THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

297

TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to unemployment compensation.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


    

SECTION 1.    Section 383-65, Hawaii Revised Statutes,is amended to read as follows:

     "§383-65  Charges and noncharges for benefits.  (a)  Except as otherwise provided in subsection (b), benefits paid to an individual shall be charged against the accounts of the individual's base period employers and the amount of benefits so chargeable against each base period employer's account shall bear the same ratio to the total benefits paid to the individual as the base period wages paid to the individual by the employer bear to the total amount of base period wages paid to the individual by all of the individual's base period employers.  Benefits paid shall be charged to employers' accounts in the calendar year in which the benefits are paid.

     (b)  Benefits paid to an individual shall not be charged against the account of any of the individual's base period employers on a contributory plan under section 383-61 when such benefits are:

     (1)  Paid to an individual during any benefit year if the individual:

         (A)  Left work voluntarily without good cause; or

         (B)  Was discharged for misconduct connected with the individual's work; or

         (C)  Left work voluntarily for good cause not attributable to the employer.

          The chargeability of benefits to an employer's account shall be determined in accordance with section 383-94 and other applicable provisions of this chapter, or as may be otherwise specified by the department;

     (2)  Paid to an individual, who, during the individual's base period, earned wages for part-time employment with an employer, if the employer continues to give the individual employment to the same extent while the individual is receiving benefits as during the base period and the employer establishes such fact to the satisfaction of the director of labor and industrial relations;

     (3)  Paid to an individual for the period the individual is enrolled in and is in regular attendance at a vocational training or retraining course approved by the director pursuant to section 383-29;

     (4)  Paid to an individual under the extended benefits program, sections 383-168 to 383-174; except that one-half of the amount of such benefits which are based on services performed for a governmental employer on a contributory plan shall be charged to the account of such employer;

     (5)  Paid to an individual who qualifies to receive benefits by meeting the minimum earnings and employment requirements only by combining the individual's employment and wages earned in two or more states;

     (6)  Benefits overpaid to a claimant as a result of ineligibility or disqualification under sections 383-29 and 383-30 unless such overpayment resulted from the employer's failure to furnish information as required by this chapter or the rules of the department; or

     (7)  Benefits paid to an individual during any benefit year beginning September 13, l992 and thereafter shall not be charged to the account of any base period employer from whose employment the individual is separated as a direct result of a major disaster and would have been entitled to disaster unemployment assistance under the Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (P.L. 100-707) but for the receipt of unemployment insurance benefits paid under this chapter; provided that the employer must petition for relief of any charges to an employer's reserve account as requested by the department and the director approves granting relief of charges.

     (c)  The amount of noncharged benefits shall bear the same ratio to the total benefits paid to the individual as the base period wages paid to the individual by the employer or employers not charged bear to the total amount of base period wages paid to the individual by all of the individual's base period employers.  The noncharging provisions of subsection (b) shall not apply to governmental employers or nonprofit organizations making payments in lieu of contributions under section 383-62.

     (d)  For the purposes of the arrangements in which the department will participate pursuant to section 383-106(b) only, "base period" as used in this section means the base period of this or any other state applied to a claim involving the combining of an individual's wages and employment covered under two or more state unemployment compensation laws.

"(e) An employer's account shall not be relieved of charges relating to a payment that was made erroneously from the state unemployment compensation fund if the department determines that:

(1)  The erroneous payment was made because the employer, or the agent of the employer, was at fault for failing to respond timely or adequately to a written request from the department for information relating to the claim for unemployment compensation; and

(2)  The employer or agent has established a pattern of failing to respond timely or adequately to requests for information.

As used in this subsection, 'erroneous payment' means a payment that but for the failure by the employer or the employer's agent with respect to the claim for unemployment compensation, would not have been made; and 'pattern of failing' means repeated documented failure on the part of the employer or the agent of the employer to respond, taking into consideration the number of instances of failure in relation to the total volume of requests to that employer.  An employer or employer's agent failing to respond as described in this subsection shall not be construed as a 'pattern of failure' if the number of such failures during the year prior to such request is less than two per cent of such requests to that employer.

(f) Determinations of the department prohibiting the relief of charges pursuant to this section shall be subject to appeal or protest as other determinations of the agency with respect to the charging of employer accounts.

(g) This subsection shall apply to erroneous payments established after October 21, 2013."

     SECTION 2.  New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 3.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval

 

 

 

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

 

 


 


 

Report Title:

Erroneous payments from state unemployment compensation fund.

 

Description:

Amends HRS 383 to comply with prohibition enacted in Section 252 of the federal Trade Adjustment Assistance Extension Act of 2011.

 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.