U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR
Employment and Training Administration
Washington, D.C. 20210
REPORT ON STATE LEGISLATION
REPORT NO. 1
May 14, 2001
Amendments to State Unemployment Insurance Laws
ARKANSAS |
SB 237
(Act 770) |
ENACTED and EFFECTIVE
March 15, 2001 |
Benefits
Adds testing positive for illegal drugs under a
Department of Transportation qualified drug screen program, in accordance
with the employer's bona fide written drug policy, to the types of
misconduct that lead to a disqualification for
benefits.
|
COLORADO |
HB 1043
(CH 28) |
ENACTED March 12, 2001
EFFECTIVE 90 days after adjournment of general
assembly unless referendum petition is filed |
Financing
Eliminates the requirement that the Division of
Employment and Training in the Department of Labor and Employment deduct,
from an employer's refund of excess unemployment insurance taxes, an
amount equal to the benefits the Division has paid to employees upon whose
wages the taxes were based.
|
COLORADO |
HB 1200
(CH 15) |
ENACTED March 9, 2001
EFFECTIVE January 1, 2002 |
Financing
Relieves employer of obligation to pay
unemployment insurance taxes in a calendar quarter if the amount due is
less than five dollars.
|
IDAHO |
SB 1020
(CH 37) |
ENACTED and EFFECTIVE March 8, 2001 |
Administration
Repeals the penalty that employers lose their
appeal rights if they fail to provide separation information without good
cause within 10 days of a request from the
Department.
|
IDAHO |
SB 1021
(CH 32) |
ENACTED March 3, 2001
EFFECTIVE July 7, 2001 |
Financing
Modifies the interest payment provisions on Federal loans to:
-
change from a requirement to an option for the
director to pay interest charges due and payable from the Federal
advance interest repayment fund;
-
change from a requirement to an option to levy
on experience-rated employers a Federal advance interest repayment tax;
and
-
change from a requirement to an option at the director's sole discretion,
to assess a Federal advance interest repayment on each covered employer
if the estimated interest payable is more than zero.
|
MISSISSIPPI |
HB 175 |
ENACTED March 13, 2001
EFFECTIVE July 7, 2001 |
Benefits
Provides that no social security payments to which
an employee has made contributions shall be deducted from unemployment
compensation; such payments were previously
deductible.
|
MISSISSIPPI |
HB 700 |
ENACTED March 13, 2001
EFFECTIVE as indicated |
Benefits
Raises maximum weekly benefit amount from $190 to
$200, effective July 1, 2001, and from $200 to $210, effective July 1,
2002.
|
MONTANA |
HB 20
(CH 44) |
ENACTED and EFFECTIVE March 16, 2001 |
Coverage
Exempts from employment services performed by
election judges who receive less than $1,000 in remuneration in a calendar
year.
|
NEW JERSEY |
AB 2614
(CH 17) |
ENACTED January 29, 2001
EFFECTIVE January 7, 2001 |
Benefits
Eliminates the 12 times statewide average weekly wage option for purposes
of determining eligibility for benefits for other than agricultural workers.
Replaces the 12 times statewide average weekly option with 1,000 times
the minimum wage for agricultural workers.
Eliminates from the definition of base week for unemployment benefits
the 20 percent times statewide average weekly wage option.
Replaces the 20 times statewide average weekly wage with 20 times the
minimum wage in the definition of base week for temporary disability benefits.
Replaces the 12 times statewide average weekly
wage option with 1,000 times the minimum wage in determining entitlement
to temporary disability benefits.
|
NORTH DAKOTA |
HB 1083
(CH 52) |
ENACTED March 6, 2001
EFFECTIVE Retroactive to January 1, 2001 |
Benefits
Specifies that an individual is not considered to
have left employment voluntarily without good cause if the individual
leaves most recent employment to accept a bona fide job offer with a base
period employer who laid off the individual and with whom the individual
has a demonstrated job attachment.
|
NORTH DAKOTA |
HB 1085 |
ENACTED March 14, 2001
EFFECTIVE August 1, 2001 (for bids let after that date) |
Administration
Changes procedures for posting a bond or irrevocable letter of credit
on construction projects to ensure the payment of all benefits claimed
by employees working on the project.
Raises the threshold for estimated cost of a
construction project that requires posting a bond or letter of credit from
$25 to $50 million.
|
NORTH DAKOTA |
HB 1450 |
ENACTED March 19, 2001 EFFECTIVE retroactive to December 21, 2000 |
Coverage
Changes the definition of "employer" and "employment" to include service
performed for an Indian tribe, resulting in UI coverage of such services.
Allows an Indian tribe either to pay contributions or to elect to make
reimbursements.
Requires an Indian tribe that elects to make reimbursements to file
a surety bond.
Provides that failure of an Indian tribe to make required payments within
ninety days will result in loss of option to make reimbursements and that
further failure of the tribe to make payments will cause loss of coverage
of services performed for the Indian tribe.
Specifies that the job service North Dakota bureau
will notify the U.S. Internal Revenue Service and U.S. Department of Labor
of a termination or reinstatement of coverage of an Indian
tribe.
|
NORTH DAKOTA |
HB 1471 |
ENACTED March 14, 2001 EFFECTIVE retroactive to January
1, 2000 |
Financing
Provides that during the building of the trust fund reserve for calendar
years 2000, 2001, and 2002, a negative employer that was a negative employer
the previous year may not make excess contributions to become a positive
employer.
Removes the limitations, imposed during the building of the trust fund
reserve for calendar years 2000, 2001, and 2002, that the rate assigned
to an employer may not exceed one hundred thirty percent of the previous
year's rate for that employer and that an employer may not receive more
than a ten percent decrease in rate from the previous year's rate, on the
following employers:
-
an experience-rated employer that was a new
employer the previous year,
-
a negative employer that was a positive
employer the previous year,
-
a positive employer that was a negative
employer the previous year,
-
an employer that has failed to file a report,
-
a new employer, and
-
an employer that chose to make payments in lieu of contributions.
|
UTAH |
SB 179
(CH 265) |
ENACTED March 19, 2001 EFFECTIVE retroactive to December 21, 2000 |
Coverage
Extends UI coverage to services performed in the employ of an Indian
tribe or tribal unit.
Allows Indian tribes and tribal units either to pay contributions or
make reimbursements.
Provides that failure of any Indian tribe or tribal unit to make requires
payments within 90 days of receipt of a billing will cause the Indian tribe
to lose the reimbursement option.
Permits reimbursing Indian tribes or tribal units
to establish group accounts.
|
VIRGINIA |
HB 1955
(CH 721) |
ENACTED and EFFECTIVE March 26, 2001 |
Financing
Non charges benefits paid to an inmate
participating in a work-release program when the inmate's separation from
work arose from conditions of release or parole from such
program.
|
WYOMING |
HB 94
(CH 187) |
ENACTED and EFFECTIVE March 2, 2001 |
Administration
Creates a department of workforce services and
instructs the new director of that department to prepare a plan for
reorganizing various agencies and functions, including the possible
transfer of unemployment insurance and other functions to the Department
of Workforce Services. The plan is to be submitted to and approved by the
Governor and submitted to the joint labor, health and social services
interim committee of the legislature no later than October 15,
2001.
|
WYOMING |
SB 53
(CH 148) |
ENACTED March 1 , 2001 EFFECTIVE January 1, 2001 |
Financing
For calendar year 2002, lowers contribution rates
by 30 percent for experience-rated employers and employers at the base
rate of 8.5 percent.
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