{"id":1314856,"date":"2026-03-05T06:00:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-05T12:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/?p=1314856"},"modified":"2026-03-18T10:18:48","modified_gmt":"2026-03-18T15:18:48","slug":"wisconsin-work-opportunity-tax-credit-employers-job-hiring-study","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2026\/03\/wisconsin-work-opportunity-tax-credit-employers-job-hiring-study\/","title":{"rendered":"Tax credit meant to help struggling workers mostly helps employers, Wisconsin study finds","gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"text"}]},"content":{"rendered":"<span class=\"span-reading-time rt-reading-time\" style=\"display: block;\"><span class=\"rt-label rt-prefix\"><b>Reading Time: <\/b><\/span> <span class=\"rt-time\"> 7<\/span> <span class=\"rt-label rt-postfix\">minutes<\/span><\/span>\n<details class=\"wp-block-details is-layout-flow wp-block-details-is-layout-flow\"><summary>Click here to read highlights from the story<\/summary>\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>The federal Work Opportunity Tax Credit rewards companies for hiring people who often struggle to get jobs.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Lawmakers are currently in the process of reauthorizing the $2 billion tax credit, which has been around since 1996.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Proponents of it argue that it helps people get jobs and get off government assistance.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>However, a new study by researchers at the University of Wisconsin-Madison and the University of Southern California found that the credit fails to increase hiring or pay for workers.&nbsp;<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Furthermore, large businesses disproportionately use it.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n<\/details>\n\n\n\n<p>A new study of Wisconsin data finds what some researchers and policy wonks have long suspected: The $2 billion Work Opportunity Tax Credit doesn\u2019t work.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Congress created the credit in 1996 as it overhauled the country\u2019s welfare system. It rewards companies for hiring people who often struggle to get jobs, including some people who receive government aid, have disabilities or felony convictions or have been out of work for a long time. Employers can typically claim up to 40% of the wages paid to qualifying workers, with a maximum credit of $2,400.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The credit subsidizes around 4% of all new hires, according to 2022 federal data cited in the study. Overwhelmingly, they\u2019re low-wage, short-term jobs at large employers, including major retailers and <a href=\"https:\/\/www.propublica.org\/article\/work-opportunity-tax-credit-temp-permanent-employment\">temporary staffing agencies<\/a>, researchers have found.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Researchers have wondered for decades whether the credit pays off, but most states don\u2019t offer the kind of records that would answer that question. Wisconsin does.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Thanks to an unusual collaboration between the state government and the University of Wisconsin-Madison, researchers can track the earnings and employment status of participants in certain social safety net programs.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In a <a href=\"https:\/\/conference.nber.org\/conf_papers\/f217761.pdf\">2025 working paper<\/a>, researchers from UW-Madison and the University of Southern California studied two decades of records of Wisconsinites who received food aid through the Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program (SNAP), the most common way an employee qualifies for the tax credit. Researchers compared SNAP recipients who were eligible for the credit with similar recipients who weren\u2019t.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Their findings were unequivocal.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWe find that these subsidies do not increase hiring or earnings among eligible groups,\u201d the authors wrote. In fact, they said, their findings rule out even so much as a 0.2 percentage point effect on hiring.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>They estimate 97% of the hiring subsidized by the tax credit would have happened anyway, a phenomenon known as \u201cwindfall wastage.\u201d It\u2019s possible, they wrote, that every one of the subsidized jobs falls into that category.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>The companies that take advantage of the credit are disproportionately large. In Wisconsin, they found, half of the subsidies go to just 48 businesses. Nationally, they estimate the credit costs more than $2 billion a year.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cWithout reform, the program will continue as a costly transfer to firms with little benefit to the populations it is meant to support,\u201d the researchers wrote.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Meanwhile, a bipartisan group of federal lawmakers wants to increase the credit, which expired in December.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In November, legislators introduced a bill to extend the credit and expand eligibility to older SNAP recipients and spouses of military service members. The legislation would increase the amount companies can receive and automatically raise the credit amount with inflation.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In <a href=\"https:\/\/smucker.house.gov\/media\/press-releases\/smucker-updates-legislation-renew-and-expand-work-opportunity-tax-credit\">a statement<\/a>, co-author Rep. Lloyd Smucker, R-Pa., called the credit \u201ca proven tool\u201d that serves workers and employers. \u201cWOTC is a bipartisan, commonsense approach that every Member of Congress should champion,\u201d Smucker said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Neither Smucker nor co-author Sen. Bill Cassidy, R-La., responded to a request for comment.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Troubleshooting the tax credit<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>So why doesn\u2019t the Work Opportunity Tax Credit work? The authors think one important reason is that hiring managers often don\u2019t know which job applicants qualify.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>To receive the credit, employers must certify that they knew the applicant was eligible on or before the day they hired the person. Researchers surveyed 170 companies that use the credit. Less than 1 in 5 screened for eligibility on job applications. At companies that do collect this information, it might stay in the human resources office, never reaching the person who decides who to hire.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That may well be intentional, said UW-Madison economist Corina Mommaerts, one of the authors of the study. Federal and state law bars employers from considering certain factors in hiring decisions. That includes age and, in some cases, criminal record. There are ways to screen applicants without violating such laws, Mommaerts said, \u201cbut you can see why employers might still be very concerned.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In addition, she said, some job applicants may hesitate to tell a prospective employer that they\u2019re eligible. People with felony convictions, for example, may prefer not to draw attention to their criminal records. In the last two years, Wisconsin authorities certified the hires of just over 3,000 people with a felony conviction as qualifying for the credit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe concern is that there might be this stigmatizing effect,\u201d Mommaerts said, explaining that some employers try to minimize that by asking applicants to review all the WOTC eligibility categories and indicate whether any apply to them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\t<div\n\t\tclass=\"wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles  wpnbha show-image image-alignleft ts-3 is-1 is-landscape \"\n\t\tstyle=\"\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t<div data-posts data-current-post-id=\"1314856\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"article-section-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span>Related Story<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<article data-post-id=\"1312367\"\n\t\tclass=\"tag-news tag-prison-problems tag-wisconsin-department-of-corrections tag-wisconsin-watch category-forward category-justice-public-safety category-pathways-to-success type-post post-has-image\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"post-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2025\/12\/wisconsin-corrections-prison-work-release-jobs-employers-minimum-security\/\" rel=\"bookmark\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"800\" height=\"600\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse20251126-Winnebago-Correctional-illustration-5-1.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-newspack-article-block-landscape-medium size-newspack-article-block-landscape-medium wp-post-image\" alt=\"Wisconsin\u2019s work-release program promises opportunity. Prisoners say jobs are scarce.\" data-hero-candidate=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse20251126-Winnebago-Correctional-illustration-5-1.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse20251126-Winnebago-Correctional-illustration-5-1.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse20251126-Winnebago-Correctional-illustration-5-1.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse20251126-Winnebago-Correctional-illustration-5-1.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/12\/asse20251126-Winnebago-Correctional-illustration-5-1.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw \/ 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw \/ 12)), 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure><!-- .featured-image -->\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2025\/12\/wisconsin-corrections-prison-work-release-jobs-employers-minimum-security\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Wisconsin\u2019s work-release program promises opportunity. Prisoners say jobs are scarce.<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Wisconsin was the first state to let some incarcerated people work in the community, allowing them to save money and pay for room and board. Today, prisoners say there aren\u2019t nearly enough of these jobs to go around, and prison officials say they don\u2019t keep count.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-wrapper -->\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n<p>Melissa Riccio, director of inclusive hiring at the national re-entry nonprofit Center for Employment Opportunities, is an expert on that stigma. It\u2019s her job to convince employers that hiring a formerly incarcerated person may not be as risky as they imagine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Asked about the tax credit, she said such policies won\u2019t singlehandedly make the kind of change she\u2019s looking for, in part because many employers may see them as more work than they\u2019re worth.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cYou would never hear any of us say that it would be a bad thing,\u201d Riccio said. \u201cBut I don&#8217;t think that that alone is enough to move the needle in encouraging employers to make a change in their hiring practices.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Some policy experts say the new study proves that the temporary tax credit shouldn\u2019t come back.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Until now, there was little evidence on how well the Work Opportunity Tax Credit works, said Jen Doleac, executive vice president of criminal justice at the philanthropy Arnold Ventures, who researches strategies to reduce recidivism and help formerly incarcerated people get jobs. She and former colleague George Callas penned an <a href=\"https:\/\/www.arnoldventures.org\/stories\/the-work-opportunity-tax-credit-does-not-work-to-increase-opportunity\">October op-ed<\/a> in Tax Notes calling the credit \u201ccompletely ineffective.\u201d&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe evidence is clear: The WOTC does not serve its stated purpose and is a waste of taxpayer dollars,\u201d they wrote. \u201cEncouraging the hiring of workers from disadvantaged groups is a worthy goal. We must devote scarce public resources to solutions that actually achieve it.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Lobbyists hail a proven, bipartisan tool<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Initially authorized for just one year, the Work Opportunity Tax Credit has stuck around far longer \u2014 in part because of a powerful lobby. Major backers include payroll processing companies, temp agencies and groups representing the hospitality and retail industries.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In 2022, a variety of industry groups seeking \u201csolutions to the U.S. labor shortage\u201d joined forces to form the Critical Labor Coalition. One of the coalition\u2019s top priorities: lobbying for WOTC. The group spent <a href=\"https:\/\/www.opensecrets.org\/federal-lobbying\/clients\/summary?cycle=2025&amp;id=D000121808\">$60,000 on lobbying last year<\/a>, according to watchdog Open Secrets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cMembers of the Critical Labor Coalition \u2014 representing restaurants, retail, hotel and lodging, construction, food manufacturing, and other sectors \u2014 consistently affirm that strengthening and reauthorizing WOTC is essential both to their industries and to addressing the nation\u2019s ongoing labor shortage,\u201d Critical Labor Coalition Executive Director Misty Chally said in an email.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Asked about the new Wisconsin study, Chally questioned its \u201cnarrow\u201d focus on SNAP recipients. She said her group places \u201cgreater confidence\u201d in a <a href=\"https:\/\/smucker.house.gov\/sites\/evo-subsites\/smucker.house.gov\/files\/evo-media-document\/ey-improve-and-enhance-the-work-opportunity-tax-credit-act-report-final-04-21-2025.pdf\">2025 study<\/a> commissioned by multinational talent management company Allegis Group. The authors of that study estimate renewing WOTC would subsidize 131,000 jobs, but they note it\u2019s not clear how many of those jobs would have existed regardless.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe exact impact of WOTC on net new job creation is uncertain \u2026 While some studies find that WOTC leads to meaningful employment gains among eligible groups, a significant share of the cost may stem from subsidizing hires that would have occurred anyway,\u201d Allegis Group wrote. For their analysis, they assume more than 85% of those jobs would have existed without the credit.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Why has WOTC stuck around?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Sarah Hamersma has been worried about WOTC for more than 20 years.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In the early 2000s, she was an economics graduate student at UW-Madison interested in programs designed to reduce poverty and help people work. She wanted to study the much larger Earned Income Tax Credit. Her adviser suggested she instead examine the smaller, newer and unstudied Work Opportunity Tax Credit.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>At the time, the credit was just 4 years old and limited to people who received cash welfare assistance. She asked state officials for access to the data. What she found matched what Mommaerts and her colleagues found decades later. Unlike the Earned Income Tax Credit, which gives money directly to low-income workers \u2014 and which studies show increases employment and boosts incomes \u2014 this tax credit seemed to just boost employers\u2019 bottom lines.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey\u2019re not passing it along to the workers in the form of higher wages. They\u2019re just sort of being like, \u2018Awesome, I got more money,\u2019\u201d Hamersma said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She wanted to do similar analyses on other places, but she couldn\u2019t find any other states willing to share their data. Now an economist at Syracuse University, she researches programs like Medicaid and SNAP.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI started studying other programs that seem to make more of a difference \u2026 but I always come back to this,\u201d Hamersma said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>From time to time, reporters contact her to ask about it. Lawmakers, not so much.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cI still wait for them to someday call me and say, \u2018What should we do, Sarah? Should we reauthorize this?\u2019 Congress has never called,\u201d Hamersma said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>She\u2019s sure legislators didn\u2019t read her research. But she hopes they might read the new study, and that it might sway them.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThey&#8217;ve checked every angle you could possibly check, and the program is not working,\u201d Hamersma said, calling it an \u201cironclad case.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\t<div\n\t\tclass=\"wp-block-newspack-blocks-homepage-articles  wpnbha show-image image-alignleft ts-3 is-1 is-landscape \"\n\t\tstyle=\"\"\n\t\t>\n\t\t<div data-posts data-current-post-id=\"1314856\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<h2 class=\"article-section-title\">\n\t\t\t\t\t<span>more from wisconsin watch<\/span>\n\t\t\t\t<\/h2>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\n\t<article data-post-id=\"1314203\"\n\t\tclass=\"tag-appleton tag-milwaukee tag-new-news-lab tag-news tag-wisconsin-watch category-pathways-to-success type-post post-has-image\"\n\t\t\t\t>\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<figure class=\"post-thumbnail\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<a href=\"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2026\/02\/wisconsin-work-recovery-apricity-contract-packaging-manufacturing-appleton\/\" rel=\"bookmark\" tabindex=\"-1\" aria-hidden=\"true\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"1200\" height=\"900\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/asse313__Apricity_Appleton_Jan_26-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1\" class=\"attachment-newspack-article-block-landscape-large size-newspack-article-block-landscape-large wp-post-image\" alt=\"Work, recovery and second chances on a Wisconsin manufacturing floor\" data-hero-candidate=\"1\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/asse313__Apricity_Appleton_Jan_26-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/asse313__Apricity_Appleton_Jan_26-scaled.jpg?resize=800%2C600&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 800w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/asse313__Apricity_Appleton_Jan_26-scaled.jpg?resize=600%2C450&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 600w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/asse313__Apricity_Appleton_Jan_26-scaled.jpg?resize=400%2C300&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/asse313__Apricity_Appleton_Jan_26-scaled.jpg?resize=200%2C150&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/asse313__Apricity_Appleton_Jan_26-scaled.jpg?zoom=2&amp;resize=1200%2C900&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 2400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/02\/asse313__Apricity_Appleton_Jan_26-scaled.jpg?resize=1200%2C900&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1&amp;w=370 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 34.9rem) calc(100vw - 2rem), (max-width: 53rem) calc(8 * (100vw \/ 12)), (min-width: 53rem) calc(6 * (100vw \/ 12)), 100vw\" \/>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/a>\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/figure><!-- .featured-image -->\n\t\t\n\t\t<div class=\"entry-wrapper\">\n\t\t\t\t\t\t<h3 class=\"entry-title\"><a href=\"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2026\/02\/wisconsin-work-recovery-apricity-contract-packaging-manufacturing-appleton\/\" rel=\"bookmark\">Work, recovery and second chances on a Wisconsin manufacturing floor<\/a><\/h3>\t\t\t\t\t\t<p>Those recovering from addiction have a difficult time finding stable employment and keeping it. Apricity Contract Packaging offers &#8220;a safe environment&#8221; \u2013 one where every person is pursuing sobriety.<\/p>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div><!-- .entry-wrapper -->\n\t<\/article>\n\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\n\t<\/div>\n\t\n\n\n<p>The new research was enough to convince Elena Spatoulas Patel, co-director of the Urban-Brookings Tax Policy Center, who saw the authors present their findings at a conference. \u201cThat really changed my mind about how we think about the credit,\u201d said Patel, who co-authored <a href=\"https:\/\/www.brookings.edu\/articles\/the-soon-to-expire-work-opportunity-tax-credit-has-not-been-working\/\">a December op-ed calling for an end to WOTC<\/a>.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But Congress has reauthorized the credit each time it lapsed before, and it will likely do so again this year, Patel said. It\u2019s not just that there\u2019s so much industry power behind the credit (\u201ca classic case of lobbying versus good tax policy\u201d), she said \u2014 it\u2019s also that lawmakers like the idea of it.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cUnless and until something better is offered, it\u2019s probably easier to renew the credit than to let it expire,\u201d Patel said. \u201cBut again, it\u2019s sort of ignoring the point, which is that we are spending taxpayer dollars on this by offering this credit, and it really isn\u2019t helping employment.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Exactly what the alternative might be is \u201cthe million-dollar question,\u201d Patel said. Policy experts say options could include supporting evidence-backed job training programs or expanding the Earned Income Tax Credit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cIf you&#8217;re trying to reduce poverty, putting money in the hands of working people is a great way to do it, which is what the Earned Income Tax Credit does \u2026 Those low-income working families get more money to spend on the things they need, and we kind of cut out the middleman of the employer altogether,\u201d Hamersma said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Still, Hamersma doesn\u2019t think Congress will follow her advice anytime soon.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThis is my cynical take: It\u2019s kind of the perfect program because it benefits corporations, which Republicans historically like, and it seems like it\u2019s supposed to be for poor people, which Democrats historically like,\u201d Hamersma said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u201cThe facts are kind of irrelevant, the facts where nobody gets helped \u2014 it doesn&#8217;t quite make it to the top.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em>Natalie Yahr reports on pathways to success statewide for Wisconsin Watch, working in partnership with <\/em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.opencampus.org\/\"><em>Open Campus<\/em><\/a><em>. Email her at <\/em><a href=\"mailto:nyahr@wisconsinwatch.org\"><em>nyahr@wisconsinwatch.org<\/em><\/a><em>.<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-media-text\" style=\"grid-template-columns:15% auto\"><figure class=\"wp-block-media-text__media\"><img data-recalc-dims=\"1\" loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"782\" height=\"646\" src=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/WCIJ_Logo_Stacked_FullColor_RGB-1.png?resize=782%2C646&#038;quality=100&#038;ssl=1\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1279368 size-full\" srcset=\"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/WCIJ_Logo_Stacked_FullColor_RGB-1.png?resize=782%2C646&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 782w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/WCIJ_Logo_Stacked_FullColor_RGB-1.png?resize=336%2C278&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 336w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/WCIJ_Logo_Stacked_FullColor_RGB-1.png?resize=140%2C116&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 140w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/WCIJ_Logo_Stacked_FullColor_RGB-1.png?resize=768%2C634&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 768w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/WCIJ_Logo_Stacked_FullColor_RGB-1.png?resize=1536%2C1269&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 1536w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/WCIJ_Logo_Stacked_FullColor_RGB-1.png?resize=2048%2C1692&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 2048w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/WCIJ_Logo_Stacked_FullColor_RGB-1.png?resize=1200%2C991&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 1200w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/WCIJ_Logo_Stacked_FullColor_RGB-1.png?resize=1568%2C1295&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 1568w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/WCIJ_Logo_Stacked_FullColor_RGB-1.png?resize=400%2C330&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 400w, https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/05\/WCIJ_Logo_Stacked_FullColor_RGB-1-782x646.png?w=370&amp;quality=100&amp;ssl=1 370w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 782px) 100vw, 782px\" \/><\/figure><div class=\"wp-block-media-text__content\">\n<p><em><strong><a href=\"https:\/\/www.wisconsinwatch.org\/\">Wisconsin Watch<\/a><\/strong>\u00a0is a nonprofit, nonpartisan newsroom. Subscribe to our\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.wisconsinwatch.org\/subscribe\">newsletters<\/a>\u00a0for original stories and our Friday news roundup. <\/em><\/p>\n<\/div><\/div>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Lawmakers want to expand the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, which for three decades has rewarded companies that hire people with barriers to employment. New research shows it doesn\u2019t work.<\/p>\n","protected":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"rendered","format":"html"}]},"author":531,"featured_media":1314860,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"single-feature.php","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"gigafact_has_fact_brief":false,"gigafact_remote_fact_brief_post_id":0,"gigafact_remote_sync_timestamp":"","gigafact_remote_sync_status":"","gigafact_remote_sync_response":"","gigafact_has_been_published":false,"newspack_ads_suppress_ads":false,"newspack_popups_has_disabled_popups":false,"newspack_sponsor_sponsorship_scope":"","newspack_sponsor_native_byline_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_native_category_display":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_style":"inherit","newspack_sponsor_underwriter_placement":"inherit","jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false,"apple_news_api_created_at":"","apple_news_api_id":"","apple_news_api_modified_at":"","apple_news_api_revision":"","apple_news_api_share_url":"","apple_news_cover_media_provider":"image","apple_news_coverimage":0,"apple_news_coverimage_caption":"","apple_news_cover_video_id":0,"apple_news_cover_video_url":"","apple_news_cover_embedwebvideo_url":"","apple_news_is_hidden":"","apple_news_is_paid":"","apple_news_is_preview":"","apple_news_is_sponsored":"","apple_news_maturity_rating":"","apple_news_metadata":"\"\"","apple_news_pullquote":"","apple_news_pullquote_position":"","apple_news_slug":"","apple_news_sections":[],"apple_news_suppress_video_url":false,"apple_news_use_image_component":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_newspack_byline_active":false,"_newspack_byline":"","newspack_content_restriction_is_exempt":false,"newspack_featured_image_position":"large","newspack_post_subtitle":"Lawmakers want to expand the Work Opportunity Tax Credit, which for three decades has rewarded companies that hire people with barriers to employment. New research shows it doesn\u2019t work.","newspack_article_summary_title":"Overview:","newspack_article_summary":"","newspack_hide_updated_date":false,"newspack_show_updated_date":false,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"_wpas_customize_per_network":false},"categories":[19064],"tags":[865,3656,679,3617,3423],"partner":[],"newspack_spnsrs_tax":[],"type-of-work":[],"coauthors":[3451],"class_list":["post-1314856","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-pathways-to-success","tag-employment","tag-news","tag-tax-credits","tag-wisconsin-watch","tag-work","entry"],"fact_brief":null,"apple_news_notices":[],"parsely":{"version":"1.1.0","canonical_url":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2026\/03\/wisconsin-work-opportunity-tax-credit-employers-job-hiring-study\/","smart_links":{"inbound":0,"outbound":0},"traffic_boost_suggestions_count":0,"meta":{"@context":"https:\/\/schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","headline":"Tax credit meant to help struggling workers mostly helps employers, Wisconsin study finds","url":"http:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2026\/03\/wisconsin-work-opportunity-tax-credit-employers-job-hiring-study\/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"http:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/2026\/03\/wisconsin-work-opportunity-tax-credit-employers-job-hiring-study\/"},"thumbnailUrl":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/asseWorkOpportunityTaxCredit_Illustration-scaled.jpg?fit=140%2C93&quality=100&ssl=1","image":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/asseWorkOpportunityTaxCredit_Illustration-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1706&quality=100&ssl=1"},"articleSection":"Pathways to success","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Natalie Yahr \/ Wisconsin Watch"}],"creator":["Natalie Yahr \/ Wisconsin Watch"],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Wisconsin Watch","logo":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/02\/ww-logo-footer-1.png"},"keywords":["employment","news","tax credits","wisconsin watch","work"],"dateCreated":"2026-03-05T12:00:00Z","datePublished":"2026-03-05T12:00:00Z","dateModified":"2026-03-18T15:18:48Z"},"rendered":"<script type=\"application\/ld+json\" class=\"wp-parsely-metadata\">{\"@context\":\"https:\\\/\\\/schema.org\",\"@type\":\"NewsArticle\",\"headline\":\"Tax credit meant to help struggling workers mostly helps employers, Wisconsin study finds\",\"url\":\"http:\\\/\\\/wisconsinwatch.org\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/wisconsin-work-opportunity-tax-credit-employers-job-hiring-study\\\/\",\"mainEntityOfPage\":{\"@type\":\"WebPage\",\"@id\":\"http:\\\/\\\/wisconsinwatch.org\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/wisconsin-work-opportunity-tax-credit-employers-job-hiring-study\\\/\"},\"thumbnailUrl\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/wisconsinwatch.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/asseWorkOpportunityTaxCredit_Illustration-scaled.jpg?fit=140%2C93&quality=100&ssl=1\",\"image\":{\"@type\":\"ImageObject\",\"url\":\"https:\\\/\\\/i0.wp.com\\\/wisconsinwatch.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2026\\\/03\\\/asseWorkOpportunityTaxCredit_Illustration-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1706&quality=100&ssl=1\"},\"articleSection\":\"Pathways to success\",\"author\":[{\"@type\":\"Person\",\"name\":\"Natalie Yahr \\\/ Wisconsin Watch\"}],\"creator\":[\"Natalie Yahr \\\/ Wisconsin Watch\"],\"publisher\":{\"@type\":\"Organization\",\"name\":\"Wisconsin Watch\",\"logo\":\"https:\\\/\\\/wisconsinwatch.org\\\/wp-content\\\/uploads\\\/2021\\\/02\\\/ww-logo-footer-1.png\"},\"keywords\":[\"employment\",\"news\",\"tax credits\",\"wisconsin watch\",\"work\"],\"dateCreated\":\"2026-03-05T12:00:00Z\",\"datePublished\":\"2026-03-05T12:00:00Z\",\"dateModified\":\"2026-03-18T15:18:48Z\"}<\/script>","tracker_url":"https:\/\/cdn.parsely.com\/keys\/wisconsinwatch.org\/p.js"},"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-content\/uploads\/2026\/03\/asseWorkOpportunityTaxCredit_Illustration-scaled.jpg?fit=2560%2C1706&quality=100&ssl=1","acf":[],"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p7SEfu-5w3m","jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"distributor_meta":false,"distributor_terms":false,"distributor_media":false,"distributor_original_site_name":"Wisconsin Watch","distributor_original_site_url":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org","push-errors":false,"gt_translate_keys":[{"key":"link","format":"url"}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1314856","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/531"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1314856"}],"version-history":[{"count":7,"href":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1314856\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1315260,"href":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1314856\/revisions\/1315260"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1314860"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1314856"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1314856"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1314856"},{"taxonomy":"partner","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/partner?post=1314856"},{"taxonomy":"newspack_spnsrs_tax","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/newspack_spnsrs_tax?post=1314856"},{"taxonomy":"type-of-work","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/type-of-work?post=1314856"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/wisconsinwatch.org\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=1314856"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}