H-3621

AN ACT Relating to calculation of weekly benefit amounts; amending RCW 50.20.120, 50.04.030, 50.04.310, 50.20.010, 50.20.015, 50.20.050, 50.20.140, 50.22.030, 50.22.040, 50.22.050, and 50.22.090; and reenacting and amending RCW 50.22.020.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 50.20.120 and 1993 c 483 s 12 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) Subject to the other provisions of this title, benefits shall be payable to any eligible individual during the individual's benefit year in a maximum amount equal to the lesser of thirty times the individual's average weekly benefit amount (determined hereinafter) or one-third of the individual's base year wages under this title: PROVIDED, That as to any week beginning on and after March 31, 1981, which falls in an extended benefit period as defined in RCW 50.22.010(1), as now or hereafter amended, an individual's eligibility for maximum benefits in excess of twenty-six times ((~~his or her~~)) the individual's average weekly benefit amount will be subject to the terms and conditions set forth in RCW 50.22.020, as now or hereafter amended.

(2)(a) An individual's weekly benefit amount shall be determined for each quarter of the benefit year. Each quarterly weekly benefit amount shall be an amount equal to one twenty-fifth of the average ((~~quarterly wages of the individual's total wages during the two quarters of the individual's base year in which such total wages were highest~~)) of the individual's total wages earned in the corresponding calendar quarters included within:

(i) The first twelve of the last thirteen completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the individual's current benefit year; or

(ii) If the individual's benefit year is established using an alternative base year under RCW 50.04.020, the last twelve completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the individual's current benefit year.

(b) An individual's average weekly benefit amount shall be the average of the four quarterly weekly benefit amounts calculated in (a) of this subsection.

(c) The maximum and minimum amounts payable weekly shall be determined as of each June 30th to apply to benefit years beginning in the twelve-month period immediately following such June 30th. The maximum amount payable weekly shall be seventy percent of the "average weekly wage" for the calendar year preceding such June 30th. The minimum amount payable weekly shall be fifteen percent of the "average weekly wage" for the calendar year preceding such June 30th.

(d) If any weekly benefit, maximum benefit, or minimum benefit amount computed herein is not a multiple of one dollar, it shall be reduced to the next lower multiple of one dollar.

Sec. 2. RCW 50.04.030 and 1991 c 117 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

"Benefit year" with respect to each individual, means the fifty-two consecutive week period beginning with the first day of the calendar week in which the individual files an application for an initial determination and thereafter the fifty-two consecutive week period beginning with the first day of the calendar week in which the individual next files an application for an initial determination after the expiration of the individual's last preceding benefit year: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That the foregoing limitation shall not be deemed to preclude the establishment of a new benefit year under the laws of another state pursuant to any agreement providing for the interstate combining of employment and wages and the interstate payment of benefits nor shall this limitation be deemed to preclude the commissioner from backdating an initial application at the request of the claimant either for the convenience of the department of employment security or for any other reason deemed by the commissioner to be good cause.

An individual's benefit year shall be extended to be fifty-three weeks when at the expiration of fifty-two weeks the establishment of a new benefit year would result in the use of a quarter of wages in the new base year that had been included in the individual's prior base year.

No benefit year will be established unless it is determined that the individual earned wages in "employment" in not less than six hundred eighty hours of the individual's base year: PROVIDED, HOWEVER, That a benefit year cannot be established if the base year wages include wages earned prior to the establishment of a prior benefit year unless the individual worked and earned wages since the last separation from employment immediately before the application for initial determination in the previous benefit year if the applicant was an unemployed individual at the time of application, or since the initial separation in the previous benefit year if the applicant was not an unemployed individual at the time of filing an application for initial determination for the previous benefit year, of not less than six times the individual's average weekly benefit amount computed for the individual's new benefit year.

If an individual's prior benefit year was based on the last four completed calendar quarters, a new benefit year shall not be established until the new base year does not include any hours used in the establishment of the prior benefit year.

If the wages of an individual are not based upon a fixed duration of time or if the individual's wages are paid at irregular intervals or in such manner as not to extend regularly over the period of employment, the wages for any week shall be determined in such manner as the commissioner may by regulation prescribe. Such regulation shall, so far as possible, secure results reasonably similar to those which would prevail if the individual were paid his or her wages at regular intervals.

Sec. 3. RCW 50.04.310 and 1984 c 134 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) An individual shall be deemed to be "unemployed" in any week during which the individual performs no services and with respect to which no remuneration is payable to the individual, or in any week of less than full time work, if the remuneration payable to the individual with respect to such week is less than one and one-third times the individual's weekly benefit amount for the applicable calendar quarter plus five dollars. The commissioner shall prescribe regulations applicable to unemployed individuals making such distinctions in the procedures as to such types of unemployment as the commissioner deems necessary.

(2) An individual shall be deemed not to be "unemployed" during any week which falls totally within a period during which the individual, pursuant to a collective bargaining agreement or individual employment contract, is employed full time in accordance with a definition of full time contained in the agreement or contract, and for which compensation for full time work is payable. This subsection may not be applied retroactively to an individual who had no guarantee of work at the start of such period and subsequently is provided additional work by the employer.

Sec. 4. RCW 50.20.010 and 1995 c 381 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

An unemployed individual shall be eligible to receive waiting period credits or benefits with respect to any week in his or her eligibility period only if the commissioner finds that:

(1) He or she has registered for work at, and thereafter has continued to report at, an employment office in accordance with such regulation as the commissioner may prescribe, except that the commissioner may by regulation waive or alter either or both of the requirements of this subdivision as to individuals attached to regular jobs and as to such other types of cases or situations with respect to which the commissioner finds that the compliance with such requirements would be oppressive, or would be inconsistent with the purposes of this title;

(2) He or she has filed an application for an initial determination and made a claim for waiting period credit or for benefits in accordance with the provisions of this title;

(3) He or she is able to work, and is available for work in any trade, occupation, profession, or business for which he or she is reasonably fitted. To be available for work an individual must be ready, able, and willing, immediately to accept any suitable work which may be offered to him or her and must be actively seeking work pursuant to customary trade practices and through other methods when so directed by the commissioner or the commissioner's agents;

(4) He or she has been unemployed for a waiting period of one week;

(5) He or she participates in reemployment services if the individual has been referred to reemployment services pursuant to the profiling system established by the commissioner under RCW 50.20.011, unless the commissioner determines that:

(a) The individual has completed such services; or

(b) There is justifiable cause for the claimant's failure to participate in such services; and

(6) As to weeks beginning after March 31, 1981, which fall within an extended benefit period as defined in RCW 50.22.010, the individual meets the terms and conditions of RCW 50.22.020 with respect to benefits claimed in excess of twenty-six times the individual's average weekly benefit amount.

An individual's eligibility period for regular benefits shall be coincident to his or her established benefit year. An individual's eligibility period for additional or extended benefits shall be the periods prescribed elsewhere in this title for such benefits.

Sec. 5. RCW 50.20.015 and 1986 c 106 s 1 are each amended to read as follows:

If the product of an otherwise eligible individual's weekly benefit amount for the applicable calendar quarter multiplied by thirteen is greater than the total amount of wages earned in covered employment in the higher of two corresponding calendar quarters included within the individual's determination period, that individual shall be considered to have marginal labor force attachment. For the purposes of this subsection and RCW 50.29.020, "determination period" means the first eight of the last nine completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the individual's current benefit year.

Sec. 6. RCW 50.20.050 and 1993 c 483 s 8 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) An individual shall be disqualified from benefits beginning with the first day of the calendar week in which he or she has left work voluntarily without good cause and thereafter for five calendar weeks and until he or she has obtained bona fide work and earned wages equal to five times ((~~his or her~~)) the individual's average weekly benefit amount.

The disqualification shall continue if the work obtained is a mere sham to qualify for benefits and is not bona fide work. In determining whether work is of a bona fide nature, the commissioner shall consider factors including but not limited to the following:

(a) The duration of the work;

(b) The extent of direction and control by the employer over the work; and

(2) An individual shall not be considered to have left work voluntarily without good cause when:

(a) He or she has left work to accept a bona fide offer of bona fide work as described in subsection (1) of this section;

(b) The separation was because of the illness or disability of the claimant or the death, illness, or disability of a member of the claimant's immediate family if the claimant took all reasonable precautions, in accordance with any regulations that the commissioner may prescribe, to protect his or her employment status by having promptly notified the employer of the reason for the absence and by having promptly requested reemployment when again able to assume employment: PROVIDED, That these precautions need not have been taken when they would have been a futile act, including those instances when the futility of the act was a result of a recognized labor/management dispatch system; or

(c) He or she has left work to relocate for the spouse's employment that is outside the existing labor market area if the claimant remained employed as long as was reasonable prior to the move.

(3) In determining under this section whether an individual has left work voluntarily without good cause, the commissioner shall only consider work-connected factors such as the degree of risk involved to the individual's health, safety, and morals, the individual's physical fitness for the work, the individual's ability to perform the work, and such other work connected factors as the commissioner may deem pertinent, including state and national emergencies. Good cause shall not be established for voluntarily leaving work because of its distance from an individual's residence where the distance was known to the individual at the time he or she accepted the employment and where, in the judgment of the department, the distance is customarily traveled by workers in the individual's job classification and labor market, nor because of any other significant work factor which was generally known and present at the time he or she accepted employment, unless the related circumstances have so changed as to amount to a substantial involuntary deterioration of the work factor or unless the commissioner determines that other related circumstances would work an unreasonable hardship on the individual were he or she required to continue in the employment.

(4) Subsections (1) and (3) of this section shall not apply to an individual whose marital status or domestic responsibilities cause him or her to leave employment. Such an individual shall not be eligible for unemployment insurance benefits beginning with the first day of the calendar week in which he or she left work and thereafter for five calendar weeks and until he or she has requalified, either by obtaining bona fide work and earning wages equal to five times ((~~his or her~~)) the individual's average weekly benefit amount or by reporting in person to the department during ten different calendar weeks and certifying on each occasion that he or she is ready, able, and willing to immediately accept any suitable work which may be offered, is actively seeking work pursuant to customary trade practices, and is utilizing such employment counseling and placement services as are available through the department. This subsection does not apply to individuals covered by subsection (2) (b) or (c) of this section.

Sec. 7. RCW 50.20.140 and 1951 c 215 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

An application for initial determination, a claim for waiting period, or a claim for benefits shall be filed in accordance with such regulations as the commissioner may prescribe. An application for an initial determination may be made by any individual whether unemployed or not. Each employer shall post and maintain printed statements of such regulations in places readily accessible to individuals in ((~~his~~)) the employer's employment and shall make available to each such individual at the time he becomes unemployed, a printed statement of such regulations and such notices, instructions and other material as the commissioner may by regulation prescribe. Such printed material shall be supplied by the commissioner to each employer without cost to ((~~him~~)) the employer.

The term "application for initial determination" shall mean a request in writing for an initial determination. The term "claim for waiting period" shall mean a certification, after the close of a given week, that the requirements stated herein for eligibility for waiting period have been met. The term "claim for benefits" shall mean a certification, after the close of a given week, that the requirements stated herein for eligibility for receipt of benefits have been met.

A representative designated by the commissioner shall take the application for initial determination and for the claim for waiting period credits or for benefits. When an application for initial determination has been made, the employment security department shall promptly make an initial determination which shall be a statement of the applicant's base year wages, ((~~his~~)) the applicant's weekly benefit amount for each quarter of the benefit year, ((~~his~~)) the applicant's maximum amount of benefits potentially payable, and ((~~his~~)) the applicant's benefit year. Such determination shall fix the general conditions under which waiting period credit shall be granted and under which benefits shall be paid during any period of unemployment occurring within the benefit year fixed by such determination.

Sec. 8. RCW 50.22.020 and 1993 c 483 s 16 and 1993 c 58 s 3 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

When the result would not be inconsistent with the other provisions of this chapter, the provisions of this title and commissioner's regulations enacted pursuant thereto, which apply to claims for, or the payment of, regular benefits, shall apply to claims for, and the payment of, extended benefits: PROVIDED, That

(1) Payment of extended compensation under this chapter shall not be made to any individual for any week of unemployment in his or her eligibility periodC

(a) During which he or she fails to accept any offer of suitable work (as defined in subsection (3) of this section) or fails to apply for any suitable work to which he or she was referred by the employment security department; or

(b) During which he or she fails to actively engage in seeking work.

(2) If any individual is ineligible for extended compensation for any week by reason of a failure described in subsections (1)(a) or (1)(b) of this section, the individual shall be ineligible to receive extended compensation for any week which begins during a period whichC

(a) Begins with the week following the week in which such failure occurs; and

(b) Does not end until such individual has been employed during at least four weeks which begin after such failure and the total of the remuneration earned by the individual for being so employed is not less than the product of four multiplied by the individual's average weekly benefit amount (as determined under RCW 50.20.120) for his or her benefit year.

(3) For purposes of this section, the term "suitable work" means, with respect to any individual, any work which is within such individual's capabilities and which does not involve conditions described in RCW 50.20.110: PROVIDED, That if the individual furnishes evidence satisfactory to the employment security department that such individual's prospects for obtaining work in his or her customary occupation within a reasonably short period are good, the determination of whether any work is suitable work with respect to such individual shall be made in accordance with RCW 50.20.100.

(4) Extended compensation shall not be denied under subsection (1)(a) of this section to any individual for any week by reason of a failure to accept an offer of, or apply for, suitable work if:

(a) The gross average weekly remuneration payable to such individual for the position does not exceed the sum ofC

(i) The individual's weekly benefit amount for the applicable calendar quarter (as determined under RCW 50.20.120) for his or her benefit year; plus

(ii) The amount (if any) of supplemental unemployment compensation benefits (as defined in section 501(c)(17)(D) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, 26 U.S.C. Sec. 501(c)(17)(D)), payable to such individual for such week;

(b) The position was not offered to such individual in writing and was not listed with the employment security department;

(c) Such failure would not result in a denial of compensation under the provisions of RCW 50.20.080 and 50.20.100 to the extent such provisions are not inconsistent with the provisions of subsections (3) and (5) of this section; or

(d) The position pays wages less than the higher ofC

(i) The minimum wage provided by section (6)(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, without regard to any exemption; or

(ii) Any applicable state or local minimum wage.

(5) For purposes of this section, an individual shall be treated as actively engaged in seeking work during any week if:

(a) The individual has engaged in a systematic and sustained effort to obtain work during such week; and

(b) The individual provides tangible evidence to the employment security department that he or she has engaged in such an effort during such week.

(6) The employment security department shall refer applicants for benefits under this chapter to any suitable work to which subsections (4)(a) through (4)(d) of this section would not apply.

(7) No provisions of this title which terminates a disqualification for voluntarily leaving employment, being discharged for misconduct, or refusing suitable employment shall apply for purposes of determining eligibility for extended compensation unless such termination is based upon employment subsequent to the date of such disqualification.

(8) The provisions of subsections (1) through (7) of this section shall apply with respect to weeks of unemployment beginning after March 31, 1981: PROVIDED HOWEVER, That the provisions of subsections (1) through (7) of this section shall not apply to those weeks of unemployment beginning after March 6, 1993, and before January 1, 1995.

Sec. 9. RCW 50.22.030 and 1993 c 483 s 17 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) An individual shall be eligible to receive extended benefits with respect to any week of unemployment in his or her eligibility period only if the commissioner finds with respect to such week that:

(a) The individual is an "exhaustee" as defined in RCW 50.22.010;

(b) He or she has satisfied the requirements of this title for the receipt of regular benefits that are applicable to individuals claiming extended benefits, including not being subject to a disqualification for the receipt of benefits; and

(i) Forty times ((~~his or her~~)) the individual's average weekly benefit amount; or

(ii) One and one-half times his or her insured wages in the calendar quarter of the base period in which the insured wages are the highest, for weeks of unemployment on or after July 3, 1992.

(2) An individual filing an interstate claim in any state under the interstate benefit payment plan shall not be eligible to receive extended benefits for any week beyond the first two weeks claimed for which extended benefits are payable unless an extended benefit period embracing such week is also in effect in the agent state.

Sec. 10. RCW 50.22.040 and 1983 1st ex.s. c 23 s 13 are each amended to read as follows:

The weekly extended benefit amount payable to an individual for a week of total unemployment in his eligibility period shall be an amount for the applicable calendar quarter equal to the weekly benefit amount payable to him during his applicable benefit year. However, for those individuals whose eligibility period for extended benefits commences with weeks beginning after October 1, 1983, the weekly benefit amount, as computed in RCW 50.20.120(2) and payable under this section, if not a multiple of one dollar, shall be reduced to the next lower multiple of one dollar.

Sec. 11. RCW 50.22.050 and 1993 c 483 s 18 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) The total extended benefit amount payable to any eligible individual with respect to his or her applicable benefit year shall be the least of the following amounts:

(a) Fifty percent of the total amount of regular benefits which were payable to him or her under this title in his or her applicable benefit year;

(b) Thirteen times ((~~his or her~~)) the individual's average weekly benefit amount which was payable to him or her under this title for a week of total unemployment in the applicable benefit year; or

(c) Thirty-nine times ((~~his or her~~)) the individual's average weekly benefit amount which was payable to him or her under this title for a week of total unemployment in the applicable benefit year, reduced by the total amount of regular benefits which were paid (or deemed paid) to him or her under this title with respect to the benefit year.

(2) Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, if the benefit year of any eligible individual ends within an extended benefit period, the extended benefits which the individual would otherwise be entitled to receive with respect to weeks of unemployment beginning after the end of the benefit year and within the extended benefit period shall be reduced (but not below zero) by the product of the number of weeks for which the individual received any amount as a trade readjustment allowance within that benefit year, multiplied by the individual's weekly extended benefit amount.

(3) Effective for weeks beginning in a high unemployment period as defined in RCW 50.22.010(3) the total extended benefit amount payable to any eligible individual with respect to his or her applicable benefit year shall be the least of the following amounts:

(a) Eighty percent of the total amount of regular benefits that were payable to him or her under this title in his or her applicable benefit year;

(b) Twenty times ((~~his or her~~)) the individual's average weekly benefit amount that was payable to him or her under this title for a week of total unemployment in the applicable benefit year; or

(c) Forty-six times ((~~his or her~~)) the individual's average weekly benefit amount that was payable to him or her under this title for a week of total unemployment in the applicable benefit year, reduced by the total amount of regular benefits which were paid, or deemed paid, to him or her under this title with respect to the benefit year.

Sec. 12. RCW 50.22.090 and 1997 c 367 s 4 are each amended to read as follows:

(1) An additional benefit period is established for rural natural resources impact areas, defined in this section, and determined by the office of financial management and the employment security department. 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 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, 1999, but for claims established on or before July 1, 1999, weeks of unemployment occurring after July 1, 1999, shall be compensated as provided in this section.

(b) The total additional benefit amount shall be one hundred four times the individual's average 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) Notwithstanding the provisions of (b) of this subsection, individuals enrolled in prerequisite remedial education for a training program expected to last at least one year will be entitled to up to thirteen additional weeks of benefits which shall not count toward the total in (b) of this subsection.

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

(f) Benefits paid under this section shall be paid under the same terms and conditions as regular benefits. 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.

(g) 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 resides in a county with an unemployment rate for 1996 at least twenty percent or more above the state average and at least fifteen percent above their own county unemployment rate in 1988 and the county meets one of the following two criteria:

(A) It is a county with a lumber and woods products employment quotient at least three times the state average and has experienced actual job losses in these industries since 1988 of one hundred jobs or more or fifty or more jobs in a county with a population of forty thousand or less; or

(B) It is a county with a commercial salmon fishing employment quotient at least three times the state average and has experienced actual job losses in this industry since 1988 of one hundred jobs or more or fifty or more jobs in a county with a population of forty thousand or less; and

(I) The exhaustee has during his or her base year earned wages of at least one thousand hours; and

(II) The exhaustee is determined by the employment security department in consultation with its labor market and economic analysis division to be a displaced worker; or

(ii) During his or her base year, earned wages in at least one thousand hours in either 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 or the fishing industry assigned the standard industrial classification code "0912". 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, in the determination of the employment security department in consultation with its labor market and economic analysis division, 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) 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

(ii) Is enrolled in training approved under this section on a full-time basis and maintains satisfactory progress in the training. By April 1, 1998, the employment security department must redetermine a new list of eligible and ineligible counties based on a comparison of 1988 and 1997 employment rates. Any changed eligibility status will apply only to new claims for regular unemployment insurance effective after April 1, 1998.

(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; and

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

(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) The provisions of RCW 50.22.010(10) shall not apply to anyone who establishes eligibility for additional benefits under this section and whose benefit year ends after January 1, 1994. These individuals will have the option of remaining on the original claim or filing a new claim.