This ETF Online Services Terms and Conditions of Use Agreement ("Agreement") constitutes a binding legal agreement between you and the Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds ("Department" or "ETF") governing your use of ETF online service, enrollment in available ETF insurance benefits, and receipt of available ETF insurance benefits.
YOUR USE OF ETF ONLINE SERVICES IS SUBJECT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT. BY ACCESSING OR USING ETF ONLINE SERVICES, YOU HEREBY AGREE TO BE BOUND BY THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, YOU MUST EXIT THIS SITE.
PLEASE READ CAREFULLY THROUGH ALL SECTIONS OF THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS. YOUR ACCESS TO, AND USE OF, ETF ONLINE SERVICES IS SUBJECT TO THE TERMS AND CONDITIONS OF THIS AGREEMENT AND ALL APPLICABLE LAWS. ETF RESERVES THE RIGHT TO TERMINATE YOUR ACCESS TO ETF ONLINE SERVICES IF YOU VIOLATE THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS. BY ENTERING OR OTHERWISE ACCESSING ETF ONLINE SERVICES, YOU AGREE TO THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS WHETHER OR NOT YOU COMPLETE A TRANSACTION WITH ETF. IF YOU DO NOT AGREE WITH THESE TERMS AND CONDITIONS, DO NOT ACCESS OR OTHERWISE USE ETF ONLINE SERVICES OR ANY INFORMATION CONTAINED WITHIN ETF ONLINE SERVICES.
Scope of ETF Online Services
ETF online services include information about ETF’s programs and benefits (collectively, "Services"). It is not intended to cover every conceivable situation that could arise regarding the programs or benefits. Rights, benefits, and obligations regarding ETF are governed by Chapter 40 of the Wisconsin Statutes and applicable provisions of federal law, which take precedence over any information present in ETF online services. Information specific to members and benefit recipients is available on the secured pages of ETF online services to verified persons who have created a username and password.
ETF provides online information and benefit selection as a service and convenience to you, and access to ETF online services is entirely voluntary. By logging onto ETF online services, you agree to this Agreement. ETF interprets your use of ETF online services as a request to provide you with individual personal information in accordance with Wis. Stat. s. 40.07(1m)(a). If you do not wish to conduct electronic business with ETF, staff is available to assist in other ways:
Mail:
Wisconsin Department of Employee Trust Funds
P.O. Box 7931
Madison, WI 53707-7931
Phone: 877-533-5020
Fax: 608-267-4549
Email: visit the Contact Us page and select the appropriate category
Revisions to this Agreement
ETF may change, update, add, or remove provisions of this Agreement at any time by posting the updated Agreement on the site. ETF will make commercially reasonable efforts to notify you of any material changes to this Agreement; however, ETF is not obligated to do so. In the absence of any specific date being provided, the changes are effective immediately. A current version of this Agreement showing the effective date is always available on the Benefits Terms and Conditions page. You are responsible for regularly reviewing it. Your continued use of the site will confirm your continued agreement to this Agreement as it may be revised.
Confidentiality
You agree to maintain as confidential and not disclose any ETF online services username or password to any person. ETF may change your password at any time, provided that ETF shall provide you with written notice of such change prior to, or as soon as reasonably practicable after, such change. You agree to notify ETF promptly of any unauthorized use of your username and password. You will remain liable for any use of ETF online services unless and until you notify ETF of the unauthorized use of your username and password. ETF may suspend your access to ETF online services without notice to you in the event that you do not use ETF online services for an extended period of time.
No Unlawful or Prohibited Use
As a condition of access to ETF online services, you guarantee that you will not use ETF online services for any purpose that is unlawful or prohibited by this Agreement. You may not use ETF online services in any manner that could damage, disable, overburden, or impair ETF’s systems or interfere with any other party's use and enjoyment of ETF online services. You may not obtain or attempt to obtain any materials or information through any means not intentionally made available or provided for through ETF online services.
No Use in External Applications
You agree to not enter information or content from ETF online services into external applications, bots, software, or websites, including those using artificial intelligence technologies (“AI”) such as large language models and generative AI.
Accuracy of Information
You will be required to provide certain enrollment information. You certify the accuracy of this information.
You understand that it is your responsibility to notify your employer, or if you are a retiree or continuant to notify ETF, if there is a change affecting your benefit coverage, including but not limited to, a change in eligibility due to divorce, marriage, or an address change due to a residential move. Failure to provide timely notice may result in loss of coverage, delay in payment of claims, loss of continuation rights, and liability for claims paid in error. Upon request, you agree to provide any documentation that ETF deems necessary to substantiate your eligibility or that of your dependent(s).
You certify that the information that you provide through ETF online services is complete and accurate to the best of your knowledge. You also certify the authenticity of documents that you provide through ETF online services. You understand that if you provide false or fraudulent information, misrepresent, or fail to provide complete or timely information, you may face action, including, but not limited to, loss of coverage, employment action, and criminal charges and sanctions under Wis. Stat. s. 943.395.
You are in the best position to discover and report any discrepancies involving your account. You agree to review your account information regularly and when ETF or your employer make your statements available to you. You also agree to notify ETF as soon as possible of any error, discrepancy, or unauthorized transaction you discover.
Agree to Benefit Terms and Conditions
You acknowledge receipt of, and agree to abide by, the terms and conditions of use of each benefit selected. The terms and conditions of each benefit are available on the Benefits Terms and Conditions page.
Communication
ETF reserves the right to send electronic communications, paper mail, or otherwise contact you for the purpose of administering available benefits, including notices about applicable fees or charges, transactional information, and other information concerning or related to ETF online services or materials.
The emails ETF sends, if any, are confidential (and all attachments to such emails are confidential) and are to be reviewed and disclosed to only the individual or entity to whom they are addressed and intended. If you receive an email in error or if it is improperly forwarded to you, the information contained in the email should, at all times, remain confidential and such circumstances shall not authorize you to use or disclose the confidential information. You agree to notify the sender immediately by telephone or email and delete or destroy the original and any copies.
ETF cannot provide absolute assurances that all emails (sent or received) are secure, error free, not corrupted, complete, virus free, or that they will not be lost, mis-delivered, destroyed, delayed, intercepted, or decrypted by others. ETF therefore advises against sending sensitive or confidential information over email and disclaims all liability with regard to emails (and the contents therein) if they are corrupted, lost, destroyed, delayed, incomplete, misdelivered, intercepted, decrypted, or otherwise misappropriated by others.
Billing
By submitting your benefit selections, you authorize ETF or your employer, if applicable, to take deductions from your paychecks to pay for benefit costs. You also authorize ETF or your employer to send necessary personal information to your selected benefit provider(s) to initiate and support benefit coverage.
Limitation of Liability
ETF shall not be held liable for any improper or unlawful use of the information or services provided by ETF and assumes no responsibility for use of the information or services provided. ETF shall not be held liable for any direct or indirect damages caused in any way through the use of information or services on ETF websites. This disclaimer of liability applies to any damages or injury that may be perceived by the user to be caused by the information or services on ETF’s websites or by using ETF websites. ETF shall not be held liable for any illegal or malicious use of its systems by a third party that may harm your systems, data, or other information, such as disseminating computer viruses, malware, or other attempts to undermine ETF security measures that result in damages or injury to the user.
Indemnification
You agree to indemnify, defend, and hold harmless ETF and its officers, directors, employees, affiliates, agents, licensors, and suppliers from and against any and all claims, actions, loss, damage, expenses, costs (including reasonable fees for the Department’s staff attorneys and attorneys from the Wisconsin Attorney General’s Office), court costs, and related reasonable legal expenses whether incurred in defending against such claims or enforcing this Agreement, or liability arising from, or in connection with, the following: (a) the use of or reliance on any information, material, or content you provided, regardless of whether or not such information, material, or content contained any errors or omissions and whether or not ETF was aware or should have been aware of any such errors or omissions; (b) your violation or breach of this Agreement; (c) your negligent acts, omissions, or willful misconduct; and (d) any allegation that your use of, or access to, ETF online services infringes upon the patent, trademark, copyright, trade name, trade secret, or other proprietary rights of any third party. Your duty to indemnify, defend, and hold ETF harmless under this Agreement shall survive the termination, cancellation, or expiration of the Agreement.
You shall be entitled to control the defense of any such claim and to defend or settle any such claim, in your sole discretion, with counsel of your choosing; however, you shall consult with ETF regarding your defense of any claim and not settle or compromise any claim or action in a manner that imposes restrictions or obligations on ETF, requires any financial payment by ETF, or grants rights or concessions to a third party without first obtaining ETF’s prior written consent. You shall have the right to assert any and all defenses on behalf of the indemnified parties, including sovereign immunity.
Disclaimer of Warranties and Accuracy of Data
While ETF makes every attempt to ensure the information provided is reliable, ETF makes no warranties of any kind, express or implied, about the accuracy, completeness, timeliness, or correct sequencing of information and will not be held responsible for any errors, omissions, or for the results obtained from the use of the information.
ETF relies on your employer to provide certain information about you and your employment, including health insurance premiums. ETF is not responsible for the accuracy of this information and is not able to update this information if inaccurate. You are responsible for reviewing this information, reporting inaccuracies to your employer, and ensuring that your employer accurately corrects this information.
Every effort is made to keep information available; however, ETF takes no responsibility for, and will not be liable for, online services being temporarily unavailable. ETF does not guarantee that online service will be uninterrupted or error-free. If you find any errors or omissions, please report them to the ETF webmaster: etfweb@etf.wi.gov.
If there is a conflict between the information provided on ETF websites and federal or Wisconsin laws, any decisions will be based on federal and Wisconsin laws and not the information on ETF websites.
Website Security and Monitoring
ETF has a responsibility to protect its computing resources. If ETF believes an attempt is being made to break into or otherwise abuse ETF computer systems or business information, ETF will use the information in computer logs and other monitoring tools, to determine those responsible. Unauthorized attempts to upload information, change information, or cause damage to ETF online services are prohibited and may be prosecuted and punished under current state and federal laws. ETF may share the information it gathers with law enforcement agencies or other authorized entities.
Links to Third-Party Websites
This website may contain links to information located on sites maintained by other public agencies and private organizations. Once a user links to another agency, organization, or company website, ETF privacy and security standards no longer apply to the information presented on the third-party website. ETF is not responsible for, and does not endorse, the content of third-party websites. ETF is also not liable for any defamatory, offensive, or illegal conduct of other users, links, or third parties, and the risk of injury from all off-site content rests entirely with the user.
Your Personal Information and How It Is Used
Under Wis. Stat. s. 19.68, ETF may not use its websites to obtain personally identifiable information from a person who visits that site without the consent of the person from whom the information is obtained. By creating login credentials for ETF online services, you are authorizing ETF to collect personally identifiable information from you. To conduct ETF customer business online, ETF sometimes must coordinate efforts with other parties. ETF will use the information ETF receives only to conduct ETF-related business. Individual personal information held by ETF is governed by federal and state law. Wis. Stat. s. 40.07 provides that individually identifying information in ETF files is confidential, and it is not subject to the Wisconsin Public Records Law.
Information Related to Health or Other Insurance Plans.
Please review ETF’s Notice of Privacy Practices for information on how ETF uses protected health information.
License Restrictions
The licensed programs of ETF online services shall be used solely for the purpose of processing data of ETF, Authorized Users (ETF personnel, members of the ETF boards, participating employers, ETF third-party administrators, and other third-party contractors and agencies providing services to ETF), and End Users (ETF plan participants, members, beneficiaries, and other customers) on one or more database servers operated by ETF or on an approved host.
You acknowledge and agree that (i) your use of the publicly available portions of the licensed programs is solely as a client to ETF and pursuant to your contractual terms with ETF, (ii) there is no contractual relationship between you and the vendor for ETF online services created by the use of publicly available portions of the licensed programs, and (iii) the vendor for ETF online services shall not be liable for any direct, special, incidental, punitive, exemplary, indirect, or consequential damages relating to any claim you make in connection with such your use of the licensed programs. Under no circumstances may you sell, license, publish, display, distribute, or otherwise transfer to a third party the licensed programs or any copy of the programs or technology that are accessed or used as part of the licensed programs.
Financial Aggregator and Password Manager Disclaimer
There are a number of websites offering services that enable users to view, access, and manage personal information online with one password, such as financial aggregators and password mangers.
Financial aggregators allow access to personal financial accounts across thousands of institutions and service providers. This collection and viewing of data from a single source is known as account aggregation. For an account aggregator to consolidate a user’s ETF account information with other outside sources, it requires a user to provide an ETF username and the password. The aggregator uses this information to access ETF systems and collect account data on a user’s behalf. Password managers generate and store personal login credentials, such as usernames and passwords.
Please be aware that ETF does not have a relationship with any third-party provider of account aggregation or password management services and does not endorse any provider of either service. ETF cannot guarantee the security and privacy of any confidential information that you provide to a third party.
Breach
You hereby acknowledge that your breach of this Agreement may result in immediate and irreparable harm to ETF, for which there will be no adequate remedy at law, and that ETF shall be entitled to equitable relief to compel you to cease and desist all unauthorized use, evaluation, or disclosure of information obtained through ETF online services. Your breach of this Agreement may also entitle ETF to bring an action against you for any and all other remedies available at law or in equity.
Termination and Access Restriction
ETF reserves the right, in its sole discretion, to terminate your access to ETF online services, related services, or any portion thereof at any time, without notice.
Merger
These Terms and Conditions of Use (which hereby incorporate by reference any other provisions applicable to use of ETF online services) constitute the entire Agreement between you and ETF and supersedes all prior or contemporaneous communications, promises, and proposals, whether oral, written, or electronic, between you and ETF with respect to ETF online services and information, software, products, and services associated with it.
Severability
If any term or provision in this Agreement is found to be void, against public policy, or unenforceable by a court of competent jurisdiction and such finding or order becomes final with all appeals exhausted, then the offending provision shall be deemed modified to the extent necessary to make it valid and enforceable. If the offending provision cannot be so modified, then the same shall be deemed stricken from this Agreement in its entirety and the remainder of this Agreement shall survive with the said offending provision eliminated.
Assignment
You may not assign, delegate, or transfer this Agreement or your rights or obligations hereunder, in any way (by operation of law or otherwise) without ETF’s prior written consent. ETF may freely assign its obligations and rights under this Agreement, including all personal information in ETF’s possession that ETF has collected during your use of ETF online services as further described in ETF’s Privacy and Security Notice.
No Waiver
No failure, omission, or delay on the part of ETF in exercising any right under this Agreement will preclude any other further exercise of that right or other right under this Agreement.
Headings
Provision and section headings are for convenience of reference only and shall not affect the interpretation of this Agreement.
Typographical Errors
Information on ETF online services may contain technical inaccuracies or typographical errors. ETF attempts to make ETF online services’ postings as accurate as possible, but we do not warrant that the content of ETF online services is accurate, complete, reliable, current, or error-free.
Governing Law and Venue
The laws of the State of Wisconsin and applicable Wisconsin and United States statutes and regulations govern this Agreement, without regard to any conflicts of laws or choice of law principles. Any court proceeding arising or related to this Agreement or a party’s obligations under the Agreement shall be exclusively brought and exclusively maintained in the State of Wisconsin, Dane County Circuit Court, or in the District Court of the United States Western District (if jurisdiction is proper in federal court), or upon appeal to the appellate courts of corresponding jurisdiction, and you hereby consent to the exclusive jurisdiction and exclusive venue therein and waive any right to object to such jurisdiction or venue. To the extent that in any jurisdiction you may now or hereafter be entitled to claim for yourself or your assets immunity from suit, execution, attachment (before or after judgment), or other legal process, you, to the extent it may effectively do so, irrevocably agree not to claim, and hereby waive, the same.