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.
