5920.E AMH **** CORD 3

ESB 5920 ‑ H AMD ADOPTED 3-4-94

By Representative Heavey

Strike everything after the enacting clause and insert the following:

"NEW SECTION. Sec. 1. (1) The purpose of this act is to provide for a study which will review incentives that encourage workers receiving unemployment insurance benefits to seek employment opportunities and return to full-time employment with the result that the unemployment insurance trust fund is positively affected.

(2)(a) The employment security department shall undertake a pilot project to determine the effect of allowing unemployment insurance claimants to keep a greater portion of their weekly benefits when engaged in part-time or temporary employment, as provided in section 2 of this act. The department shall develop a plan to implement the project, including the number of participants and the criteria for participation in the project. The plan shall be reviewed and approved by the unemployment insurance advisory committee before the pilot is implemented.

(b) The department shall report to the appropriate committees of the legislature on the pilot project by December 31, 1996. The report shall include the impact on the unemployment insurance trust fund and on claimants participating in the project.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 2. For the purposes of the pilot project created under section 1 of this act, the following requirements for defining "unemployment" and level of unemployment insurance benefit deductions is as follows:

(1)(a) 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-half times the individual's weekly benefit amount plus fifteen 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.

(b) 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; and

(2) If an eligible individual is available for work for less than a full week, he or she shall be paid his or her weekly benefit amount reduced by one-seventh of such amount for each day that he or she is unavailable for work. However, if he or she is unavailable for work for three days or more of a week, he or she shall be considered unavailable for the entire week.

Each eligible individual who is unemployed in any week shall be paid with respect to such week a benefit in an amount equal to his or her weekly benefit amount less sixty-six and two-thirds percent of that part of the remuneration, if any, payable to him or her with respect to such week which is in excess of fifteen dollars. Such benefit, if not a multiple of one dollar, shall be reduced to the next lower multiple of one dollar.

Sec. 3. RCW 50.24.014 and 1993 c 483 ' 20 are each amended to read as follows:

(1)(a) A separate and identifiable account to provide for the financing of special programs to assist the unemployed is established in the administrative contingency fund. Contributions to this account shall accrue and become payable by 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, at a basic rate of two one-hundredths of one percent. The amount of wages subject to tax shall be determined under RCW 50.24.010.

(b) For the first calendar quarter of 1994 only, ((~~this~~)) the basic two one-hundredths of one percent contribution payable under (a) of this subsection shall be increased by one-hundredth of one percent to a total rate of three one-hundredths of one percent. The proceeds of this incremental one-hundredth of one percent shall be used solely for the purposes described in section 22, chapter 483, Laws of 1993, and for the purposes described in section 1 of this act. Any surplus from contributions payable under this subsection (b) will be deposited in the unemployment compensation trust fund.

(2)(a) Contributions under this section shall become due and be paid by each employer under rules as the commissioner may prescribe, and shall not be deducted, in whole or in part, from the remuneration of individuals in the employ of the employer. Any deduction in violation of this section is unlawful.

(b) In the payment of any contributions under this section, a fractional part of a cent shall be disregarded unless it amounts to one-half cent or more, in which case it shall be increased to one cent.

(3) If the commissioner determines that federal funding has been increased to provide financing for the services specified in chapter 50.62 RCW, the commissioner shall direct that collection of contributions under this section be terminated on the following January 1st.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 4. The sum of four hundred thousand dollars, or as much thereof as may be necessary, is appropriated for the biennium ending June 30, 1995, from the unemployment insurance funds collected under RCW 50.24.014(1)(b) to the employment security department for the purposes of section 1 of this act.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 5. Sections 1 and 2 of this act shall expire July 1, 1997.

NEW SECTION. Sec. 6. If any part of this act is found to be in conflict with federal requirements that are a prescribed condition to the allocation of federal funds to the state or the eligibility of employers in this state for federal unemployment tax credits, the conflicting part of this act is hereby declared to be inoperative solely to the extent of the conflict, and such finding or determination shall not affect the operation of the remainder of this act. The rules under this act shall meet federal requirements that are a necessary condition to the receipt of federal funds by the state or the granting of federal unemployment tax credits to employers in this state."