AB 149

This bill makes various changes regarding the unemployment insurance (UI)

law, which is administered by the Department of Workforce Development.

Suitable work; work search

Current law requires that, as a condition of being eligible for UI benefits for a

given week, a claimant must 1) be able to work and available for work; 2) register for

work in the manner prescribed by DWD; and 3) conduct a reasonable search for

suitable work. Separately, current law also makes a claimant ineligible for UI

benefits if a claimant fails, without good cause, to accept suitable work when offered.

The bill provides that an employer may report to DWD whenever 1) an

individual declines a job interview or job offer; 2) an individual fails to respond to a

job interview offer or job offer; 3) an individual fails to attend a scheduled job

interview without attempting to reschedule the job interview; 4) a UI claimant is

unavailable for, or unable to perform, work actually available within a given week;

or 5) under certain circumstances, the employer recalls a former employee receiving

UI benefits who fails to return to work. The bill requires DWD to consider these

reports in determining claimants' attachment to the labor market. The bill also

provides that a UI claimant is not considered to have conducted a reasonable search

for suitable work in a given week, and is therefore ineligible for benefits for that

week, if the claimant had one or more credible reports without good cause of declining

a job interview, failing to respond to a job interview offer, or failing to attend a job

interview in that week. The bill, however, provides that the first such credible report

is to be disregarded and allows subsequent reports to be disregarded upon certain

showings by a claimant. The bill requires DWD to investigate each such report as

needed to determine its effect on claimants' eligibility for benefits.

The bill requires DWD to include information on reports submitted by

employers under the bill in its annual UI fraud report made to the Council on

Unemployment Insurance, including actions taken by DWD in response to the

reports and their effect on claimants' eligibility for benefits. In addition, the bill

requires that this annual fraud report be submitted to the appropriate standing

committees of the legislature.

The bill requires DWD to have in effect methods to address any circumstances

in which a claimant for UI benefits fails to return to work or to accept suitable work

without good cause or is unavailable for work or unable to work, including reporting

methods for employers and a notice from DWD to claimants about the laws governing

such circumstances.

Recovery of overpayments

Current law allows DWD to act to recover overpayments in certain

circumstances and allows overpayments to be required to be repaid in cases where

an individual makes misrepresentations to obtain benefits in the name of another

person. This bill makes such recoveries mandatory, instead of permissive.