Noncharges benefits against an employer's account for separations from work due to domestic violence.

Decreases the contribution rate from 2.7 percent to 2.0 percent for employers whose accounts have not been charged with benefits for the 12 month period ending June 30 of the preceding calendar year, effective from and after December 31, 2004.

Decreases the minimum contribution rate from 0.05 percent to 0.02 percent for positive reserve ratio employers.

Reduces the employer adjusted rate from 0.05 percent to 0.0025 percent.

Provides that from and after December 31, 2004, the payment of contributions or job training employer taxes is not required if the quarterly amount of the contributions and taxes is less than $10.

Increases the quarterly wages needed in the base period to monetarily qualify for unemployment benefits from $1,000 to $1,500.

Increases the maximum weekly benefit amount from $205 to $240, effective from and after June 30, 2004.

Provides, effective from and after December 31, 2004, that an individual will not be deemed unemployed if:

• with respect to any week of less than full-time work if the loss of full-time work is directly attributable to the fault of the individual.
• the individual is receiving wages in lieu of notice, dismissal pay or severance pay. The period of time for which wages in lieu of notice, dismissal pay or severance pay are allocable will be determined by either of the following:
• if there was a written contract between the employer and the claimant in effect at the time of separation, allocate to the appropriate period in accordance with the contract, continuing for the number of work days that the pay would cover at the regular wage rate.
• if no written contract was in effect at the time of separation, allocate to the appropriate period following the last day of performance of services, continuing for the number of work days that the pay would cover at the regular wage rate.

When an employer continues to give the part-time worker employment opportunities to the same extent while he is receiving benefits as during the base period, places the burden of proof to establish that the employer failed to give employment opportunities to the individual to the same extent as during the base period on the Commission.

Provides that an individual who is a victim of domestic violence and leaves employment due to a documented case of a domestic violence offence will not be disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits.

Disqualifies an individual for benefits for any week in which the individual is incarcerated.

Provides that benefits will not be reduced by the receipt of social security retirement in order to take into account contributions made by the individual for the pension.

Increases from 90 to 180 days the time period for employers to request a discretionary transfer of an experience rating account.

Provides that whenever an individual or organization succeeds to or acquires all, substantially all, or part of the business of a covered employer, the transfer of the predecessor’s experience rating account to the successor employer must be mandatory if the management, ownership, or control is substantially the same for the successor as for the predecessor and there is a continuity of business activity by the successor.

Provides that for purposes of a successorship, an employer’s experience rating account must consist of the actual contribution, benefit and taxable payroll experience of the employer and any amounts due from the employer as required by state law.

Changes the successorship provisions to provide that if a successor employer is determined to be qualified to receive the experience rating factors of the predecessor employer, the rate assigned to the successor employer for the remainder of the contributions year will be determined by the following:

• If the acquiring employing unit was an employer prior to the date of the transfer, the rate of contribution will be the same as the contribution rate of the acquiring employer on the date of the transfer.
• If the acquiring employing unit was not an employer prior to the date of the transfer, the successor employer will have a newly computed rate for the remainder of the contribution year which will be based on the transferred experience rating factors as they existed on the most recent computation date immediately preceding the date of acquisition. These experience rating factors consist of all contributions paid, benefit experience and annual payrolls.

Considers an individual to have voluntarily resigned for failure to return to work after expiration of approved personal or medical leave, or both, and disqualifies such individual from benefits for voluntarily leaving work without good cause attributable to the work or employer.

Extends the definition of "misconduct" to include:

• the failure of the employee to notify the employer of an absence, and
• under certain conditions, repeated absences, including incarceration, resulting in absence from work of 3 days or longer, excluding Saturdays, Sundays, and legal holidays.

Provides that if the employee alleges his/her repeated absences were the result of health related issues, such employee must present evidence that includes documentation from a licensed and practicing health care provider.

Disqualifies an individual for benefits if discharged for failing a pre-employment drug screen required by the employer and if such discharge occurs not later than 7 days after the employer is notified of the results of such drug screen; provides that the disqualification will begin the day following the separation and continue until after reemployment and earnings in insured work of at least 3 times the weekly benefit amount.

Establishes an emergency rule relating to part-time work that provides that a claimant who is not able and available for full-time work will not be disqualified from receiving benefits if:

• More than 50 percent of the weeks worked during the claimant's base period were less than full time, and the claimant is able to work and available for and actively seeking work for a number of hours comparable to the number of hours worked during those weeks; or
• The majority of the weeks worked during the claimant's base period were full-time but the claimant is only able and available for less than full-time work due to the illness or disability of the claimant's immediate family member, or when necessary for the safety or protection of the claimant or the claimant's immediate family member, including protection from domestic abuse.
• The claimant is not able to work full-time due to a covered disability under the American's with Disabilities Act but is able and available to work less than full-time. Once a claimant has returned to work and is working the full number of hours for which the claimant is able or available to work considering his or her disability, that claimant is not considered "partially unemployed."

Permits telephone appeals to the Appeal Tribunal through the Commission’s interactive voice response system or by speaking with one of the Commission’s claim representatives.

Revokes the provision providing that if a party is represented by an attorney, the hearing officer may approve a fee for legal services on a quantum merit basis, provided the fee is commensurate with the fee set by the board of review.

Amends the severance pay provision to provide for the deduction of severance pay in the week severance pay is received.

Provides that separation from employment to escape domestic violence or abuse is considered good cause and benefits are allowed, provided that a victim’s protection order was on file with the appropriate authorities and the order was effective on the date the claimant separated from employment.

Requires the employer to produce certain specific documentation to establish that the drug or alcohol test of a claimant was conducted in accordance with the Standards for Workplace Drug and Alcohol Testing Act.

Requires assigning an employing unit all or a portion of the employment benefit record of an existing employing unit when there is an acquisition or change in the form or organization of an existing business enterprise, or severable portion thereof, and there is a continuity of control of the business enterprise; requires the employing unit to be assigned the same rate as the predecessor, or the predecessor who has the highest base rate if there is more than one predecessor employing unit with different base rates.

Prohibits assigning an employing unit any portion of the employment benefit record of an existing employing unit upon the acquisition of that established business or of an identifiable and segregable part thereof if the:

• acquiring person was not otherwise an employer at the time of the acquisition;
• person has no substantial commonality of interest, including ownership or management, in the business acquired; and
• commission finds that the person acquired the business or an identifiable and segregable part thereof solely or primarily for the purpose of obtaining a lower rate of contributions.

Provides that if the experience rating account of the predecessor employer contains a debit balance, defined as an excess of total benefits charged over total contributions paid, the experience rating account of the predecessor employer in any event must be transferred to the successor employer.

Assesses a penalty equal to the greater of $1,000 or 10 percent of the tax determined by the commission to be due for each report submitted in violation on an employing unit that wilfully attempts to violate these provisions; provides that this penalty may be recovered in the same manner as for the collection of other penalties; provides that officers and directors of the enterprise comprising the employing unit are individually liable for the penalties assessed.

Provides that a contribution tax return preparer who violates these provisions or provides advice to an employing unit that results in a wilful violation of these provisions is liable to a penalty of not less than $1,000 nor more than $10,000 for each report submitted in violation; provides that this penalty may be recovered by the commission in an appropriate civil action in any court of competent jurisdiction.

Requires appeals to the court for review of tax liability to be filed in the chancery court of Davidson County.

Requires an appeal to be filed within 20 calendar days after the date the written notification of the redetermination is given or mailed to the last known address of the interested party or the redetermination becomes final and not subject to further review.

Makes the $50 late payment penalty applicable if the filing of quarterly wage information and requested reports of base period earnings is not more than 15 days late; establishes a penalty of $50 for each 15 days or a fraction of the 15 days that the filing is late, but not to exceed $250 per filing, if the filing is more than 15 days late.

Requires employers liable for payments in lieu of contributions to file quarterly Reimbursable Employment and Wage Reports on the last day of the month that follows the end of each calendar quarter, and applies the same late payment penalty applicable to contributing employers for untimely filing quarterly Reimbursable Employment and Wage Reports.

Prohibits a levy on unemployment benefits by creditors enforcing a claim for alimony, support, maintenance, certain unpaid earnings, or state or local taxes.

Provides that deductions of child support obligations or an uncollected over issuance of food stamp benefits are the only deductions that can be withheld from unemployment benefits.

With respect to benefit fraud, clarifies that overpayment is the amount of benefits the claimant received by direct reason of fraud.

Provides that if the fraud determination is based solely on unreported or under reported work or earnings, or both, and the claimant would have been eligible for benefits if the work or earnings,

or both, had been correctly reported, the individual does not lose eligibility because of the misreporting but is liable for the overpayment and penalties.

Sets the social contribution rate at .003 for the rate year beginning January 1, 2004.

Provides that on or after January 1, 2005, the social contribution rate will be calculated by dividing all social costs applicable to the preceding 4 fiscal years by the total taxable wages of all employers subject to contributions for the same period.

Provides that the social contribution rate for only the rate year beginning January 1, 2005, may not exceed .004.

Provides that Reed Act monies made available to the state which are received on or after January 1, 2004, may not be considered in establishing the reserve factor for the rate year 2005 or any subsequent rate year.

Increases the maximum employer contribution rate from 8.0 percent plus the social contribution rate to 9.0 percent plus the social contribution rate, effective January 1, 2004.

Reduces the maximum weekly benefit amount from 65 percent to 62 percent of the insured average fiscal year weekly wage during the preceding fiscal year for claims filed on or after July 4, 2004.

Amends the penalty provision related to evading the successorship provisions by:

• adding to the penalty assessment the solvency surcharge (if any) and 2%; and
• changing the effective period for the penalty assessment from 5 quarters to 1 year.