracting companies, not their drivers.

“We don’t need to create a new category of workers with fewer protections, which is what this bill does,” said Sen. Melissa Ratcliff (D-Cottage Grove) on the Senate floor. “The sad realization is that all of the so-called benefits talked about in this bill may never come to fruition for any gig driver. And yet the bill makes mandatory the loss of employee status for every single app-based driver.”

Sen. Julian Bradley (R-New Berlin), said drivers testified in favor of the legislation that “they don’t want to be employees.” Bradley is the lead author of the Senate companion legislation. 

“If you watch any of the hearings, they’ll tell you, ‘We love the flexibility of being an independent contractor.’ They chose to be independent contractors because of the flexibility.”

Under state law and regulations, the state Department of Workforce Development (DWD) uses a nine-part test to determine if workers are employees rather than independent contractors, said Rep. Christine Sinicki (D-Milwaukee) during the Assembly debate.

“The big problem with this bill, though, is that it actually allows the executives of these companies to dictate their own test to fit their own needs,” Sinicki said.

‘Difficult way to pay the bills’

“Driving for ride-sharing services like Lyft or Uber is a grueling, difficult way to pay the bills,” said Rep. Ryan Clancy (D-Milwaukee), who said he’s a ride-share driver.

He said the industry’s claims that a driver collects $25 or $30 an hour are based on the travel time alone.

“So in an hour, if I take two people on rides which cost them $7 each and I get about $3.50 from each of those, Lyft might report that I got $30 an hour because they don’t count all the minutes between the rides. But I actually gross $7 that hour,” Clancy said.

The bill allows a company to contribute up to 4% of a driver’s earnings to the proposed benefits account. He said Uber drivers have an average weekly revenue of $513, so 4% “would come out to just $267 a quarter” — too little to cover a health insurance premium.  

The bill aims to keep drivers from being classified as employees because “it’s far easier to exploit an independent contractor than it is an employee,” he said.

Clancy said drivers across the U.S. have been “trying to get recognized as the employees they are, and to try to get access to basic benefits and workplace protections and access to unemployment insurance, just like the vast majority of employees in Wisconsin.”

Rep. Sylvia Ortiz-Velez (D-Milwaukee), a co-sponsor of the bill was the only Assembly Democrat to support, although three other Democrats were initially recorded as voting “yes” before being granted a request to change their vote to “no.”

“I heard countless testimonies from drivers who wanted the flexibility of being independent contractors,” Ortiz-Velez said, adding that she has received “a ton of emails, a ton of support” for the bill this year as well as in the last two-year session.

“This bill offers portable benefits that right now don’t exist,” Ortiz-Velez said. “It won’t exist if we don’t pass this bill.”

Dallman, the bill’s lead Assembly author, said on the Assembly floor that critics of the bill can simply choose not to work for the companies it covers.

“This is for the independent contractor and the freedom that they have to get ahead in life by working a couple extra jobs, a couple extra trips on a weekend to make a little bit of extra cash,” Dallman said. “While at the same time, voluntarily partnering with one of these companies . . .  to pay for their benefits, to pay for their retirement. Again, the opportunity for workers to make choices on their own to get ahead in life.”

This report was updated Friday, 6/20/2025, to update the Assembly vote on SB 269 after the Assembly journal reported on a request by three Democrats to change how their vote had been recorded.

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