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Nevada.Change in Extended Benefits (EB) period. New state legislation redefines “base period” and temporarily revises the definition of an “on” indicator for the purposes of the EB program in order to receive additional funding through the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act, P.L. 111-5, for the payment of unemployment benefits for an extended period. In addition, it revises the total extended benefit amount a person may receive in a benefit year during periods of high unemployment. The Administrator is required to take whatever actions necessary to ensure that Nevada receives the additional benefits provided under the federal law for unemployment compensation.
Overriding a veto by Gov. Jim Gibbons, the Nevada Legislature has enacted legislation that temporarily revises the rate of the modified business tax. For the modified business tax, previously imposed on employers at the rate of 0.63% of wages, the legislation reduces the rate to 0.5% if wages paid by an employer do not exceed $62,500 in a calendar quarter. If wages exceed $62,500, the amount of the tax for that calendar quarter is $312.50 plus 1.17% of the amount of wages exceeding $62,500. The new rates become effective July 1, 2009, and apply to taxes due for calendar quarters ending on or before June 30, 2011.
New Hampshire.New Hampshire has amended the regulations under its Unemployment Compensation Law as follows: The regulations now specify that the term "based on wages earned in part-time work" means that during the individual's base period, some portion of his or her annual earnings were for employment of less than 37.5 hours a week. New language provides that an individual who is not available for full-time work must inform the department whether some portion of his or her earnings during the base period were for employment of less than 37.5 hours per week.
In cases where it is necessary to determine whether an individual's claim for benefits is based on wages earned in part-time work, the department must now provide the employer with the following information on a part-time work information form: The weeks for which hours worked information is needed and the weeks for which wages earned information is needed. The employer must now also supply the gross wages earned by the individual during each calendar week for which the information is provided.
New York.New York has amended its Unemployment Insurance Law as follows:
Disqualification from benefits. New language has been added allowing for voluntary separation for good cause if the separation is the result of a “compelling family reason.” Such reasons include: domestic violence, verified by reasonable and confidential documentation; the illness or disability of a member of the claimant’s immediate family, which necessitates the care of the family member for a period of time longer than the employer is willing to grant leave; or a change in the claimant’s spouse’s employment where the claimant needs to accompany his or her spouse to a new location from which it is impractical to commute.
Refusal of employment. A new subsection has been added providing that a refusal to accept employment will not be considered without good cause or disqualify an otherwise eligible claimant from receiving benefits if the claimant is seeking part-time work and the employment offer is not comparable to his or her part-time work.
Terms of disqualification. The term “short-time work” is now referred to as “part-time work.” Language that required a part-time worker to register as a short-time worker when unemployed has been eliminated. New language has been added providing that a claimant will not be denied benefits solely because he or she is seeking part-time work.
Definitions. The law adds additional circumstances when a state “on” indicator will be in effect for a week: For weeks of unemployment beginning on or after February 1, 2009, and ending the week ending three weeks prior to the last week for which 100% federal sharing is authorized by §2005(A) of Public Law 111-5 (the stimulus bill), or for weeks of unemployment ending three weeks prior to the last week for which Congress has authorized 100% federal sharing, the average rate of total unemployment for the most recent three months must equal or exceed 6.5% and the average rate of total unemployment in the state for that period must equal or exceed 110% of the average for either or both of the corresponding three-month periods ending in the two preceding calendar years; or for any period of “high unemployment” that otherwise meets the above provisions but where 8% is substituted for 6.5%.
The law now provides that there will be a state “off” indicator for a week only if for the period consisting of the week and the immediately preceding 12 weeks, none of the options provided for in the subsection describing “on” indicator weeks are present. There will be a state “off” indicator with respect to the new circumstances described above for the week ending three weeks prior to the last week for which 100% of federal sharing is authorized or for the week ending three weeks prior to the last week for which Congress has authorized 100% federal sharing. The term “rate of total unemployment” is now defined as the average percentage obtained by dividing the total number of unemployed residents of the state for the most recent three consecutive months by the total civilian labor force of the state for the same three-month period.
The definition of the term “eligibility period” now specifies that a claimant’s eligibility period includes any alternative eligibility period described in federal law. The terms “extended benefits” and “regular benefits” now include benefits payable to federal civilian employees and ex-servicemen.
Eligibility conditions. Eligibility conditions for extended benefits have been changed. The law now provides that an individual’s base period must have remuneration of one and one-half times the high calendar quarter earnings. Prior law required a base period of 20 weeks of full-time employment or remuneration that exceeded 40 times the claimant's most recent benefit rate.
Extended benefits. A new subsection has been added providing that extended benefits will be paid to a claimant for periods of high unemployment for not more than 80 effective days with respect to the applicable benefit year, with a total maximum equal to 80% of the total maximum amount of regular benefits payable in such benefit year.
Charging of extended benefits. New language provides that where the state has entered an extended benefit period for which federal law provides 100% of federal sharing of the cost of benefits, all charges will be debited to the general account and such account will be credited with the amount of payments received in the fund pursuant to provisions of federal laws providing 100% federal sharing for the cost of such benefits. New language also applies the language applicable to governmental entities to Indian tribes.
Approved training. A new subsection provides that a claimant will not be disqualified for his or her failure to accept an offer of or apply for suitable work if he or she is in approved training.
Oklahoma.Oklahoma has amended its rules under the Employment Security Act as follows: In addition to the other records that employers are required to maintain for four years, employers must now keep records that will confirm, verify or supply data that is required in any field on any Commission report form that is required to be filed by an employer or on behalf of an employer.
An audit report is now required to be filed with the Director of the Internal Audit Division within 30 days after the completion of the audit and not later than nine months from the end of the grant recipient's fiscal year. Previously, the audit report had to be filed not later than one year from the end of the grant recipient's fiscal year.
Oregon.Oregon has amended its Employment Department Law as follows: The requirement that documents be mailed by the Director to the parties involved in a hearing upon a claim has been eliminated. Now, the Director must provide all parties with copies of all documents and records in the possession of the Director pertaining to a hearing upon a claim for benefits. In addition, following the issuance of a written decision by an administrative law judge, any party may file a request to reopen the hearing. The administrative law judge may reopen the hearing if: (a) any party that is requesting the reopening failed to appear at the hearing; (b) the party files the request within 20 days after the issuance of the written decision by the administrative law judge; and (c) the cause of the failure to appear was beyond the control of the requesting party.
Oregon has amended its Employment Department Law as follows: Oregon has repealed the section of the law providing that a person or organization that has engaged the services of a musician or group of musicians is an employer except where there is a written contract expressly designating one or more of the musicians as responsible for filing reports and paying applicable taxes.
Pennsylvania.Change in Extended Benefits (EB) period. Pennsylvania's 13-week insured employment rate (IUR) for the week ending January 31, 2009, rose to 5.04% and exceeds 120% of the corresponding rate in the two prior years. Therefore, beginning the week of February 15, 2009, eligible unemployed workers will be able to collect up to an additional 13 weeks of UI benefits.
South Carolina.Change in Extended Benefits (EB) period. The 13-week insured unemployment rate (IUR) for South Carolina for the week ending February 21, 2009, rose above 5.0% and exceeded 120% of the corresponding average rate in the two prior years. Therefore, beginning the week of March 8, 2009, eligible unemployed workers will be able to collect up to an additional 13 weeks of UI benefits.
Tennessee.Tennessee has amended its Employment Security Law as follows: In the case of a petition regarding a disputed benefits claim filed by an aggrieved party who is not a resident of the state, within 30 days after the decision of the Board of Review has become final, a nonresident party may secure judicial review of the decision by filing a petition for judicial review against the Commissioner in the chancery court of the county where the employer is located.
Washington.Washington has amended its rules under the Washington Employment Security Act as follows: An individual who wants to show that he or she had good cause for leaving work due to a work-connected unreasonable hardship now also must show the work is no longer suitable because his or her health would be adversely affected by continuing in that employment.
West Virginia.The West Virginia Employment Security Law has been amended as follows:
Workforce West Virginia now consists of a Division of Unemployment Compensation; a Division of Employment Service; a Division of Workforce Development; a Division of Research, Information and Analysis; and any other units that the executive director determines to be necessary.
“Base period” means the first four out of the last five completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the first day of an individual's benefit year. “Alternative base period” means the last four completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the first day of an individual's benefit year. “Base period employer” and “alternative base period employer” mean any employer who in the base period or alternative base period for any benefit year paid wages to an individual who filed a claim for unemployment compensation within such benefit year. “Base period wages” and “alternative base period wages” mean wages paid to an individual during the base period or alternative base period by all the individual's base period or alternative base period employers.
This amendment changes the definition of “wages” to include that part of remuneration equal to $12,000 per calendar year per employee. It also increases the taxable wage base from $8,000 per employee to $12,000. In addition, the amendment states that the threshold wage will be reduced to $9,000 when the Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund reaches $220 million and sets the calculation for the threshold wage for each year thereafter. Note that if an employer has already filed its first quarter 2009 wage and contribution report and its employee(s) met the $8,000 limit in the first quarter, the employer will need to pay an additional $4,000 when it files the second quarter 2009 wage and contribution report. If the employee(s) did not meet the $8,000 limit in the first quarter, the employer will need to pay until it reaches the $12,000 taxable wage base.
An eligible benefit claimant now must have earned during his or her base period wages for employment equal to at least $2,200 and must have earned wages in more than one quarter of such base period, or has within his or her alternative base period been paid wages for employment equal to not less than $2,200 and must have earned wages in more than one quarter of his or her alternative base period.
This amendment changes the benefit disqualification of “misconduct” to “gross misconduct” under certain circumstances, and adds language pertaining to drug use without a valid prescription, manipulating a sample for a drug or alcohol test or refusing to submit to random drug testing for alcohol or illegal controlled substances for employees in safety sensitive positions. The amendment also disqualifies an individual from receiving unemployment benefits if he or she accepted an early retirement incentive package, except in certain circumstances.
This amendment freezes the present level of unemployment benefits until the threshold wage is reduced to $9,000.
Wisconsin.Wisconsin has amended its Unemployment Insurance and Reserves Act as follows:
Voluntary quit; illness or disability of family member. The law now specifies that a claimant will not be disqualified from receiving benefits if the claimant leaves his or her job because of a verified illness or disability of a member of his or her immediate family and that illness or disability necessitates care for a period of time that is longer than the employer is willing to grant leave.
Voluntary quit; domestic violence. The law also now specifies that a claimant will not be disqualified from receiving benefits if he or she provides to the Department a protective order, a report by law enforcement, or the concerned opinion of a health care professional or employee of a domestic violence shelter relating to domestic abuse or concerns about the claimant's personal safety or harassment. Prior law required the claimant to have a temporary restraining order, injunction or foreign protective order in place before termination. Language that required the claimant to demonstrate to the Department that a protective order was likely to be violated has been eliminated.
The law also includes some new definitions. The term “domestic abuse” has been expanded to include abuse by an adult person against an unrelated adult person with whom the person has had a personal relationship. The term “family member” has been expanded to include individuals related by adoption. The term “protective order” is now defined as a temporary restraining order or an injunction issued by a court of competent jurisdiction.
Applicable benefit year. A new subsection has been added defining the term “applicable benefit year” as the claimant’s current benefit year if at the time an initial claim for benefits is filed the claimant has an unexpired benefit year or, in any other case, the claimant’s most recent benefit year.
Training programs. The new subsection also provides that a claimant who is otherwise eligible for benefits and is currently enrolled in a training program is eligible for additional benefits if he or she: Has exhausted all rights to regular, supplemental, emergency compensation and extended benefits; has a benefit year that ended no earlier than 52 weeks prior to the week the claimant first claimed benefits; is first enrolled in a training program in the current benefit year; is not receiving similar stipends or other training allowances for nontraining costs; was separated from employment in a declining occupation or involuntarily separated as a result of a permanent reduction in operations, if the separation occurred no earlier than the beginning of the base period for the claimant’s applicable benefit year; and if the claimant is being trained for entry into a high demand occupation.
The benefit rate payable will be equal to the most recent weekly benefit rate in the claimant’s applicable benefit year. Claimants cannot receive total benefits exceeding 26 times their weekly benefit rate. In addition, a claimant, who is otherwise eligible and whose applicable benefit year ends in a week in which benefits are payable in Wisconsin or a similar state or federal program of additional benefits, is also eligible for benefits under this new provision if he or she is first enrolled in a training program within 52 weeks after the end of the applicable benefit year. However, a claimant cannot receive benefits for weeks beginning more than 52 weeks after the first week the claimant received benefits.
Extended benefits. For the weeks of unemployment between February 17, 2009, and June 1, 2010, or for the last week for which federal sharing is authorized, the term “eligibility period” has been extended to mean the period consisting of each week that an individual is eligible for emergency unemployment compensation if that week begins in an extended benefit period or if an individual’s eligibility for benefits ends within an extended benefit period, each week thereafter which begins in that extended benefit period.