Section 10.82. Receipt by the department.

 

(1)   Date of receipt or filing; nonbusiness hours and holidays excluded.

(a) Except as otherwise specifically provided in par. (am) for a facsimile or electronic mail, the date a document is received by, or filed with, the department is the date the original document is physically received at the department at its offices during regular business hours as provided under s. 230.35 (4) (f) , Stats., regardless of the date the document was mailed or otherwise intended to be transmitted to the department and regardless of any mishandling or misdirection by the U.S. postal service or any other agency or person. A document which arrives at the department's offices after 4:30 p.m. Monday through Friday or on a Saturday, Sunday or holiday as defined by s. 230.35 (4) (a) , Stats., is deemed received by the department at 7:45 a.m. on the next day on which the department's offices are regularly open for business as provided under s. 230.35 (4) (f) , Stats.

(am) Unless otherwise provided in sub. (2) , a fax or e-mail to which sub. (2) applies is received by the department, regardless of whether any individual is aware of its receipt, when it enters the information processing system designated or used by the department for the purpose of receiving facsimiles or electronic mail, respectively, provided the following are true:

1. The fax or e-mail transmission is in a form capable of being processed by department's information processing system.

2. The department is able to retrieve the fax or e-mail from the information processing system.

(b) No department employee may affix a date stamp to a document received by the department which indicates a date received in conflict with par. (a) .

(c) A document bearing the department's date stamp indicating receipt is conclusively presumed for all purposes associated with benefits under ch. 40 , Stats. , to have been received by the department on the date indicated by the stamp. This presumption may be rebutted only by clear and convincing evidence that the document was received by or filed with the department, as provided in par. (a) , on a different date than shown by the official date stamp. The department may correct a date stamp the secretary determines was affixed in violation of par. (b) .

(2)   Receipt of electronic correspondence; facsimiles and electronic mail.

(a) Electronic correspondence may be accepted . The department may accept correspondence transmitted to the department by fax or by e-mail, including letters, messages, and documents associated with payment or administration of, or eligibility for, benefits under ch. 40 , Stats. , and including authorizations to disclose confidential personal information, applications for benefits, beneficiary designations and elections to participate or terminate participation in the variable retirement investment trust.

(b) Rejection and non-receipt.

1. The department may, at its sole discretion and in whole or in part, treat as never received or formally reject any fax or e-mail unless the department is satisfied that the transmission is complete, duly authorized by the proper person, authentic and is not likely to result in any payment of benefits through fraud, misrepresentation or error. To the extent that the correspondence consists of a purported copy of a document, the department may reject a fax or e-mail or treat it as never received unless satisfied that the transmission is an accurate copy.

2. Examples of circumstances under which a transmission may be rejected or treated as if never received include the following:

a. The transmission as received is illegible, in whole or part.

b. The transmission is, or appears to be, incomplete or interrupted.

c. The transmission was not received on a fax machine or e-mail server, for fax and e-mail correspondence respectively, used by the department.

d. There is no separate fax cover sheet or similar information accompanying the transmission which provides the sender's name, mailing address, and telephone number, as well as the fax number or e-mail address from which the transmission was sent.

e. The department is unable to determine to its satisfaction the identity of the sender from the information transmitted.

f. The department is unable to determine from the transmitted information to whom or to what transaction the transmission pertains.

g. A reasonable doubt exists that a fax or e-mail or e-mail attachment is a true copy of the document of which it purports to represent, as determined by the department.

h. The authenticity of an underlying document is not established to the satisfaction of the department.

i. With respect to a benefit application form, waiver of benefits, beneficiary designation, election concerning the variable retirement investment trust or other document affecting entitlement to or payment of benefits, it is not established to the satisfaction of the department that the sender of the transmission was the living person whose benefits are affected, a person duly authorized to act on that person's behalf, such as a guardian of the estate or attorney-in-fact, or the trustee of a trust or personal representative of an estate entitled to receive death benefits.

j. The document is received after the deadline for receipt by, or filing with, the department.

(c) Department may request additional information . Before agreeing to acknowledge, accept, file, formally receive or act upon correspondence transmitted by fax or e-mail, the department may request additional information, including but not limited to the original document or other supporting representations and documentation, as necessary to establish to the department's satisfaction that the transmitted correspondence is authentic, offered by the proper person and, if the correspondence includes or consists of a copy of a document, that the transmission is a true and authentic copy.

(d) No presumptions as to receipt. Any attempt to file documents with the department by facsimile or electronic mail is entirely at the risk of the person transmitting the facsimile or electronic mail to the department. Transmission does not create a presumption of actual receipt by the department. Dates and times inserted into a fax or e-mail by a sending machine do not establish when, or if, correspondence was received by the department. Mere acknowledgement that a transmission was received does not establish that the transmission was complete, was accepted or that the content sent corresponds to the content received.

(e) Agents and third-party administrators not affected . This subsection does not require a third party administrator or agent under contract to any board to administer a benefit program supervised by that board to accept correspondence or documents by fax or e-mail. Neither does this rule prohibit such an agent or third party administrator from doing so, provided security, privacy, authenticity and accuracy concerns are adequately addressed.

(f) Specific documents excluded .

1. The department may not accept or rely on electronic copies of certain documents, as follows:

a. The text includes words to the effect that a copy may not be relied upon to the same extent as the original.

b. The document is a record, or is offered to the department as necessary evidence, of adoption, divorce, other matters of family law, the execution of a will or the creation of a testamentary trust.

c. The document is, or is offered to the department as necessary evidence of, a notice provided by a court, a court order or an official court document including a brief, pleading or other writing required to be executed in connection with court proceedings.

2. Notwithstanding subd. 1. , if time is of the essence, the department may nevertheless accept and rely upon a fax or e-mail of a court order to the department, or a fax or e-mail of a certified copy of such order, when the transmission originates directly from the court or the department is otherwise satisfied that the faxed or e-mailed court order is authentic, provided the order is one of the following:

a. A court order for the department to disclose confidential personal information under s. 40.07 (1m) (c) or (2) , Stats.

b. A qualified domestic relations order under s. 40.02 (48m) , Stats.

c. An order to the department as a party to the underlying action or an order to the department to take other action which the department is permitted to do.

3. This subsection does not apply to documents transmitted in connection with any program under the administrative oversight of the private employer health care coverage board.

(g) Requirement to be in writing. If a provision of ch. 40 , Stats. or a rule adopted under ch. 40 , Stats. , requires a document offered to the department to be in writing, then the department may deem an e-mail or fax to satisfy that requirement.

(h) Signature requirement. If a provision of ch. 40 , Stats. , or a rule adopted under ch. 40 , Stats. , requires a signature, then the department may deem a signature transmitted by fax or incorporated in an e-mail, including any electronic sound, symbol or process attached to or logically associated with the e-mail and executed, adopted, or affixed by a person with the intent to sign the e-mail, to satisfy that requirement.

Cr. Register, December, 1994, No. 468 , eff. 1-1-95; am. (2) (b) 27., 28. and 29., Register, January, 1996, No. 481 , eff. 2-1-96; CR 02-126 : am. (2) (b) 5. Register April 2003 No. 568 , eff. 5-1-03; CR 04-104 : am. (1) (a), cr. (1) (am), r. and recr. (2) Register July 2005 No. 595 , eff. 8-1-05; correction in (2) (f) 2. a. made under s. 13.93 (2m) (b) 7., Stats., Register September 2006 No. 609 .

Note

This paragraph does not prohibit a department employee from making a note attached to or on the document, separate from the official receipt stamp, concerning the circumstances under which the document arrived at the department, including dates or times. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Note 1: The purpose of this subsection is to allow persons corresponding with the department to utilize the speed, convenience and other legitimate advantages of electronic communications in transactions with the department. It is the purpose of this subsection to permit persons with access to fax or e-mail to carry out transactions only to the same extent and with the same results as for transactions by non-electronic means, except for the expanded time of receipt provided by sub. (1) (am). Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Note 2: It is recognized that under this subsection and because of the inherent nature of electronic communications that the department may at times accept and act upon fax or e-mail correspondence without ever receiving a holographic document or signature. The department may reasonably rely on representations made in correspondence to the department in any form. The department is not required to use different or extraordinary care before accepting or acting upon correspondence received by fax or e-mail. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1Note 3: Under s. 943.395 (1) (c) , Stats., it is prohibited to present or cause to be presented a false or fraudulent claim or benefit application, or any false or fraudulent proof in support of such a claim or benefit application, or false or fraudulent information which would affect a future claim or benefit application, to be paid under any employee benefit program created by ch. 40 , Stats. Criminal penalties are provided for violation of this prohibition. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Records in the department pertaining to participants, alternate payees and insured persons are filed by Social Security Number, member identification number and name. Records pertaining to beneficiaries of deceased participants are filed with the deceased participant's records, identified by the decedent's name, Social Security Number and member identification number, as well as the name and Social Security Number of the beneficiary. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Example: Annuity applications or beneficiary designations received after the death of the participant are never accepted. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 Silence by the department does not indicate receipt or acceptance. If verification of receipt is important to the sender, the sender should seek and obtain verification from the department division, bureau or staff actually responsible for processing the transaction in question. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1 The department generally requires a copy of the court order directed at the department bearing an original certification of authenticity from the court, or an original court order. Microsoft Windows NT 6.1.7601 Service Pack 1