September 6, 2006, Introduced by Reps. Espinoza, Alma Smith, Leland, Anderson, Angerer, Polidori, Farrah, Kathleen Law, Sheltrown, Gleason and Tobocman and referred to the Committee on Employment Relations, Training, and Safety.
A bill to amend 1936 (Ex Sess) PA 1, entitled
"Michigan employment security act,"
by amending section 20 (MCL 421.20), as amended by 2003 PA 174, and
by adding section 64a.
THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:
Sec. 20. (a) Benefits paid shall be charged against the
employer's account as of the quarter in which the payments are
made.
If the bureau agency
determines that any benefits charged
against an employer's account were improperly paid, an amount equal
to the charge based on those benefits shall be credited to the
employer's account and a corresponding charge shall be made to the
nonchargeable benefits account as of the current period or, in the
discretion
of the bureau agency, as of the date of the charge.
Benefits paid to an individual as a result of an employer's failure
to
provide the unemployment agency with separation, employment,
and
or wage data as required by section 32 shall be
considered as
benefits properly paid to the extent that the benefits are
chargeable to the noncomplying employer.
(b)
For benefit years established before
the conversion date
prescribed
in section 75 October 1,
2000, benefits paid to an
individual shall be based upon the credit weeks earned during the
individual's base period and shall be charged against the
experience accounts of the contributing employers or charged to the
accounts of the reimbursing employers from whom the individual
earned credit weeks. If the individual earned credit weeks from
more than 1 employer, a separate determination shall be made of the
amount and duration of benefits based upon the total credit weeks
and wages earned with each employer. Benefits paid in accordance
with the determinations shall be charged against the experience
account of a contributing employer or charged to the account of a
reimbursing employer beginning with the most recent employer first
and thereafter as necessary against other base period employers in
inverse order to that in which the claimant earned his or her last
credit week with those employers. If there is any disqualifying act
or discharge under section 29(1) with an employer, benefits based
upon credit weeks earned from that employer before the
disqualifying act or discharge shall be charged only after the
exhaustion of charges as provided above. Benefits based upon those
credit weeks shall be charged first against the experience account
of the contributing employer involved or to the account of the
reimbursing employer involved in the most recent disqualifying act
or discharge and thereafter as necessary in similar inverse order
against other base period employers involved in disqualifying acts
or discharges. The order of charges determined as of the beginning
date of a benefit year shall remain fixed during the benefit year.
For
benefit years established on or after the conversion date
prescribed
in section 75 October 1,
2000, the claimant's full
weekly benefit rate shall be charged to the account or experience
account of the claimant's most recent separating employer for each
of the first 2 weeks of benefits payable to the claimant in the
benefit year in accordance with the monetary determination issued
pursuant
to under section 32. However, if the total sum of wages
paid by an employer totals $200.00 or less, those wages shall be
used for purposes of benefit payment, but any benefit charges
attributable to those wages shall be charged to the nonchargeable
benefits account. Thereafter, remaining weeks of benefits payable
in the benefit year shall be paid in accordance with the monetary
determination and shall be charged proportionally to all base
period employers, with the charge to each base period employer
being made on the basis of the ratio that total wages paid by the
employer in the base period bears to total wages paid by all
employers in the base period. However, if the claimant did not
perform services for the most recent separating employer or
employing entity and receive earnings for performing the services
of at least the amount a claimant must earn, in the manner
prescribed in section 29(3), to requalify for benefits following a
disqualification under section 29(1)(a), (b), (i), or (k) during
the claimant's most recent period of employment with the employer
or employing entity, then all weeks of benefits payable in the
benefit year shall be charged proportionally to all base period
employers, with the charge to each base period employer being made
on the basis of the ratio that total wages paid by the employer in
the base period bears to total wages paid by all employers in the
base period. If the claimant performed services for the most recent
separating employing entity and received earnings for performing
the services of at least the amount a claimant must earn, in the
manner prescribed in section 29(3), to requalify for benefits
following a disqualification under section 29(1)(a), (b), (i), or
(k) during the claimant's most recent period of employment for the
employing entity but the separating employing entity was not a
liable employer, the first 2 weeks of benefits payable to the
claimant shall be charged proportionally to all base period
employers, with the charge to each base period employer being made
on the basis of the ratio that total wages paid by the employer in
the base period bears to total wages paid by all employers in the
base period. The "separating employer" is the employer that caused
the individual to be unemployed as defined in section 48.
(c)
For benefit years established before
the conversion date
prescribed
in section 75 October 1,
2000, and except as otherwise
provided in section 11(d) or (g) or section 46a, the charges for
regular benefits to any reimbursing employer or to any contributing
employer's experience account shall not exceed the weekly benefit
rate multiplied by 3/4 the number of credit weeks earned by the
individual during his or her base period from that employer. If the
resultant product is not an even multiple of 1/2 the weekly benefit
rate, the amount shall be raised to an amount equal to the next
higher multiple of 1/2 the weekly benefit rate, and in the case of
an individual who was employed by only 1 employer in his or her
base period and who earned 34 credit weeks with that employer, the
product shall be raised to the next higher multiple of the weekly
benefit rate.
(d)
For benefit years beginning on or
after the conversion
date
prescribed in section 75 October 1, 2000, and except as
otherwise provided in section 11(d) or (g) or section 46, the
charges for regular benefits to any reimbursing employer's account
or to any contributing employer's experience account shall not
exceed either the amount derived by multiplying by 2 the weekly
benefit rate chargeable to the employer in accordance with
subsection (b) if the employer is the separating employer and is
chargeable for the first 2 weeks of benefits, or the amount derived
from the percentage of the weekly benefit rate chargeable to the
employer in accordance with subsection (b), multiplied by the
number of weeks of benefits chargeable to base period employers
based on base period wages, to which the individual is entitled as
provided in section 27(d), if the employer is a base period
employer, or both of these amounts if the employer was both the
chargeable separating employer and a base period employer.
(e)
For benefit years beginning before
the conversion date
prescribed
in section 75 October 1,
2000:
(1) When an individual has multiemployer credit weeks in his
or her base period, and when it becomes necessary to use those
credit weeks as a basis for benefit payments, a single
determination shall be made of the individual's weekly benefit rate
and maximum amount of benefits based on the individual's
multiemployer credit weeks and the wages earned in those credit
weeks. Each employer involved in the individual's multiemployer
credit weeks shall be an interested party to the determination. The
proviso in section 29(2) shall not be applicable to multiemployer
credit weeks, nor shall the reduction provision of section 29(4)
apply to benefit entitlement based upon those credit weeks.
(2) The charge for benefits based on multiemployer credit
weeks shall be allocated to each employer involved on the basis of
the ratio that the total wages earned during the total
multiemployer credit weeks counted under section 50(b) with the
employer bears to the total amount of wages earned during the total
multiemployer credit weeks counted under section 50(b) with all
such employers, computed to the nearest cent. However, if an
adjusted weekly benefit rate is determined in accordance with
section 27(f), the charge to the employer who has contributed to
the financing of the retirement plan shall be reduced by the same
amount by which the weekly benefit rate was adjusted under section
27(f). Benefits for a week of unemployment allocated under this
subsection to a contributing employer shall be charged to the
nonchargeable benefits account if the claimant during that week
earns remuneration with that employer that equals or exceeds the
amount of benefits allocated to that employer.
(3) Benefits paid in accordance with the determination based
on multiemployer credit weeks shall be allocated to each employer
involved and charged as of the quarter in which the payments are
made. Notice of charges made under this subsection shall be given
to each employer by means of a current listing of charges, at least
weekly, or of a quarterly statement of charges. The listing or
statement shall specify the weeks for which benefits were paid
based on multiemployer credit weeks and the amount of benefits paid
chargeable to that employer for each week. The notice shall be
considered to satisfy the requirements of sections 21(a) and 32(d)
that notification be given each employer of benefits charged
against that employer's account by means of a copy or listing of
the benefit check, and all protest and appeal rights applicable to
benefit check copies or listings shall also be applicable to the
notice of charges. If an employer receives both a current listing
of charges and a quarterly statement of charges under this
subsection, all protest and appeal rights shall only be applicable
to the first notice given.
(f)
For benefit years beginning on or
after the conversion
date
prescribed in section 75 October
1, 2000, if benefits for a
week of unemployment are charged to 2 or more base period
employers, the share of the benefits allocated and charged under
this section to a contributing employer shall be charged to the
nonchargeable benefits account if the claimant during that week
earns remuneration with that employer that equals or exceeds the
amount of benefits charged to that employer.
(g)
For benefit years beginning before
the conversion date
prescribed
in section 75 October 1,
2000:
(1) Training benefits as provided in section 27(g), and
extended benefits as provided in section 64, shall be allocated to
each reimbursing employer involved in the individual's base period
of the claim to which the benefits are related, on the basis of the
ratio that the total wages earned during the total credit weeks
counted under section 50(b) with a reimbursing employer bears to
the total amount of wages earned during the total credit weeks
counted under section 50(b) with all employers.
(2) Training benefits and extended benefits, to the extent
that they are not reimbursable by the federal government and have
been allocated to a reimbursing employer, shall be charged to that
reimbursing employer. A contributing employer's experience account
shall not be charged with training benefits. Training benefits
based on service with a contributing employer, to the extent that
they are not reimbursable by the federal government, shall be
charged to the nonchargeable benefits account. Extended benefits
paid and based on service with a contributing employer, to the
extent that they are not reimbursable by the federal government,
shall be charged to that employer's experience account.
(3) If the training benefits or extended benefits are
chargeable only to a single reimbursing employer, the benefits
shall be charged in accordance with subsection (a). If the training
benefits or extended benefits are chargeable to more than 1
reimbursing employer, or to 1 or more reimbursing employers and the
nonchargeable benefits account, the benefits shall be charged as of
the quarter in which the payments are made.
(4) Notice of charges made under this subsection shall be
given to each employer by means of a current listing of charges, at
least weekly, and subsequently by a quarterly summary statement of
charges. The listing shall specify the name and social security
number of each claimant paid benefits during the week, the weeks
for which the benefits were paid, and the amount of benefits
chargeable to that employer paid for each week. The quarterly
statement of charges shall list each claimant by name and social
security number and shall show total benefit payments chargeable to
that employer and made to each claimant during the calendar
quarter. The listing shall be considered to satisfy the
requirements of sections 21(a) and 32(d) that notification be given
each employer of benefits charged against that employer's account
by means of a listing of the benefit check. All protest and appeal
rights
applicable to benefit check listings shall also be
applicable
apply to the notice of charges. If an employer receives
both a current listing of charges and a quarterly statement of
charges under this subsection, all protest and appeal rights shall
only be
applicable apply to the first notice given.
(h)
For benefit years beginning on or
after the conversion
date
prescribed in section 75 October
1, 2000:
(1)
Training benefits as provided in section 27(g), and
extended benefits as provided in section 64, or additional benefits
as provided in section 64a, shall be charged to each reimbursing
employer in the base period of the claim to which the benefits are
related, on the basis of the ratio that the total wages paid by a
reimbursing employer during the base period bears to the total
wages paid by all reimbursing employers in the base period.
(2)
Training benefits, and extended benefits, or additional
benefits, to the extent they are not
reimbursable by the federal
government
and have been allocated to a reimbursing
employer,
shall be charged to that reimbursing employer. A contributing
employer's experience account shall not be charged with training
benefits. Training benefits based on service with a contributing
employer, to the extent they are not reimbursable by the federal
government, shall be charged to the nonchargeable benefits account.
Except as provided in section 17(3)(m), extended benefits or
additional benefits paid and based on service with a contributing
employer,
to the extent they are not reimbursable by the
federal
government, shall be charged to that employer's experience account.
(3)
If the training benefits, or extended benefits, or
additional benefits are chargeable only to a single reimbursing
employer,
the benefits charge shall be charged
made in
accordance
with subsection (a). If the training benefits, or
extended benefits, or additional benefits are chargeable to more
than 1 reimbursing employer, or to 1 or more reimbursing employers
and
the nonchargeable benefits account, the
benefits charge shall
be charged
made as of the quarter in which the payments are made.
(4) Notice of charges made under this subsection shall be
given to each employer by means of a current listing of charges, at
least weekly, and subsequently by a quarterly summary statement of
charges. The listing shall specify the name and social security
number of each claimant paid benefits in the week, the weeks for
which the benefits were paid, and the amount of benefits chargeable
to that employer paid for each week. The quarterly summary
statement of charges shall list each claimant by name and social
security
number and shall show total benefit payments chargeable
to that employer and made to each claimant during the calendar
quarter. The listing shall be considered to satisfy the
requirements of sections 21(a) and 32(d) that notification be given
to
each employer of benefits charged charges against that
employer's
account by means of a listing of the
benefit payment
check.
All protest and appeal rights applicable to benefit
payment
check listings shall also be
applicable apply to the
notice of charges. If an employer receives both a current listing
of charges and a quarterly summary statement of charges under this
subsection,
all protest and appeal rights shall
apply only be
applicable
to the first notice given.
(i)
If a benefit year is established on
or after the
conversion
date prescribed in section 75 October
1, 2000, the
portion of benefits paid in that benefit year that are based on
wages used to establish the immediately preceding benefit year that
began
before the conversion date October 1, 2000 shall not be
charged to the employer or employers who paid those wages but shall
be charged instead to the nonchargeable benefits account.
(j)
If a reimbursing employer is charged for extended benefits
during
a period when extended benefits are paid based on the
average
rate of total unemployment, in accordance with section
64(5)(c)(ii), the bureau shall credit the account of the
reimbursing
employer
for the full amount of those extended benefits. The bureau
shall
charge the contingent fund created under section 10(6) for
amounts
so credited to reimbursing employers. This subsection is
effective
with respect to benefit charges for extended benefits
paid
for weeks of unemployment beginning the week after the week in
which
this subsection becomes effective and ending the week ending
January
17, 2004.
Sec. 64a. (1) An individual who has received benefits for the
maximum number of weeks to which the individual is entitled for the
benefit year under section 27 is eligible to receive up to 13 weeks
of additional benefits, as defined in section 64, at the rate and
from the source otherwise applicable to regular benefits, if all of
the following conditions exist:
(a) The individual meets all of the conditions for eligibility
for regular unemployment benefits except that the individual has
received benefits for the maximum number of weeks to which the
individual is entitled for the benefit year under section 27.
(b) The seasonally adjusted total unemployment rate as
determined by the United States department of labor for the state
exceeded 5% for the 3 months preceding the date of exhaustion of
regular benefits.
(2) Additional benefits are payable under this section for
weeks beginning 30 days after the effective date of the amendatory
act that added this section.