SB 417

This bill makes changes in concealment of benefit claim information, the

requirement to maintain availability for work, interest on delinquent payments, and

the composition and authority of appeal tribunals under the unemployment

insurance (UI) law.

Concealment of benefit claim information

Currently, if a claimant conceals any material fact relating to his or her

eligibility for UI benefits or conceals any wages earned in or paid or payable for a

given week, the claimant is subject to graduated monetary penalties that increase

in severity with the number of determinations of concealment by the claimant. In

addition, if a claimant conceals any wages for a given week, the claimant is ineligible

to receive any benefits for that week.

This bill provides instead that claimant who is found guilty of concealment is

subject to a penalty equal to 15 percent of the benefit payments erroneously paid to

the claimant as a result of any acts of concealment. Under the bill, revenues collected

from the penalties are deposited in the unemployment reserve fund, which is used

to pay benefits.

Availability for work

Currently, with certain exceptions, a claimant is eligible for UI benefits for any

week in which the claimant earns no wages only if the claimant is available for work

during that week. This bill provides specifically that a claimant is not considered to

be available for work in any week in which he or she is in a country other than the

United States or Canada for more than 48 hours unless the claimant has

authorization to work in that other country and there is a reciprocal agreement

concerning the payment of benefits between that other country and the United

States.

Interest on delinquent payments

Currently, if an employer does not make a payment required under the UI law

to the Department of Workforce Development (DWD) by the due date, the employer

must pay interest on the amount owed equal to one percent per month or fraction

thereof from the date that the payment became due. This bill changes the interest

rate on delinquent payments to that monthly rate that annualized is equal to 9

percent or to 2 percent more than the prime rate as published in the Wall Street

Journal as of September 30 of the preceding year, whichever is greater, for each

month or fraction thereof that the employer is delinquent.

Composition and authority of appeal tribunals

Currently, DWD is directed by law to appoint appeal tribunals to

administratively hear and decide disputed UI claims and other matters arising

under the UI law. An individual who is appointed to serve as an appeal tribunal must

be a permanent employee of DWD except that DWD may appoint a person to serve

as a temporary appeal tribunal if the individual was formerly appointed to serve as