Reference is to the bill as introduced.
Amend the bill, as and if amended, by deleting all after the enacting words and inserting:
/ SECTION 1. Chapter 41, Title 41 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 41-41-45.
(A) Notwithstanding any other
provisions of law, when the department determines that an
improper payment was made from its unemployment compensation
fund or from any federal unemployment compensation fund to any
individual because of a false statement or failure to disclose a
material fact pursuant to Section 41-41-20, the department shall
assess a monetary penalty of twenty-five percent of the amount
of the overpayment.
(B) The notice of the
determination or decision informing the individual of the
overpayment must include:
(1)
the claimant's appeal rights;
(2)
the penalty amount;
(3)
an explanation of the reason for the overpayment; and
(4)
the reason the penalty has been applied.
(C) The recovered
amounts must be applied with priority to:
(1)
The principal amount of the overpayment to the
unemployment compensation fund;
(2)
Sixty percent of the monetary penalty to the unemployment
compensation fund;
(3)
The remaining forty percent of the monetary penalty to
promote unemployment compensation integrity; and
(4)
The remaining amounts to interest.
(D) Offset of future
unemployment insurance benefits must not be applied to the
monetary penalty or interest associated with an overpayment.
(E) The monetary
penalty must be assessed on any fraudulent overpayment
determined by the department after October 21, 2013."
SECTION 2.A. Title 41, Chapter 33 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 41-33-910.
(A) There is created in the State
Treasury a special fund to be known as the Department of
Employment and Workforce integrity fund.
(B) The fund shall
consist of monetary penalties collected pursuant to Section
41-41-45(C)(3) for the purpose of promoting unemployment
compensation integrity. The Department of Employment and
Workforce integrity fund shall be used for the purpose of
preserving the integrity of the unemployment compensation fund.
These efforts may include, but are not limited to, identifying
overpayments, verifying eligibility, determining status, and
updating technology and education tools to support integrity
activities.
(C) All money collected
in the integrity fund must be deposited, administered, and
disbursed in the same manner and under the same conditions and
requirements as are provided by law for other special funds in
the State Treasury, except that money in this fund must not be
commingled with other state funds, but must be maintained in a
separate account on the books of a depository bank. These funds
must be secured by the bank by securities or surety bonds as
required by law of depositories of state funds.
(D) All money that is
deposited or paid into the fund is appropriated and made
available to the department. All money in this fund must be
expended solely for the purpose of promoting unemployment
insurance integrity efforts by the department as provided in
Section 41-41-45.
(E) All balances in
this fund must not lapse at any time but must be continuously
available to the department by expenditure consistent with
Chapters 27 through 41 of the title. The department shall issue
its requisition, which must be approved by the executive
director or any designated officer, agent, or other individual
for payment of the costs of interest to the Comptroller General
who shall draw his warrant in the usual form provided by law on
the State Treasurer, who shall pay it by check on the integrity
fund."
B. This provisions of this SECTION take effect on October 1, 2013.
SECTION 3. Article 1, Chapter 35, Title 41 of the 1976 Code is amended by adding:
"Section 41-35-135.
(A) Notwithstanding any other
provisions of law, the department shall not relieve the charge
benefits to an employer's account when it determines that the
overpayment has been made to a claimant and it determines that:
(1)
the overpayment occurred because the employer was at fault
for failing to respond timely or adequately to a written request
of the department for information relating to an unemployment
compensation claim; and
(2)
the employer exhibits a pattern of failure to timely or
adequately respond to requests from the department for
information relating to unemployment compensation claims on
three or more occasions or three percent of requests made within
the prior calendar year, whichever is greater; provided:
(a)
if an employer uses a third-party agent to respond on its
behalf to the department's request for information relating to
an unemployment compensation claim, the agent's actions on
behalf of the employer will be considered when determining a
pattern of behavior;
(b)
a response is considered untimely if it fails to meet the
time as prescribed in the statute or in the regulations; and
(c)
a response is considered inadequate if it fails to provide
sufficient facts to enable the department to make an accurate
determination of benefits that do not result in an overpayment.
However, a response may not be considered inadequate if the
department fails to request the necessary information.
(B) Under this section
a written request for information may be made by electronic
mail, provided the employer has opted for notice by electronic
mail pursuant to Section 41-35-615.
(C) The department
shall charge an employer's account that meets the conditions of
subsection (1), for each week of unemployment compensation that
is an overpayment until the department makes a determination
that the individual is no longer eligible for unemployment
compensation and stops making such payments.
(D) If the claim is a
combined-wage claim, the determination of noncharging for the
combined wage claim shall be made by the paying state. If the
response from the employer does not meet the criteria
established by the paying state for an adequate or timely
response, the paying state must promptly notify the transferring
state of its determination and the employer must be
appropriately charged.
(E)(1) The department
must waive the charging of benefits to an employer's account
when the department finds the employer failed to timely or
adequately respond due to good cause.
(2)
For the purposes of this section: 'good cause' may
include, but is not limited to:
(a)
the employer's failure is attributable to the department's
error; or
(b)
a natural disaster, emergency or similar event, or an
illness on the part of the employer, the employer's agent of
record, or the staff charged with responding to such inquiries.
(3)
The burden is on the employer or the employer's agent of
record to establish good cause.
(F) Determinations of
the department prohibiting the relief of charges pursuant to
this section shall be subject to appeal pursuant to the
procedures of Title 41, Chapter 35.
(G) The department
shall charge benefits to an employer's account pursuant to this
section for any overpayment determined by the department after
October 21, 2013."
SECTION 4.A. Section 43-5-598(A)(6) of the 1976 Code, as added by Act 71 of 1997, is amended to read:
"(6) 'New hire' includes an individual newly employed or an individual who has been rehired after having been separated for at least sixty consecutive days or has returned to work after being laid off, furloughed, separated, granted leave without pay, or terminated from employment."
B. The provisions of this subsection take effect October 1, 2013.
SECTION 5. This act takes effect upon approval by the Governor except as otherwise provided in SECTION 2 and SECTION 4. /
Renumber sections to conform.
Amend title to conform.