BP BHEAD INT S

AN ACT Relating to noncharging of benefits to employers' unemployment insurance experience rating accounts; amending RCW 50.16.094, 50.22.090, and 50.29.020; creating a new section; and declaring an emergency.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 50.16.094 and 1993 c 226 s 6 are each amended to read as follows:

An individual may be eligible for applicable employment security benefits while participating in work force training. Eligibility is at the discretion of the commissioner of employment security after submitting a commissioner-approved training waiver and developing a detailed individualized training plan.

((~~Benefits paid under this section may not be charged to the experience rating accounts of individual employers.~~))

The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to implement this section.

Sec. 2. RCW 50.22.090 and 1993 c 316 s 10 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) An additional benefit period is established for counties identified under subsection (2) of this section beginning on the first Sunday after July 1, 1991, and for the forest products industry beginning with the third week after the first Sunday after July 1, 1991. Benefits shall be paid as provided in subsection (3) of this section to exhaustees eligible under subsection (4) of this section.

(2) The additional benefit period applies to counties having a population of less than five hundred thousand beginning with the third week after a week in which the commissioner determines that a county meets two of the following three criteria, as determined by the department, for the most recent year in which such data is available: (a) A lumber and wood products employment location quotient at or above the state average; (b) projected or actual direct lumber and wood products job losses of one hundred positions or more, except counties having a population greater than two hundred thousand but less than five hundred thousand must have direct lumber and wood products job losses of one thousand positions or more; or (c) an annual unemployment rate twenty percent or more above the state average. The additional benefit period for a county may end no sooner than fifty-two weeks after the additional benefit period begins.

(3) Additional benefits shall be paid as follows:

(a) No new claims for additional benefits shall be accepted for weeks beginning after July 1, 1995, but for claims established on or before July 1, 1995, weeks of unemployment occurring after July 1, 1995, shall be compensated as provided in this section.

(b) The total additional benefit amount shall be one hundred four times the individual's weekly benefit amount, reduced by the total amount of regular benefits and extended benefits paid, or deemed paid, with respect to the benefit year. Additional benefits shall not be payable for weeks more than two years beyond the end of the benefit year of the regular claim for an individual whose benefit year ends on or after July 27, 1991, and shall not be payable for weeks ending on or after two years after March 26, 1992, for individuals who become eligible as a result of chapter 47, Laws of 1992.

(c) Notwithstanding the provisions of (b) of this subsection, individuals will be entitled to up to five additional weeks of benefits following the completion or termination of training.

(d) The weekly benefit amount shall be calculated as specified in RCW 50.22.040.

(e) Benefits paid under this section shall be paid under the same terms and conditions as regular benefits ((~~and shall not be charged to the experience rating account of individual employers~~)). The additional benefit period shall be suspended with the start of an extended benefit period, or any totally federally funded benefit program, with eligibility criteria and benefits comparable to the program established by this section, and shall resume the first week following the end of the federal program.

(f) The amendments in chapter 316, Laws of 1993 affecting subsection (3) (b) and (c) of this section shall apply in the case of all individuals determined to be monetarily eligible under this section without regard to the date eligibility was determined.

(4) An additional benefit eligibility period is established for any exhaustee who:

(a)(i) At the time of last separation from employment, resided in or was employed in a county identified under subsection (2) of this section; or

(ii) During his or her base year, earned wages in at least six hundred eighty hours in the forest products industry, which shall be determined by the department but shall include the industries assigned the major group standard industrial classification codes "24" and "26" and the industries involved in the harvesting and management of logs, transportation of logs and wood products, processing of wood products, and the manufacturing and distribution of wood processing and logging equipment. The commissioner may adopt rules further interpreting the industries covered under this subsection. For the purposes of this subsection, "standard industrial classification code" means the code identified in RCW 50.29.025(6)(c); and

(b)(i) Has received notice of termination or layoff; and

(ii) Is unlikely to return to employment in his or her principal occupation or previous industry because of a diminishing demand within his or her labor market for his or her skills in the occupation or industry; and

(c)(i)(A) Is notified by the department of the requirements of this section and develops an individual training program that is submitted to the commissioner for approval not later than sixty days after the individual is notified of the requirements of this section, and enters the approved training program not later than ninety days after the date of the individual's termination or layoff, or ninety days after July 1, 1991, whichever is later, unless the department determines that the training is not available during the ninety-day period, in which case the individual shall enter training as soon as it is available; or

(B) Is unemployed as the result of a plant closure that occurs after November 1, 1992, in a county identified under subsection (2) of this section, did not comply with the requirements of (c)(i)(A) of this subsection due to good cause as demonstrated to the department, such as ambiguity over possible sale of the plant, develops a training program that is submitted to the commissioner for approval not later than sixty days from a date determined by the department to accommodate the good cause, and enters the approved training program not later than ninety days after the revised date established by the department, unless the department determines that the training is not available during the ninety-day period, in which case the individual shall enter training as soon as it is available; or

(ii) Is enrolled in training approved under this section on a full-time basis and maintains satisfactory progress in the training; and

(d) Does not receive a training allowance or stipend under the provisions of any federal or state law.

(5) For the purposes of this section:

(a) "Training program" means:

(i) A remedial education program determined to be necessary after counseling at the educational institution in which the individual enrolls pursuant to his or her approved training program; or

(ii) A vocational training program at an educational institution that:

(A) Is training for a labor demand occupation;

(B) Is likely to facilitate a substantial enhancement of the individual's marketable skills and earning power; and

(C) Does not include on-the-job training or other training under which the individual is paid by an employer for work performed by the individual during the time that the individual receives additional benefits under subsection (1) of this section.

(b) "Educational institution" means an institution of higher education as defined in RCW 28B.10.016 or an educational institution as defined in RCW 28C.04.410(3).

(c) "Training allowance or stipend" means discretionary use, cash-in-hand payments available to the individual to be used as the individual sees fit, but does not mean direct or indirect compensation for training costs, such as tuition or books and supplies.

(6) The commissioner shall adopt rules as necessary to implement this section.

(7) For the purpose of this section, an individual who has a benefit year beginning after January 1, 1989, and ending before July 27, 1991, shall be treated as if his or her benefit year ended on July 27, 1991.

Sec. 3. RCW 50.29.020 and 1993 c 483 s 19 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) An experience rating account shall be established and maintained for each employer, except employers as described in RCW 50.44.010 and 50.44.030 who have properly elected to make payments in lieu of contributions, taxable local government employers as described in RCW 50.44.035, and those employers who are required to make payments in lieu of contributions, based on existing records of the employment security department. Benefits paid to any eligible individuals shall be charged to the experience rating accounts of each of such individual's employers during the individual's base year in the same ratio that the wages paid by each employer to the individual during the base year bear to the wages paid by all employers to that individual during that base year, except as otherwise provided in this section.

(2) The legislature finds that certain benefit payments, in whole or in part, should not be charged to the experience rating accounts of employers except those employers described in RCW 50.44.010 and 50.44.030 who have properly elected to make payments in lieu of contributions, taxable local government employers described in RCW 50.44.035, and those employers who are required to make payments in lieu of contributions, as follows:

(a) Benefits paid to any individuals later determined to be ineligible shall not be charged to the experience rating account of any contribution paying employer.

(b) ((Benefits paid to an individual under the provisions of RCW 50.12.050 shall not be charged to the account of any contribution paying employer if the wage credits earned in this state by the individual during his or her base year are less than the minimum amount necessary to qualify the individual for unemployment benefits.

~~(c)~~)) Benefits paid to an individual filing under the provisions of chapter 50.06 RCW shall not be charged to the experience rating account of any contribution paying employer only if:

(i) The individual files under RCW 50.06.020(1) after receiving crime victims' compensation for a disability resulting from a nonwork-related occurrence; or

(ii) The individual files under RCW 50.06.020(2).

((~~(d)~~)) (c) Benefits paid which represent the state's share of benefits payable under chapter 50.22 RCW shall not be charged to the experience rating account of any contribution paying employer.

((~~(e)~~)) (d) In the case of individuals who requalify for benefits under RCW 50.20.050 or 50.20.060, benefits based on wage credits earned prior to the disqualifying separation shall not be charged to the experience rating account of the contribution paying employer from whom that separation took place.

((~~(f)~~)) (e) In the case of individuals identified under RCW 50.20.015, benefits paid with respect to a calendar quarter, which exceed the total amount of wages earned in the state of Washington in the higher of two corresponding calendar quarters included within the individual's determination period, as defined in RCW 50.20.015, shall not be charged to the experience rating account of any contribution paying employer.

(((g) Benefits paid to an individual who does not successfully complete an approved on-the-job training program under RCW 50.12.240 may not be charged to the experience rating account of the contribution-paying employer who provided the approved on-the-job training.))

(3)(a) Beginning July 1, 1985, a contribution-paying base year employer, not otherwise eligible for relief of charges for benefits under this section, may receive such relief if the benefit charges result from payment to an individual who:

(i) Last left the employ of such employer voluntarily for reasons not attributable to the employer;

(ii) Was discharged for misconduct connected with his or her work not a result of inability to meet the minimum job requirements;

(iii) Is unemployed as a result of closure or severe curtailment of operation at the employer's plant, building, work site, or other facility. This closure must be for reasons directly attributable to a catastrophic occurrence such as fire, flood, or other natural disaster; or

(iv) Continues to be employed on a regularly scheduled permanent part-time basis by a base year employer and who at some time during the base year was concurrently employed and subsequently separated from at least one other base year employer. Benefit charge relief ceases when the employment relationship between the employer requesting relief and the claimant is terminated. This subsection does not apply to shared work employers under chapter 50.60 RCW.

(b) The employer requesting relief of charges under this subsection must request relief in writing within thirty days following mailing to the last known address of the notification of the valid initial determination of such claim, stating the date and reason for the separation or the circumstances of continued employment. The commissioner, upon investigation of the request, shall determine whether relief should be granted.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. This act applies only to benefit charges attributable to new claims effective after July 1, 1995.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. This act is necessary for the immediate preservation of the public peace, health, or safety, or support of the state government and its existing public institutions, and shall take effect immediately.