SB 341

This bill makes various changes in the unemployment insurance (UI) law,

which is administered by the Department of Workforce Development (DWD),

including all of the following:

Recovery of employer UI debts under Treasury Offset Program

Current state law allows DWD to recoup certain UI benefit overpayments made

to claimants by offsetting the amount of an overpayment against a federal tax refund

through the federal Treasury Offset Program (TOP), but does not permit DWD to

similarly recoup UI debts owed by employers. Under current federal law, however,

a state

must

act to recover through the TOP certain UI-related debts that remain

uncollected for one year or more, including those of both employers and claimants.

This bill allows DWD to offset a UI debt found to be due to DWD by an employer

against a federal tax refund through the TOP.

Work-share programs

Under current law, any employer may create a work-share program, defined

as a program approved by DWD under which the hours of work of employees in a

work unit are reduced in lieu of the layoffs of two or more employees in the work unit.

An employee included under a work-share program who otherwise qualifies to

receive regular UI benefits must receive a UI benefit payment for each week that the

employee is included under the program. The amount of the benefit payment is the

employee's regular UI benefit amount multiplied by the employee's proportionate

reduction in hours for that week under the work-share program (work-share

benefits). Current law also provides, however, that an employee included under a

work-share program who would otherwise be paid benefits for any week under the

UI law's partial benefits formula (partial benefits) must instead receive a benefit

payment for that week in the amount payable to the employee under that formula,

if that amount is higher than the work-share benefits amount.

Under this bill, employees included under a work-share program may only be

paid work-share benefits, and not partial benefits.

Determinations in combined-wage claims

Under federal law, a state must, as a condition of approval of its UI law by the

U.S. Secretary of Labor, participate in arrangements for the payment of UI benefits

on the basis of combining an individual's wages and employment covered under that

state's UI law with wages and employment covered under another state's UI law

(combined-wage claim). Also under federal law, as a condition of employers being

able to receive certain tax credits under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, a state

may not relieve an employer's account of certain erroneous charges in certain cases

where the employer was at fault.

Under current state law, DWD may, in connection with any issue arising under