Twenty-seven legislators want the state to drop plans to close Unemployment Insurance Appeals locations in northern Wisconsin.
In a letter dated Tuesday, the rural lawmakers asked the Department of Workforce Development to leave the locations in Appleton and Eau Claire open.
If the locations close, people would be forced to travel to Madison or Milwaukee for an in-person unemployment insurance hearing.
The lawmakers wrote the closings follow a pattern of public services being concentrated in Dane and Milwaukee counties.
Rep. Rob Swearingen (R-Rhinelander), Rep. Mary Felzkowski (R-Tomahawk), and Jeff Mursau (R-Crivitz) were among the local representatives who signed the letter.