HOUSE . . . . . . . . No. 4823
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The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES, June 30, 2020.
The committee on Labor and Workforce Development to whom was referred the joint petition (accompanied by bill, House, No. 4748) of David M. Rogers, Patricia D. Jehlen and others for legislation to further regulate unemployment assistance during public health or public safety emergencies, reports recommending that the accompanying bill (House, No. 4823) ought to pass.
For the committee,
STEPHAN HAY.
FILED ON: 6/18/2020
HOUSE . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . No. 4823
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The Commonwealth of Massachusetts
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In the One Hundred and Ninety-First General Court
(2019-2020)
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An Act establishing unemployment expansion during public health emergencies.
Whereas, The deferred operation of this act would tend to defeat its purpose, which is to establish forthwith exceptions to unemployment assistance during public health emergencies, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the, therefore it is hereby declared to be an emergency law, necessary for the immediate preservation of the public health and 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. Section 24 of Chapter 151A of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting after subsection (c) the following subsection:-
(d) No individual shall be considered ineligible for benefits because of failure to comply with the provisions of said clause (b) if such failure is due to an official public health or public safety emergency as determined by an executive order executed by the Governor.
SECTION 2. Chapter 151A of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting the following paragraph after Section 29(a):-
(i) Notwithstanding section 29(a) of chapter 151A of the General Laws, the director of unemployment assistance shall pay to an individual in total unemployment and who is otherwise eligible for benefits, whose average weekly wage in his base period exceeds sixty-six dollars, for each week of unemployment an amount equal to seventy-five percent of his average weekly wage in the base period, rounded to the next lower full dollar amount, but not more than 75% of the average weekly wage of employees covered by this chapter, if an ongoing declaration of a state of emergency exists, including any public health or public safety crisis; provided further that the director of unemployment assistance shall continue to pay the weekly benefit rate for one year after the emergency declaration has been lifted; provided further, that any unemployment assistance furnished during a state of emergency shall not count towards an individual’s overall unemployment benefit in the aggregate and shall not be included in determining eligibility for benefits under this chapter for the purposes of any benefit year when no state of emergency has been ordered.
SECTION 3. Chapter 151A of the General Laws is hereby amended by inserting the following paragraph after Section 29(b):-
(i) Notwithstanding section 29(b) of chapter 151A of the General Laws, the director of unemployment assistance shall pay, to an individual in partial unemployment and otherwise eligible for benefits, the difference between his aggregate remuneration with respect to each week of partial unemployment and the weekly benefit rate to which he would have been entitled if totally unemployed; provided, however, that earnings up to two-fifths of his weekly benefit rate shall be disregarded; and provided further that this payment occurred immediately prior, during or immediately after a public health or public safety emergency and in accordance with Section 25A of this chapter; provided further that the director of unemployment assistance shall continue to pay the weekly benefit rate for one year after the emergency declaration has been lifted. In no case shall the amount of earnings so disregarded plus the weekly benefit rate equal to or in excess of the individual's average weekly wage. Such partial benefit amount shall be rounded to the next lower full dollar amount if it includes a fractional part of a dollar. Nothing in this subsection shall cause a full denial of benefits solely because an individual left a part time job, which supplemented primary full-time employment, during the individual's base period prior to being deemed in partial unemployment.