Session Laws

Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to immediately regulate unemployment insurance in the commonwealth, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public convenience.

Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General Court assembled, and by the authority of the same, as follows:

SECTION 1. The second paragraph of section 9B of chapter 118F of the General Laws, as appearing in the 1992 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- The department shall prepare and provide the department of employment and training with appropriate notices for distribution under subsection (k) of section fourteen G of chapter one hundred and fifty-one A.

SECTION 2. Subsection (a) of section 1 of chapter 151A of the General Laws, as amended by section 20 of chapter 19 of the acts of 1993, is hereby further amended by adding the following paragraph:-

Except as provided in subsection (a) of section twenty-four, all wages which fall within a base period of a valid claim which were previously used to establish a prior claim are not available for reuse in establishing a subsequent benefit year.

SECTION 3. Subsection (c) of said section 1 of said chapter 151A, as appearing in the 1992 Official Edition, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 45, the word "provided," and inserting in place thereof the following words:- provided, however, that the benefit year shall be fifty-three weeks if filing a new claim would result in overlapping any quarter of the base period of a previously filed new claim where such extension of the benefit year will prevent such overlapping; provided, further.

SECTION 4. Said subsection (c) of said section 1 of said chapter 151A, as so appearing, is hereby further amended by inserting after the word "twenty-four", in line 48, the following words:- ; provided, further, that if the individual has been denied benefits during the period the individual is receiving termination, severance, or dismissal pay, or payment in lieu of dismissal notice under the provisions of clause (3) of subsection (r), the individual's benefit year shall be extended by the number of weeks for which the individual was disqualified but no more than fifty-two weeks.

SECTION 5. Paragraph (A) of subsection (s) of said section 1 of said chapter 151A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following two subparagraphs:-

(7) remuneration paid to or on behalf of an employee if at the time of the payment of such remuneration, and to the extent that, it is reasonable to believe that a corresponding deduction is allowable under section 217 of the Federal Internal Revenue Code, determined without regard to section 274(n) of said code.

(8) any payment made, or benefit furnished, to or for the benefit of an employee if at the time of such payment or such furnishing it is reasonable to believe that the employee will be able to exclude such payment or benefit from income under section 127 or 129 of the Federal Internal Revenue Code.

SECTION 6. Section 6 of said chapter 151A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (a) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

(a) service in agricultural labor, except as otherwise provided in subsection (b) of section four A and section eight C; nor service performed before January first, nineteen hundred and ninety-five, or such later date as specified in section 3306(c) (1) (B) of the Federal Internal Revenue Code, in agricultural labor by an individual who is an alien admitted to the United States to perform agricultural labor pursuant to section 214(c) and 101(a) (15) (H) of the Immigration and Nationality Act.

SECTION 7. Paragraph (3) of subsection (d) of section 14 of said chapter 151A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out, in line 95, the word "illegally" and inserting in place thereof the following word:- erroneously.

SECTION 8. Paragraph (3) of subsection (i) of said section 14 of said chapter 151A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- Any newly subject employer classified by the commissioner in two digit Standard Industrial Classification code fifteen, sixteen or seventeen shall pay contributions at a rate equal to the average rate as of the most recent computation date paid by all employers classified in the Standard Industrial Classification codes fifteen through seventeen, inclusive.

SECTION 9. Subsection (b) of section 14A of said chapter 151A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-

(3) Any employer who has elected to make payments in lieu of contributions pursuant to this section shall pay the full amount of benefits, including dependency benefits, included on any bill rendered under paragraph (1) even if the determination or decision to pay benefits is subsequently modified or reversed. If the determination or decision to pay benefits is subsequently modified or reversed, the commissioner shall credit such employers account only if and to the extent that a restitution of the amounts erroneously paid is made.

SECTION 10. Subsection (i) of section 14G of said chapter 151A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the first paragraph and inserting in place thereof the following paragraph:-

Any employer who fails to file any report or form as required by this section shall pay a penalty equal to ten percent of the contribution due under this section; provided, however, that the penalty assessed shall not exceed one hundred dollars nor be less than twenty-five dollars for each such failure to file, in addition to restitution for any amounts owed to the Medical Security Trust Fund as a result of such failure to make a correct contribution.

SECTION 11. Subsection (k) of said section 14G of said chapter 151A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out the last sentence and inserting in place thereof the following sentence:- The department of medical security shall provide the department with such information and notice.

SECTION 12. Section 24 of said chapter 151A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by striking out subsection (a) and inserting in place thereof the following subsection:-

(a) Have been paid wages in the base period amounting to at least thirty times the weekly benefit rate; provided, however, that (1) for the period beginning on April first, nineteen hundred and ninety-two and ending on December thirty-first, nineteen hundred and ninety-three, the individual has been paid wages of at least eighteen hundred dollars during said base period, and (2) for the period beginning on January first, nineteen hundred and ninety-four and continuing thereafter until amended, the individual has been paid wages of at least twenty-four hundred dollars during said period.

Wages paid during the base period which had previously been used to establish a benefit year commencing prior to October third, nineteen hundred and ninety-three, may also be used to establish a benefit year commencing on or after October third, nineteen hundred and ninety-three but prior to October second, nineteen hundred and ninety-four. Notwithstanding the provisions of section thirty-eight regarding responding to a commissioner's notice, no account of an employer which pays contributions pursuant to section fourteen or section fourteen C or makes payments in lieu of contributions pursuant to section fourteen A shall be charged for any benefits paid based on base period wages used to establish entitlement under this subparagraph but shall be charged to the appropriate solvency account; provided, however, that any benefits paid based on all or any portion of such wages were charged previously to such employer's account or charged to the appropriate solvency account.

SECTION 13. Subsection (c) of section 29 of said chapter 151A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following sentence:- If the above provisions are satisfied, an otherwise eligible individual who has been appointed guardian of such child by a court of competent jurisdiction shall be paid such dependency benefits.

SECTION 14. Section 30A of said chapter 151A, as so appearing, is hereby amended by adding the following paragraph:-

Paragraphs (b), (c), (d) and (e) of subsection (3) shall not apply to weeks of unemployment beginning after March sixth, nineteen hundred and ninety-three and for each week thereafter as long as federal law requires that the provisions of section 202(a) (3) and (4) of the Federal State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970, as amended, be suspended.

SECTION 15. Said chapter 151A is hereby further amended by striking out section 31, as so appearing, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 31. No individual may receive benefits in a subsequent benefit year unless, since the beginning of the previous benefit year during which he received benefits, he performed service for an employer subject to this chapter and has been paid wages for such service of not less than three times his weekly benefit rate for said previous benefit year.

SECTION 16. Chapter 26 of the acts of 1992 is hereby amended by striking out section 27, as amended by section 3A of chapter 118 of the acts of 1992, and inserting in place thereof the following section:-

Section 27. Notwithstanding the provisions of section fourteen of chapter one hundred and fifty-one A of the General Laws, the experience rate of an employer qualifying therefor under subsection (b) of said section fourteen of said chapter one hundred and fifty-one A shall be the rate which appears in the column designated "D" for calendar year nineteen hundred and ninety-three and nineteen hundred and ninety-four, and the rate which appears in the column designated "F" for calendar years nineteen hundred and ninety-five, and nineteen hundred and ninety-six; provided, however, that if in the report by the commissioner filed in August of nineteen hundred and ninety-four, pursuant to section sixty-eight of chapter two hundred and thirty-three of the acts of nineteen hundred and eighty-three, projects a closing balance for nineteen hundred and ninety-four of less than nine million dollars, then the commissioner shall adjust the rate for nineteen hundred and ninety-five so that the difference between nine million dollars and the closing balance for nineteen hundred and ninety-four will be collected in nineteen hundred and ninety-five in addition to the amount that would be collected in said year pursuant to the rate which appears in the column designated "F"; provided, further, that the commissioner of the department of employment and training may adjust the rate to increase contributions for nineteen hundred and ninety-four in an amount necessary to avoid a reduction of credit imposed by the Secretary of Labor under 29 USC 3302; provided, further, that the commissioner shall notify the joint committee on commerce and labor thirty days prior to adjusting any rate unless such notice is waived in writing by the co-chairs of the committee.

SECTION 17. Section four of this act shall be applicable with respect to new and additional claims filed on or after March seventh, nineteen hundred and ninety-three. Section five shall be applicable with respect to wages paid on or after October third, nineteen hundred and ninety-three. Section eight shall be applicable with respect to computation dates occurring on or after September thirtieth, nineteen hundred and ninety-three. Sections two, twelve and fifteen shall be applicable with respect to benefit years on or after October third, nineteen hundred and ninety-three.

SECTION 18. The department of employment and training shall undertake a review of its policies interpreting those provisions of clause (2) of subsection (e) of section twenty-five of chapter one hundred and fifty-one A of the General Laws which pertain to disqualification for knowing violations of reasonable and uniformly enforced employer rules and policies, and shall amend its policies within sixty days of enactment of this chapter to the extent necessary to clarify that such rules must be reasonable in themselves and must not produce unreasonable results when measured against the objective circumstances surrounding their violation.

In conducting this review, the department shall consult with and seek advice from a special advisory group to be appointed by the commissioner that shall consist of three representatives from the business community and three representatives from labor.

In addition, the department shall conduct training lessons with claimstaking staff to ensure that its policies interpreting the above referenced portions of said clause (2) of said subsection (e) of said section twenty-five of said chapter one hundred and fifty-one A are implemented uniformly and fairly.