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H. B. No. 305 As IntroducedAs Introduced
129th General Assembly | Regular Session | 2011-2012 |
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Cosponsors:
Representatives Foley, Antonio, Hagan, R., Fedor, Williams, O'Brien, Letson, Ashford, Yuko, Boyd, Ramos
A BILL
To amend sections 4141.241, 4141.25, and 4141.29 and
to enact section 4141.302 of the Revised Code to
prohibit disqualifying an individual from
receiving unemployment compensation benefits
solely because that individual is seeking only
part-time employment, to allow an individual to
receive training extension benefits under
specified conditions, to create the Unemployment
Modernization Review Committee, and to make an
appropriation.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF OHIO:
Section 1. That sections 4141.241, 4141.25, and 4141.29 be
amended and section 4141.302 of the Revised Code be enacted to
read as follows:
Sec. 4141.241. (A)(1) Any nonprofit organization described
in division (X) of section 4141.01 of the Revised Code, which
becomes subject to this chapter on or after January 1, 1972, shall
pay contributions under section 4141.25 of the Revised Code,
unless it elects, in accordance with this division, to pay to the
director of job and family services for deposit in the
unemployment compensation fund an amount in lieu of contributions
equal to the amount of regular benefits plus one half of extended
benefits paid from that fund that is attributable to service in
the employ of the nonprofit organization to individuals whose
service, during the base period of the claims, was within the
effective period of such election.
(2) Any nonprofit organization which becomes subject to this
chapter after January 1, 1972, may elect to become liable for
payments in lieu of contributions for a period of not less than
the remainder of that calendar year and the next calendar year,
beginning with the date on which such subjectivity begins, by
filing a written notice of its election with the director not
later than thirty days immediately following the date of the
determination of such subjectivity.
(3) Any nonprofit organization which makes an election in
accordance with this division will continue to be liable for
payments in lieu of contributions for the period described in this
division and until it files with the director a written notice
terminating its election. The notice shall be filed not later than
thirty days prior to the beginning of the calendar year for which
the termination is to become effective.
(4) Any nonprofit organization which has been paying
contributions for a period subsequent to January 1, 1972, may
change to a reimbursable basis by filing with the director, not
later than thirty days prior to the beginning of any calendar
year, a written notice of election to become liable for payments
in lieu of contributions. The election shall not be terminable by
the organization during that calendar year and the next calendar
year.
(5) The director, in accordance with any rules the director
prescribes, shall notify each nonprofit organization of any
determination which the director may make of its status as an
employer and of the effective date of any election which it makes
and of any termination of the election. Any determinations shall
be subject to reconsideration, appeal, and review in accordance
with section 4141.26 of the Revised Code.
(B) Except as provided in division (I)(J) of section 4141.29
of the Revised Code, benefits based on service with a nonprofit
organization granted a reimbursing status under this section shall
be payable in the same amount, on the same terms, and subject to
the same conditions, as benefits payable on the basis of other
service subject to this chapter. Payments in lieu of contributions
shall be made in accordance with this division and division (D) of
section 4141.24 of the Revised Code.
(1)(a) At the end of each calendar quarter, or at the end of
any other period as determined by the director under division
(D)(4) of section 4141.24 of the Revised Code, the director shall
bill each nonprofit organization or group of such organizations
which has elected to make payments in lieu of contributions for an
amount equal to the full amount of regular benefits plus one half
of the amount of extended benefits paid during such quarter or
other prescribed period which is attributable to service in the
employ of such organization.
(b) In the computation of the amount of benefits to be
charged to employers liable for payments in lieu of contributions,
all benefits attributable to service described in division
(B)(1)(a) of this section shall be computed and charged to such
organization as described in division (D) of section 4141.24 of
the Revised Code, and, except as provided in division (D)(2) of
section 4141.24 of the Revised Code, no portion of the amount may
be charged to the mutualized account established by division (B)
of section 4141.25 of the Revised Code.
(c) The director may prescribe regulations under which
organizations, which have elected to make payments in lieu of
contributions may request permission to make such payments in
equal installments throughout the year with an adjustment at the
end of the year for any excess or shortage of the amount of such
installment payments compared with the total amount of benefits
actually charged the organization's account during the year. In
making any adjustment, where the total installment payments are
less than the actual benefits charged, the organization shall be
liable for payment of the unpaid balance in accordance with
division (B)(2) of this section. If the total installment payments
exceed the actual benefits charged, all or part of the excess may,
at the discretion of the director, be refunded or retained in the
fund as part of the payments which may be required in the next
year.
(2) Payment of any bill rendered under division (B)(1) of
this section shall be made not later than thirty days after the
bill was mailed to the last known address of the organization or
was otherwise delivered to it, unless there has been an
application for review and redetermination in accordance with
division (B)(4) of this section.
(3) Payments made by an organization under this section shall
not be deducted or deductible, in whole or in part, from the
remuneration of individuals in the employ of the organization.
(4) An organization may file an application for review and
redetermination of the amounts appearing on any bill rendered to
such organization under division (B)(1) of this section. The
application shall be filed and determined under division (D)(4) of
section 4141.24 of the Revised Code.
(5) Past-due payments of amounts in lieu of contributions
shall be subject to the same interest rates and collection
procedures that apply to past-due contributions under sections
4141.23 and 414.27 of the Revised Code. In case of failure to file
a required quarterly report within the time prescribed by the
director, the nonprofit organization shall be subject to a
forfeiture pursuant to section 4141.20 of the Revised Code for
each quarterly report that is not timely filed.
All interest and forfeitures collected under this division
shall be paid into the unemployment compensation special
administrative fund as provided in section 4141.11 of the Revised
Code.
(6) All payments in lieu of contributions collected under
this section shall be paid into the unemployment compensation fund
as provided in section 4141.09 of the Revised Code. Any refunds of
such payments shall be paid from the unemployment compensation
fund, as provided in section 4141.09 of the Revised Code.
(C)(1) Any nonprofit organization, or group of such
organizations approved under division (D) of this section, that
elects to become liable for payments in lieu of contributions
shall be required within thirty days after the effective date of
its election, to execute and file with the director a surety bond
approved by the director or it may elect instead to deposit with
the director approved municipal or other bonds, or approved
securities, or a combination thereof, or other forms of collateral
security approved by the director.
(2)(a) The amount of the bond or deposit required shall be
equal to three per cent of the organization's wages paid for
employment as defined in section 4141.01 of the Revised Code that
would have been taxable had the organization been a subject
employer during the four calendar quarters immediately preceding
the effective date of the election, or the amount established by
the director within the limitation provided in division (C)(2)(d)
of this section, whichever is the less. The effective date of the
amount of the bond or other collateral security required after the
employer initially is determined by the director to be liable for
payments in lieu of contributions shall be the renewal date in the
case of a bond or the biennial anniversary of the effective date
of election in the case of deposit of securities or other forms of
collateral security approved by the director, whichever date shall
be most recent and applicable. If the nonprofit organization did
not pay wages in each of such four calendar quarters, the amount
of the bond or deposit shall be as determined by the director
under regulations prescribed for this purpose.
(b) Any bond or other form of collateral security approved by
the director deposited under this division shall be in force for a
period of not less than two calendar years and shall be renewed
with the approval of the director, at such times as the director
may prescribe, but not less frequently than at two-year intervals
as long as the organization continues to be liable for payments in
lieu of contributions. The director shall require adjustments to
be made in a previously filed bond or other form of collateral
security as the director considers appropriate. If the bond or
other form of collateral security is to be increased, the adjusted
bond or collateral security shall be filed by the organization
within thirty days of the date that notice of the required
adjustment was mailed or otherwise delivered to it. Failure by any
organization covered by such bond or collateral security to pay
the full amount of payments in lieu of contributions when due,
together with any applicable interest provided for in division
(B)(5) of this section, shall render the surety liable on the bond
or collateral security to the extent of the bond or collateral
security, as though the surety was the organization.
(c) Any securities accepted in lieu of surety bond by the
director shall be deposited with the treasurer of state who shall
have custody thereof and retain the same in the treasurer of
state's possession, or release them, according to conditions
prescribed by regulations of the director. Income from the
securities, held in custody by the treasurer of state, shall
accrue to the benefit of the depositor and shall be distributed to
the depositor in the absence of any notification from the director
that the depositor is in default on any payment owed to the
director. The director may require the sale of any such bonds to
the extent necessary to satisfy any unpaid payments in lieu of
contributions, together with any applicable interest or
forfeitures provided for in division (B)(5) of this section. The
director shall require the employer within thirty days following
any sale of deposited securities, under this subdivision, to
deposit additional securities, surety bond, or combination of
both, to make whole the employer's security deposit at the
approved level. Any cash remaining from the sale of such
securities may, at the discretion of the director, be refunded in
whole or in part, or be paid into the unemployment compensation
fund to cover future payments required of the organization.
(d) The required bond or deposit for any nonprofit
organization, or group of such organizations approved by the
director under division (D) of this section, that is determined by
the director to be liable for payments in lieu of contributions
effective beginning on and after January 1, 1996, but prior to
January 1, 1998, and the required bond or deposit for any renewed
elections under division (C)(2)(b) of this section effective
during that period shall not exceed one million two hundred fifty
thousand dollars. The required bond or deposit for any nonprofit
organization, or group of such organizations approved by the
director under division (D) of this section, that is determined to
be liable for payments in lieu of contributions effective on and
after January 1, 1998, and the required bond or deposit for any
renewed elections effective on and after January 1, 1998, shall
not exceed two million dollars.
(3) If any nonprofit organization fails to file a bond or
make a deposit, or to file a bond in an increased amount or to
make whole the amount of a previously made deposit, as provided
under this division, the director may terminate the organization's
election to make payments in lieu of contributions effective for
the quarter following such failure and the termination shall
continue for not less than the remainder of that calendar year and
the next calendar year, beginning with the quarter in which the
termination becomes effective; except that the director may extend
for good cause the applicable filing, deposit, or adjustment
period by not more than thirty days.
(D)(1) Two or more nonprofit organizations that have become
liable for payments in lieu of contributions, in accordance with
division (A) of this section, may file a joint application to the
director for the establishment of the group account for the
purpose of sharing the cost of benefits paid that are attributable
to service in the employ of those employers. Notwithstanding
division (E) of section 4141.242 of the Revised Code, hospitals
operated by this state or a political subdivision may participate
in a group account with nonprofit organizations under the
procedures set forth in this section. Each application shall
identify and authorize a group representative to act as the
group's agent for the purposes of this division.
(2) Upon the director's approval of the application, the
director shall establish a group account for the employers
effective as of the beginning of the calendar quarter in which the
director receives the application and shall notify the group's
representative of the effective date of the account. The account
shall remain in effect for not less than two years and thereafter
until terminated by the director or upon application by the group.
(3) Upon establishment of the account, each member of the
group shall be liable, in the event that the group representative
fails to pay any bill issued to it pursuant to division (B) of
this section, for payments in lieu of contributions with respect
to each calendar quarter in the amount that bears the same ratio
to the total benefits paid in the quarter that are attributable to
service performed in the employ of all members of the group as the
total wages paid for service in employment by the member in the
quarter bear to the total wages paid during the quarter for
service performed in the employ of all members of the group.
(4) The director shall adopt regulations as considered
necessary with respect to the following: applications for
establishment, bonding, maintenance, and termination of group
accounts that are authorized by this section; addition of new
members to and withdrawal of active members from such accounts;
and the determination of the amounts that are payable under this
division by the group representative and in the event of default
in payment by the group representative, members of the group, and
the time and manner of payments.
Sec. 4141.25. (A) The director of job and family services
shall determine as of each computation date the contribution rate
of each contributing employer subject to this chapter for the next
succeeding contribution period. The director shall determine a
standard rate of contribution or an experience rate for each
contributing employer. Once a rate of contribution has been
established under this section for a contribution period, except
as provided in division (D) of section 4141.26 of the Revised
Code, that rate shall remain effective throughout such
contribution period. The rate of contribution shall be determined
in accordance with the following requirements:
(1) An employer whose experience does not meet the terms of
division (A)(2) of this section shall be assigned a standard rate
of contribution. Effective for contribution periods beginning on
and after January 1, 1998, an employer's standard rate of
contribution shall be a rate of two and seven-tenths per cent,
except that the rate for employers engaged in the construction
industry shall be the average contribution rate computed for the
construction industry or a rate of two and seven-tenths per cent,
whichever is greater. The standard rate set forth in this division
shall be applicable to a nonprofit organization whose election to
make payments in lieu of contributions is voluntarily terminated
or canceled by the director under section 4141.241 of the Revised
Code, and thereafter pays contributions as required by this
section. If such nonprofit organization had been a contributory
employer prior to its election to make payments in lieu of
contributions, then any prior balance in the contributory account
shall become part of the reactivated account.
As used in division (A) of this section, "the average
contribution rate computed for the construction industry" means
the most recent annual average rate attributable to the
construction industry as prescribed by the director.
(2) A contributing employer subject to this chapter shall
qualify for an experience rate only if there have been four
consecutive quarters, ending on the thirtieth day of June
immediately prior to the computation date, throughout which the
employer's account was chargeable with benefits. Upon meeting the
qualifying requirements provided in division (A)(2) of this
section, the director shall calculate the total credits to each
employer's account consisting of the contributions other than
mutualized contributions including all contributions paid prior to
the computation date for all past periods plus:
(a) The contributions owing on the computation date that are
paid within thirty days after the computation date, and credited
to the employer's account;
(b) All voluntary contributions paid by an employer pursuant
to division (B) of section 4141.24 of the Revised Code.
(3) The director also shall determine the benefits which are
chargeable to each employer's account and which were paid prior to
the computation date with respect to weeks of unemployment ending
prior to the computation date. The director then shall determine
the positive or negative balance of each employer's account by
calculating the excess of such contributions and interest over the
benefits chargeable, or the excess of such benefits over such
contributions and interest. Any resulting negative balance then
shall be subject to adjustment as provided in division (A)(2) of
section 4141.24 of the Revised Code after which the positive or
negative balance shall be expressed in terms of a percentage of
the employer's average annual payroll. If the total standing to
the credit of an employer's account exceeds the total charges, as
provided in this division, the employer has a positive balance and
if such charges exceed such credits the employer has a negative
balance. Each employer's contribution rate shall then be
determined in accordance with the following schedule:
Contribution Rate Schedule
If, as of the computation date
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The employer's |
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the contribution rate balance of
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contribution rate for |
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an employer's account as a
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the next succeeding |
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percentage of the employer's
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contribution period |
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average annual payroll is
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shall be |
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(a) |
A negative balance of: |
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20.0% or more |
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6.5% |
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19.0% but less than 20.0% |
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6.4% |
|
|
|
17.0% but less than 19.0% |
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6.3% |
|
|
|
15.0% but less than 17.0% |
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6.2% |
|
|
|
13.0% but less than 15.0% |
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6.1% |
|
|
|
11.0% but less than 13.0% |
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6.0% |
|
|
|
9.0% but less than 11.0% |
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5.9% |
|
|
|
5.0% but less than 9.0% |
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5.7% |
|
|
|
4.0% but less than 5.0% |
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5.5% |
|
|
|
3.0% but less than 4.0% |
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5.3% |
|
|
|
2.0% but less than 3.0% |
|
5.1% |
|
|
|
1.0% but less than 2.0% |
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4.9% |
|
|
|
more than 0.0% but less than 1.0% |
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4.8% |
|
|
(b) |
A 0.0% or a positive
|
|
|
|
|
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balance of less than 1.0% |
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4.7% |
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(c) |
A positive balance of: |
|
|
|
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1.0% or more, but less than 1.5% |
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4.6% |
|
|
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1.5% or more, but less than 2.0% |
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4.5% |
|
|
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2.0% or more, but less than 2.5% |
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4.3% |
|
|
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2.5% or more, but less than 3.0% |
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4.0% |
|
|
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3.0% or more, but less than 3.5% |
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3.8% |
|
|
|
3.5% or more, but less than 4.0% |
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3.5% |
|
|
|
4.0% or more, but less than 4.5% |
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3.3% |
|
|
|
4.5% or more, but less than 5.0% |
|
3.0% |
|
|
|
5.0% or more, but less than 5.5% |
|
2.8% |
|
|
|
5.5% or more, but less than 6.0% |
|
2.5% |
|
|
|
6.0% or more, but less than 6.5% |
|
2.2% |
|
|
|
6.5% or more, but less than 7.0% |
|
2.0% |
|
|
|
7.0% or more, but less than 7.5% |
|
1.8% |
|
|
|
7.5% or more, but less than 8.0% |
|
1.6% |
|
|
|
8.0% or more, but less than 8.5% |
|
1.4% |
|
|
|
8.5% or more, but less than 9.0% |
|
1.3% |
|
|
|
9.0% or more, but less than 9.5% |
|
1.1% |
|
|
|
9.5% or more, but less than 10.0% |
|
1.0% |
|
|
|
10.0% or more, but less than 10.5% |
|
.9% |
|
|
|
10.5% or more, but less than 11.0% |
|
.7% |
|
|
|
11.0% or more, but less than 11.5% |
|
.6% |
|
|
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11.5% or more, but less than 12.0% |
|
.5% |
|
|
|
12.0% or more, but less than 12.5% |
|
.4% |
|
|
|
12.5% or more, but less than 13.0% |
|
.3% |
|
|
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13.0% or more, but less than 14.0% |
|
.2% |
|
|
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14.0% or more
|
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.1% |
|
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(d) The contribution rates shall be as specified in divisions
(a), (b), and (c) of the contribution rate schedule except that
notwithstanding the amendments made to division (a) of the
contribution rate schedule in this section, if, as of the
computation date: for 1991, the negative balance is 5.0% or more,
the contribution rate shall be 5.7%; for 1992, if the negative
balance is 11.0% or more, the contribution rate shall be 6.0%; and
for 1993, if the negative balance is 17.0% or more, the
contribution rate shall be 6.3%. Thereafter, the contribution
rates shall be as specified in the contribution rate schedule.
(B)(1) The director shall establish and maintain a separate
account to be known as the "mutualized account." As of each
computation date there shall be charged to this account:
(a) As provided in division (A)(2) of section 4141.24 of the
Revised Code, an amount equal to the sum of that portion of the
negative balances of employer accounts which exceeds the
applicable limitations as such balances are computed under
division (A) of this section as of such date;
(b) An amount equal to the sum of the negative balances
remaining in employer accounts which have been closed during the
year immediately preceding such computation date pursuant to
division (E) of section 4141.24 of the Revised Code;
(c) An amount equal to the sum of all benefits improperly
paid preceding such computation date which are not recovered but
which are not charged to an employer's account, or which after
being charged, are credited back to an employer's account;
(d) An amount equal to the sum of any other benefits paid
preceding such computation date which, under this chapter, are not
chargeable to an employer's account;
(e) An amount equal to the sum of any refunds made during the
year immediately preceding such computation date of erroneously
collected mutualized contributions required by this division which
were previously credited to this account;
(f) An amount equal to the sum of any repayments made to the
federal government during the year immediately preceding such
computation date of amounts which may have been advanced by it to
the unemployment compensation fund under section 1201 of the
"Social Security Act," 49 Stat. 648 (1935), 42 U.S.C. 301;
(g) Any amounts appropriated by the general assembly out of
funds paid by the federal government, under section 903 of the
"Social Security Act," to the account of this state in the federal
unemployment trust fund.
(2) As of every computation date there shall be credited to
the mutualized account provided for in this division:
(a) The proceeds of the mutualized contributions as provided
in this division;
(b) Any positive balances remaining in employer accounts
which are closed as provided in division (E) of section 4141.24 of
the Revised Code;
(c) Any benefits improperly paid which are recovered but
which cannot be credited to an employer's account;
(d) All Except for payments received pursuant to section 2003
of the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009," Pub. L.
No. 111-5, 123 Stat. 115, as amended, for unemployment
compensation modernization, all amounts which that may be paid by
the federal government under section 903 of the "Social Security
Act" to the account of this state in the federal unemployment
trust fund;
(e) Amounts advanced by the federal government to the account
of this state in the federal unemployment trust fund under section
1201 of the "Social Security Act" to the extent such advances have
been repaid to or recovered by the federal government;
(f) Interest credited to the Ohio unemployment trust fund as
deposited with the secretary of the treasury of the United States.
(3) Annually, as of the computation date, the director shall
determine the total credits and charges made to the mutualized
account during the preceding twelve months and the overall
condition of the account. The director shall issue an annual
statement containing this information and such other information
as the director deems pertinent, including a report that the sum
of the balances in the mutualized account, employers' accounts,
and any subsidiary accounts equal the balance in the state's
unemployment trust fund maintained under section 904 of the
"Social Security Act."
(4) As used in this division:
(a) "Fund as of the computation date" means as of any
computation date, the aggregate amount of the unemployment
compensation fund, including all contributions owing on the
computation date that are paid within thirty days thereafter, all
payments in lieu of contributions that are paid within sixty days
after the computation date, all reimbursements of the federal
share of extended benefits described in section 4141.301 of the
Revised Code that are owing on the computation date, and all
interest earned by the fund and received on or before the
computation date from the federal government.
(b) "Minimum safe level" means an amount equal to two
standard deviations above the average of the adjusted annual
average unemployment compensation benefit payment from 1970 to the
most recent calendar year prior to the computation date, as
determined by the director pursuant to division (B)(4)(b) of this
section. To determine the adjusted annual payment of unemployment
compensation benefits, the director first shall multiply the
number of weeks compensated during each calendar year beginning
with 1970 by the most recent annual average weekly unemployment
compensation benefit payment and then compute the average and
standard deviation of the resultant products.
(c) "Annual average weekly unemployment compensation benefit
payment" means the amount resulting from dividing the unemployment
compensation benefits paid from the benefit account maintained
within the unemployment compensation fund pursuant to section
4141.09 of the Revised Code, by the number of weeks compensated
during the same time period.
(5) If, as of any computation date, the charges to the
mutualized account during the entire period subsequent to the
computation date, July 1, 1966, made in accordance with division
(B)(1) of this section, exceed the credits to such account
including mutualized contributions during such period, made in
accordance with division (B)(2) of this section, the amount of
such excess charges shall be recovered during the next
contribution period. To recover such amount, the director shall
compute the percentage ratio of such excess charges to the average
annual payroll of all employers eligible for an experience rate
under division (A) of this section. The percentage so determined
shall be computed to the nearest tenth of one per cent and shall
be an additional contribution rate to be applied to the wages paid
by each employer whose rate is computed under the provisions of
division (A) of this section in the contribution period next
following such computation date, but such percentage shall not
exceed five-tenths of one per cent; however, when there are any
excess charges in the mutualized account, as computed in this
division, then the mutualized contribution rate shall not be less
than one-tenth of one per cent.
(6) If the fund as of the computation date is above or below
minimum safe level, the contribution rates provided for in each
classification in division (A)(3) of this section for the next
contribution period shall be adjusted as follows:
(a) If the fund is thirty per cent or more above minimum safe
level, the contribution rates provided in division (A)(3) of this
section shall be decreased two-tenths of one per cent.
(b) If the fund is more than fifteen per cent but less than
thirty per cent above minimum safe level, the contribution rates
provided in division (A)(3) of this section shall be decreased
one-tenth of one per cent.
(c) If the fund is more than fifteen per cent but less than
thirty per cent below minimum safe level, the contribution rates
of all employers shall be increased twenty-five one-thousandths of
one per cent plus a per cent increase calculated and rounded
pursuant to division (B)(6)(g) of this section.
(d) If the fund is more than thirty per cent but less than
forty-five per cent below minimum safe level, the contribution
rates of all employers shall be increased seventy-five
one-thousandths of one per cent plus a per cent increase
calculated and rounded pursuant to division (B)(6)(g) of this
section.
(e) If the fund is more than forty-five per cent but less
than sixty per cent below minimum safe level, the contribution
rates of all employers shall be increased one-eighth of one per
cent plus a per cent increase calculated and rounded pursuant to
division (B)(6)(g) of this section.
(f) If the fund is sixty per cent or more below minimum safe
level, the contribution rates of all employers shall be increased
two-tenths of one per cent plus a per cent increase calculated and
rounded pursuant to division (B)(6)(g) of this section.
(g) The additional per cent increase in contribution rates
required by divisions (B)(6)(c), (d), (e), and (f) of this section
that is payable by each individual employer shall be calculated in
the following manner. The flat rate increase required by a
particular division shall be multiplied by three and the product
divided by the average experienced-rated contribution rate for all
employers as determined by the director for the most recent
calendar year. The resulting quotient shall be multiplied by an
individual employer's contribution rate determined pursuant to
division (A)(3) of this section. The resulting product shall be
rounded to the nearest tenth of one per cent, added to the flat
rate increase required by division (B)(6)(c), (d), (e), or (f) of
this section, as appropriate, and the total shall be rounded to
the nearest tenth of one per cent. As used in division (B)(6)(g)
of this section, the "average experienced-rated contribution rate"
means the most recent annual average contribution rate reported by
the director contained in report RS 203.2 less the mutualized and
minimum safe level contribution rates included in such rate.
(h) If any of the increased contribution rates of division
(B)(6)(c), (d), (e), or (f) of this section are imposed, the rate
shall remain in effect for the calendar year in which it is
imposed and for each calendar year thereafter until the director
determines as of the computation date for calendar year 1991 and
as of the computation date for any calendar year thereafter
pursuant to this section, that the level of the unemployment
compensation fund equals or exceeds the minimum safe level as
defined in division (B)(4)(b) of this section. Nothing in division
(B)(6)(h) of this section shall be construed as restricting the
imposition of the increased contribution rates provided in
divisions (B)(6)(c), (d), (e), and (f) of this section if the fund
falls below the percentage of the minimum safe level as specified
in those divisions.
(7) The additional contributions required by division (B)(5)
of this section shall be credited to the mutualized account. The
additional contributions required by division (B)(6) of this
section shall be credited fifty per cent to individual employer
accounts and fifty per cent to the mutualized account.
(C) If an employer makes a payment of contributions which is
less than the full amount required by this section and sections
4141.23, 4141.24, 4141.241, 4141.242, 4141.25, 4141.26, and
4141.27 of the Revised Code, such partial payment shall be applied
first against the mutualized contributions required under this
chapter. Any remaining partial payment shall be credited to the
employer's individual account.
(D) Whenever there are any increases in contributions
resulting from an increase in wages subject to contributions as
defined in division (G) of section 4141.01 of the Revised Code, or
from an increase in the mutualized rate of contributions provided
in division (B) of this section, or from a revision of the
contribution rate schedule provided in division (A) of this
section, except for that portion of the increase attributable to a
change in the positive or negative balance in an employer's
account, which increases become effective after a contract for the
construction of real property, as defined in section 5701.02 of
the Revised Code, has been entered into, the contractee upon
written notice by a prime contractor shall reimburse the
contractor for all increased contributions paid by the prime
contractor or by subcontractors upon wages for services performed
under the contract. Upon reimbursement by the contractee to the
prime contractor, the prime contractor shall reimburse each
subcontractor for the increased contributions.
(E) Effective only for the contribution period beginning on
January 1, 1996, and ending on December 31, 1996, mutualized
contributions collected or received by the director pursuant to
division (B)(5) of this section and amounts credited to the
mutualized account pursuant to division (B)(7) of this section
shall be deposited into or credited to the unemployment
compensation benefit reserve fund that is created under division
(F) of this section, except that amounts collected, received, or
credited in excess of two hundred million dollars shall be
deposited into or credited to the unemployment trust fund
established pursuant to section 4141.09 of the Revised Code.
(F) The state unemployment compensation benefit reserve fund
is hereby created as a trust fund in the custody of the treasurer
of state and shall not be part of the state treasury. The fund
shall consist of all moneys collected or received as mutualized
contributions pursuant to division (B)(5) of this section and
amounts credited to the mutualized account pursuant to division
(B)(7) of this section as provided by division (E) of this
section. All moneys in the fund shall be used solely to pay
unemployment compensation benefits in the event that funds are no
longer available for that purpose from the unemployment trust fund
established pursuant to section 4141.09 of the Revised Code.
(G) The balance in the unemployment compensation benefit
reserve fund remaining at the end of the contribution period
beginning January 1, 2000, and any mutualized contribution amounts
for the contribution period beginning on January 1, 1996, that may
be received after December 31, 2000, shall be deposited into the
unemployment trust fund established pursuant to section 4141.09 of
the Revised Code. Income earned on moneys in the state
unemployment compensation benefit reserve fund shall be available
for use by the director only for the purposes described in
division (I) of this section, and shall not be used for any other
purpose.
(H) The unemployment compensation benefit reserve fund
balance shall be added to the unemployment trust fund balance in
determining the minimum safe level tax to be imposed pursuant to
division (B) of this section and shall be included in the
mutualized account balance for the purpose of determining the
mutualized contribution rate pursuant to division (B)(5) of this
section.
(I) All income earned on moneys in the unemployment
compensation benefit reserve fund from the investment of the fund
by the treasurer of state shall accrue to the department of job
and family services automation administration fund, which is
hereby established in the state treasury. Moneys within the
automation administration fund shall be used to meet the costs
related to automation of the department and the administrative
costs related to collecting and accounting for unemployment
compensation benefit reserve fund revenue. Any funds remaining in
the automation administration fund upon completion of the
department's automation projects that are funded by that fund
shall be deposited into the unemployment trust fund established
pursuant to section 4141.09 of the Revised Code.
(J) The director shall prepare and submit monthly reports to
the unemployment compensation advisory commission with respect to
the status of efforts to collect and account for unemployment
compensation benefit reserve fund revenue and the costs related to
collecting and accounting for that revenue. The director shall
obtain approval from the unemployment compensation advisory
commission for expenditure of funds from the department of job and
family services automation administration fund. Funds may be
approved for expenditure for purposes set forth in division (I) of
this section only to the extent that federal or other funds are
not available.
Sec. 4141.29. Each eligible individual shall receive
benefits as compensation for loss of remuneration due to
involuntary total or partial unemployment in the amounts and
subject to the conditions stipulated in this chapter.
(A) No individual is entitled to a waiting period or benefits
for any week unless the individual:
(1) Has filed a valid application for determination of
benefit rights in accordance with section 4141.28 of the Revised
Code;
(2) Has made a claim for benefits in accordance with section
4141.28 of the Revised Code;
(3) Has registered at an employment office or other
registration place maintained or designated by the director of job
and family services. Registration shall be made in accordance with
the time limits, frequency, and manner prescribed by the director.
(4)(a)(i) Is able to work and available for suitable work
and, except as provided in division (A)(4)(a)(ii) of this section,
is actively seeking suitable work either in a locality in which
the individual has earned wages subject to this chapter during the
individual's base period, or if the individual leaves that
locality, then in a locality where suitable work normally is
performed.
(ii) The director may waive the requirement that a claimant
be actively seeking work when the director finds that the
individual has been laid off and the employer who laid the
individual off has notified the director within ten days after the
layoff, that work is expected to be available for the individual
within a specified number of days not to exceed forty-five
calendar days following the last day the individual worked. In the
event the individual is not recalled within the specified period,
this waiver shall cease to be operative with respect to that
layoff.
(b) The individual shall be instructed as to the efforts that
the individual must make in the search for suitable work, except
where the active search for work requirement has been waived under
division (A)(4)(a) of this section, and shall keep a record of
where and when the individual has sought work in complying with
those instructions and, upon request, shall produce that record
for examination by the director.
(c) An individual who is attending a training course approved
by the director meets the requirement of this division, if
attendance was recommended by the director and the individual is
regularly attending the course and is making satisfactory
progress. An individual also meets the requirements of this
division if the individual is participating and advancing in a
training program, as defined in division (P) of section 5709.61 of
the Revised Code, and if an enterprise, defined in division (B) of
section 5709.61 of the Revised Code, is paying all or part of the
cost of the individual's participation in the training program
with the intention of hiring the individual for employment as a
new employee, as defined in division (L) of section 5709.61 of the
Revised Code, for at least ninety days after the individual's
completion of the training program.
(d) An individual who becomes unemployed while attending a
regularly established school and whose base period qualifying
weeks were earned in whole or in part while attending that school,
meets the availability and active search for work requirements of
division (A)(4)(a) of this section if the individual regularly
attends the school during weeks with respect to which the
individual claims unemployment benefits and makes self available
on any shift of hours for suitable employment with the
individual's most recent employer or any other employer in the
individual's base period, or for any other suitable employment to
which the individual is directed, under this chapter.
(e) The director shall adopt any rules that the director
deems necessary for the administration of division (A)(4) of this
section.
(f) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this section, no
otherwise eligible individual shall be denied benefits for any
week because the individual is in training approved under section
236(a)(1) of the "Trade Act of 1974," 88 Stat. 1978, 19 U.S.C.A.
2296, nor shall that individual be denied benefits by reason of
leaving work to enter such training, provided the work left is not
suitable employment, or because of the application to any week in
training of provisions in this chapter, or any applicable federal
unemployment compensation law, relating to availability for work,
active search for work, or refusal to accept work.
For the purposes of division (A)(4)(f) of this section,
"suitable employment" means with respect to an individual, work of
a substantially equal or higher skill level than the individual's
past adversely affected employment, as defined for the purposes of
the "Trade Act of 1974," 88 Stat. 1978, 19 U.S.C.A. 2101, and
wages for such work at not less than eighty per cent of the
individual's average weekly wage as determined for the purposes of
that federal act.
(5) Is unable to obtain suitable work. An individual who is
provided temporary work assignments by the individual's employer
under agreed terms and conditions of employment, and who is
required pursuant to those terms and conditions to inquire with
the individual's employer for available work assignments upon the
conclusion of each work assignment, is not considered unable to
obtain suitable employment if suitable work assignments are
available with the employer but the individual fails to contact
the employer to inquire about work assignments.
(6) Participates in reemployment services, such as job search
assistance services, if the individual has been determined to be
likely to exhaust benefits under this chapter, including
compensation payable pursuant to 5 U.S.C.A. Chapter 85, other than
extended compensation, and needs reemployment services pursuant to
the profiling system established by the director under division
(K)(L) of this section, unless the director 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.
(B) An individual suffering total or partial unemployment is
eligible for benefits for unemployment occurring subsequent to a
waiting period of one week and no benefits shall be payable during
this required waiting period. Not more than one week of waiting
period shall be required of any individual in any benefit year in
order to establish the individual's eligibility for total or
partial unemployment benefits.
(C) The waiting period for total or partial unemployment
shall commence on the first day of the first week with respect to
which the individual first files a claim for benefits at an
employment office or other place of registration maintained or
designated by the director or on the first day of the first week
with respect to which the individual has otherwise filed a claim
for benefits in accordance with the rules of the department of job
and family services, provided such claim is allowed by the
director.
(D) Notwithstanding division (A) of this section, no
individual may serve a waiting period or be paid benefits under
the following conditions:
(1) For any week with respect to which the director finds
that:
(a) The individual's unemployment was due to a labor dispute
other than a lockout at any factory, establishment, or other
premises located in this or any other state and owned or operated
by the employer by which the individual is or was last employed;
and for so long as the individual's unemployment is due to such
labor dispute. No individual shall be disqualified under this
provision if either of the following applies:
(i) The individual's employment was with such employer at any
factory, establishment, or premises located in this state, owned
or operated by such employer, other than the factory,
establishment, or premises at which the labor dispute exists, if
it is shown that the individual is not financing, participating
in, or directly interested in such labor dispute;
(ii) The individual's employment was with an employer not
involved in the labor dispute but whose place of business was
located within the same premises as the employer engaged in the
dispute, unless the individual's employer is a wholly owned
subsidiary of the employer engaged in the dispute, or unless the
individual actively participates in or voluntarily stops work
because of such dispute. If it is established that the claimant
was laid off for an indefinite period and not recalled to work
prior to the dispute, or was separated by the employer prior to
the dispute for reasons other than the labor dispute, or that the
individual obtained a bona fide job with another employer while
the dispute was still in progress, such labor dispute shall not
render the employee ineligible for benefits.
(b) The individual has been given a disciplinary layoff for
misconduct in connection with the individual's work.
(2) For the duration of the individual's unemployment if the
director finds that:
(a) The individual quit work without just cause or has been
discharged for just cause in connection with the individual's
work, provided division (D)(2) of this section does not apply to
the separation of a person under any of the following
circumstances:
(i) Separation from employment for the purpose of entering
the armed forces of the United States if the individual is
inducted into the armed forces within one of the following
periods:
(I) Thirty days after separation;
(II) One hundred eighty days after separation if the
individual's date of induction is delayed solely at the discretion
of the armed forces.
(ii) Separation from employment pursuant to a
labor-management contract or agreement, or pursuant to an
established employer plan, program, or policy, which permits the
employee, because of lack of work, to accept a separation from
employment;
(iii) The individual has left employment to accept a recall
from a prior employer or, except as provided in division
(D)(2)(a)(iv) of this section, to accept other employment as
provided under section 4141.291 of the Revised Code, or left or
was separated from employment that was concurrent employment at
the time of the most recent separation or within six weeks prior
to the most recent separation where the remuneration, hours, or
other conditions of such concurrent employment were substantially
less favorable than the individual's most recent employment and
where such employment, if offered as new work, would be considered
not suitable under the provisions of divisions (E) and (F) of this
section. Any benefits that would otherwise be chargeable to the
account of the employer from whom an individual has left
employment or was separated from employment that was concurrent
employment under conditions described in division (D)(2)(a)(iii)
of this section, shall instead be charged to the mutualized
account created by division (B) of section 4141.25 of the Revised
Code, except that any benefits chargeable to the account of a
reimbursing employer under division (D)(2)(a)(iii) of this section
shall be charged to the account of the reimbursing employer and
not to the mutualized account, except as provided in division
(D)(2) of section 4141.24 of the Revised Code.
(iv) When an individual has been issued a definite layoff
date by the individual's employer and before the layoff date, the
individual quits to accept other employment, the provisions of
division (D)(2)(a)(iii) of this section apply and no
disqualification shall be imposed under division (D) of this
section. However, if the individual fails to meet the employment
and earnings requirements of division (A)(2) of section 4141.291
of the Revised Code, then the individual, pursuant to division
(A)(5) of this section, shall be ineligible for benefits for any
week of unemployment that occurs prior to the layoff date.
(b) The individual has refused without good cause to accept
an offer of suitable work when made by an employer either in
person or to the individual's last known address, or has refused
or failed to investigate a referral to suitable work when directed
to do so by a local employment office of this state or another
state, provided that this division shall not cause a
disqualification for a waiting week or benefits under the
following circumstances:
(i) When work is offered by the individual's employer and the
individual is not required to accept the offer pursuant to the
terms of the labor-management contract or agreement; or
(ii) When the individual is attending a training course
pursuant to division (A)(4) of this section except, in the event
of a refusal to accept an offer of suitable work or a refusal or
failure to investigate a referral, benefits thereafter paid to
such individual shall not be charged to the account of any
employer and, except as provided in division (B)(1)(b) of section
4141.241 of the Revised Code, shall be charged to the mutualized
account as provided in division (B) of section 4141.25 of the
Revised Code.
(c) Such individual quit work to marry or because of marital,
parental, filial, or other domestic obligations.
(d) The individual became unemployed by reason of commitment
to any correctional institution.
(e) The individual became unemployed because of dishonesty in
connection with the individual's most recent or any base period
work. Remuneration earned in such work shall be excluded from the
individual's total base period remuneration and qualifying weeks
that otherwise would be credited to the individual for such work
in the individual's base period shall not be credited for the
purpose of determining the total benefits to which the individual
is eligible and the weekly benefit amount to be paid under section
4141.30 of the Revised Code. Such excluded remuneration and
noncredited qualifying weeks shall be excluded from the
calculation of the maximum amount to be charged, under division
(D) of section 4141.24 and section 4141.33 of the Revised Code,
against the accounts of the individual's base period employers. In
addition, no benefits shall thereafter be paid to the individual
based upon such excluded remuneration or noncredited qualifying
weeks.
For purposes of division (D)(2)(e) of this section,
"dishonesty" means the commission of substantive theft, fraud, or
deceitful acts.
(E) No individual otherwise qualified to receive benefits
shall lose the right to benefits by reason of a refusal to accept
new work if:
(1) As a condition of being so employed the individual would
be required to join a company union, or to resign from or refrain
from joining any bona fide labor organization, or would be denied
the right to retain membership in and observe the lawful rules of
any such organization.
(2) The position offered is vacant due directly to a strike,
lockout, or other labor dispute.
(3) The work is at an unreasonable distance from the
individual's residence, having regard to the character of the work
the individual has been accustomed to do, and travel to the place
of work involves expenses substantially greater than that required
for the individual's former work, unless the expense is provided
for.
(4) The remuneration, hours, or other conditions of the work
offered are substantially less favorable to the individual than
those prevailing for similar work in the locality.
(F) Subject to the special exceptions contained in division
(A)(4)(f) of this section and section 4141.301 of the Revised
Code, in determining whether any work is suitable for a claimant
in the administration of this chapter, the director, in addition
to the determination required under division (E) of this section,
shall consider the degree of risk to the claimant's health,
safety, and morals, the individual's physical fitness for the
work, the individual's prior training and experience, the length
of the individual's unemployment, the distance of the available
work from the individual's residence, and the individual's
prospects for obtaining local work.
(G) No claimant shall be denied regular unemployment benefits
under this section due to failing to satisfy the requirement
regarding availability for work, failing to actively search for
suitable work, or refusing to accept suitable work as described
under division (A) of this section, solely because the claimant is
seeking only part-time work.
(H) The "duration of unemployment" as used in this section
means the full period of unemployment next ensuing after a
separation from any base period or subsequent work and until an
individual has become reemployed in employment subject to this
chapter, or the unemployment compensation act of another state, or
of the United States, and until such individual has worked six
weeks and for those weeks has earned or been paid remuneration
equal to six times an average weekly wage of not less than:
eighty-five dollars and ten cents per week beginning on June 26,
1990; and beginning on and after January 1, 1992, twenty-seven and
one-half per cent of the statewide average weekly wage as computed
each first day of January under division (B)(3) of section 4141.30
of the Revised Code, rounded down to the nearest dollar, except
for purposes of division (D)(2)(c) of this section, such term
means the full period of unemployment next ensuing after a
separation from such work and until such individual has become
reemployed subject to the terms set forth above, and has earned
wages equal to one-half of the individual's average weekly wage or
sixty dollars, whichever is less.
(H)(I) If a claimant is disqualified under division
(D)(2)(a), (c), or (d) of this section or found to be qualified
under the exceptions provided in division (D)(2)(a)(i), (iii), or
(iv) of this section or division (A)(2) of section 4141.291 of the
Revised Code, then benefits that may become payable to such
claimant, which are chargeable to the account of the employer from
whom the individual was separated under such conditions, shall be
charged to the mutualized account provided in section 4141.25 of
the Revised Code, provided that no charge shall be made to the
mutualized account for benefits chargeable to a reimbursing
employer, except as provided in division (D)(2) of section 4141.24
of the Revised Code. In the case of a reimbursing employer, the
director shall refund or credit to the account of the reimbursing
employer any over-paid benefits that are recovered under division
(B) of section 4141.35 of the Revised Code. Amounts chargeable to
other states, the United States, or Canada that are subject to
agreements and arrangements that are established pursuant to
section 4141.43 of the Revised Code shall be credited or
reimbursed according to the agreements and arrangements to which
the chargeable amounts are subject.
(I)(J)(1) Benefits based on service in employment as provided
in divisions (B)(2)(a) and (b) of section 4141.01 of the Revised
Code shall be payable in the same amount, on the same terms, and
subject to the same conditions as benefits payable on the basis of
other service subject to this chapter; except that after December
31, 1977:
(a) Benefits based on service in an instructional, research,
or principal administrative capacity in an institution of higher
education, as defined in division (Y) of section 4141.01 of the
Revised Code; or for an educational institution as defined in
division (CC) of section 4141.01 of the Revised Code, shall not be
paid to any individual for any week of unemployment that begins
during the period between two successive academic years or terms,
or during a similar period between two regular but not successive
terms or during a period of paid sabbatical leave provided for in
the individual's contract, if the individual performs such
services in the first of those academic years or terms and has a
contract or a reasonable assurance that the individual will
perform services in any such capacity for any such institution in
the second of those academic years or terms.
(b) Benefits based on service for an educational institution
or an institution of higher education in other than an
instructional, research, or principal administrative capacity,
shall not be paid to any individual for any week of unemployment
which begins during the period between two successive academic
years or terms of the employing educational institution or
institution of higher education, provided the individual performed
those services for the educational institution or institution of
higher education during the first such academic year or term and,
there is a reasonable assurance that such individual will perform
those services for any educational institution or institution of
higher education in the second of such academic years or terms.
If compensation is denied to any individual for any week
under division (I)(J)(1)(b) of this section and the individual was
not offered an opportunity to perform those services for an
institution of higher education or for an educational institution
for the second of such academic years or terms, the individual is
entitled to a retroactive payment of compensation for each week
for which the individual timely filed a claim for compensation and
for which compensation was denied solely by reason of division
(I)(J)(1)(b) of this section. An application for retroactive
benefits shall be timely filed if received by the director or the
director's deputy within or prior to the end of the fourth full
calendar week after the end of the period for which benefits were
denied because of reasonable assurance of employment. The
provision for the payment of retroactive benefits under division
(I)(J)(1)(b) of this section is applicable to weeks of
unemployment beginning on and after November 18, 1983. The
provisions under division (I)(J)(1)(b) of this section shall be
retroactive to September 5, 1982, only if, as a condition for full
tax credit against the tax imposed by the "Federal Unemployment
Tax Act," 53 Stat. 183 (1939), 26 U.S.C.A. 3301 to 3311, the
United States secretary of labor determines that retroactivity is
required by federal law.
(c) With respect to weeks of unemployment beginning after
December 31, 1977, benefits shall be denied to any individual for
any week which commences during an established and customary
vacation period or holiday recess, if the individual performs any
services described in divisions (I)(J)(1)(a) and (b) of this
section in the period immediately before the vacation period or
holiday recess, and there is a reasonable assurance that the
individual will perform any such services in the period
immediately following the vacation period or holiday recess.
(d) With respect to any services described in division
(I)(J)(1)(a), (b), or (c) of this section, benefits payable on the
basis of services in any such capacity shall be denied as
specified in division (I)(J)(1)(a), (b), or (c) of this section to
any individual who performs such services in an educational
institution or institution of higher education while in the employ
of an educational service agency. For this purpose, the term
"educational service agency" means a governmental agency or
governmental entity that is established and operated exclusively
for the purpose of providing services to one or more educational
institutions or one or more institutions of higher education.
(e) Any individual employed by a public school district or a
county board of developmental disabilities shall be notified by
the thirtieth day of April each year if the individual is not to
be reemployed the following academic year.
(2) No disqualification will be imposed, between academic
years or terms or during a vacation period or holiday recess under
this division, unless the director or the director's deputy has
received a statement in writing from the educational institution
or institution of higher education that the claimant has a
contract for, or a reasonable assurance of, reemployment for the
ensuing academic year or term.
(3) If an individual has employment with an educational
institution or an institution of higher education and employment
with a noneducational employer, during the base period of the
individual's benefit year, then the individual may become eligible
for benefits during the between-term, or vacation or holiday
recess, disqualification period, based on employment performed for
the noneducational employer, provided that the employment is
sufficient to qualify the individual for benefit rights separately
from the benefit rights based on school employment. The weekly
benefit amount and maximum benefits payable during a
disqualification period shall be computed based solely on the
nonschool employment.
(J)(K) Benefits shall not be paid on the basis of employment
performed by an alien, unless the alien had been lawfully admitted
to the United States for permanent residence at the time the
services were performed, was lawfully present for purposes of
performing the services, or was otherwise permanently residing in
the United States under color of law at the time the services were
performed, under section 212(d)(5) of the "Immigration and
Nationality Act," 66 Stat. 163, 8 U.S.C.A. 1101:
(1) Any data or information required of individuals applying
for benefits to determine whether benefits are not payable to them
because of their alien status shall be uniformly required from all
applicants for benefits.
(2) In the case of an individual whose application for
benefits would otherwise be approved, no determination that
benefits to the individual are not payable because of the
individual's alien status shall be made except upon a
preponderance of the evidence that the individual had not, in
fact, been lawfully admitted to the United States.
(K)(L) The director shall establish and utilize a system of
profiling all new claimants under this chapter that:
(1) Identifies which claimants will be likely to exhaust
regular compensation and will need job search assistance services
to make a successful transition to new employment;
(2) Refers claimants identified pursuant to division
(K)(L)(1) of this section to reemployment services, such as job
search assistance services, available under any state or federal
law;
(3) Collects follow-up information relating to the services
received by such claimants and the employment outcomes for such
claimant's subsequent to receiving such services and utilizes such
information in making identifications pursuant to division
(K)(L)(1) of this section; and
(4) Meets such other requirements as the United States
secretary of labor determines are appropriate.
(M) As used in this section, "seeking only part-time work"
means either of the following:
(1) The claimant is willing and able to work at least twenty
hours per week.
(2) The claimant is available for hours of work that are
comparable to the hours worked at the time of the individual's
most recent separation from employment.
Sec. 4141.302. (A) As used in this section:
(1) "Declining occupation" means either of the following
occupations:
(a) An occupation in which a lack of sufficient current
demand in a claimant's labor market area exists for the
occupational skills for which the claimant is qualified by
training and experience or current physical or mental capacity,
and the lack of employment opportunities is expected to continue
for an extended period of time;
(b) An occupation for which a seasonal variation in demand
exists in the labor market and a claimant has no other skills for
which a current demand exists.
(2) "Extended benefits" and "regular benefits" have the same
meanings as in section 4141.301 of the Revised Code.
(3) "High-demand occupation" means an occupation in a labor
market area where work opportunities are available and qualified
applicants are lacking as determined by the use of available labor
market information.
(4) "Similar stipend" means an amount provided under a
program with similar aims, such as providing training to increase
employability, as the program described in division (B)(3) of this
section.
(B) A claimant who otherwise is eligible for regular benefits
is eligible to receive training extension benefits if the director
of job and family services determines that the claimant satisfies
all of the following criteria:
(1) The claimant is unemployed.
(2) The claimant has exhausted all rights to regular
benefits, all rights to extended benefits, and all rights to
benefits under section 2002 of division B, title n, known as "The
Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act" of
the "American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009," Pub. L. No.
111-5, 123 Stat. 115, as amended.
(3) The claimant is enrolled in a training program approved
by the director or in a job training program authorized under the
"Workforce Investment Act of 1998," 112 Stat. 936, 29 U.S.C. 2801
et seq., as amended; except that the training program must prepare
the claimant for entry into a high-demand occupation if the
director determines that the claimant separated from a declining
occupation or has been involuntarily and indefinitely separated
from employment as a result of a permanent reduction of operations
at the claimant's place of employment.
(4) The claimant is making satisfactory progress to complete
the training as determined by the director.
(C) The amount of a claimant's weekly training extension
benefit shall equal the claimant's weekly benefit amount as
determined for the most recent benefit year, less any deductible
income as determined under section 4141.31 of the Revised Code and
any reduction required by division (D) of this section. The total
amount of training extension benefits payable to a claimant shall
be equal to twenty-six times the claimant's average weekly benefit
amount for the most recent benefit year. A claimant who is
receiving training extension benefits shall not be denied training
extension benefits because the claimant may not satisfy the
requirements of division (A)(4) or (5) of section 4141.29 of the
Revised Code. The director shall charge any training extension
benefits paid pursuant to this section to the mutualized account
created in section 4141.25 of the Revised Code and shall not
charge an employer's account for any training extension benefits
paid to a claimant.
(D) The amount of a claimant's weekly training extension
benefit shall be reduced by the amount of any similar stipend or
other training allowances for nontraining costs received by the
claimant for the week that the weekly training extension benefit
is due to the claimant.
Section 2. That existing sections 4141.241, 4141.25, and
4141.29 of the Revised Code are hereby repealed.
Section 3. All items in this section are hereby appropriated
as designated out of any moneys in the state treasury to the
credit of the Federal Special Revenue Fund Group. For all
appropriations made in this act, those in the first column are for
fiscal year 2010 and those in the second column are for fiscal
year 2011. The appropriations made in this act are in addition to
any other appropriations made for the FY 2010-FY 2011 biennium.
JFS DEPARTMENT OF JOB AND FAMILY SERVICES
Federal Special Revenue Fund Group
3V40 |
600678 |
|
Federal Unemployment Programs |
|
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
3,000,000 |
|
|
TOTAL FED Federal Special Revenue Fund Group
| |
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
3,000,000 |
|
|
TOTAL ALL BUDGET FUND GROUPS
| |
$ |
0 |
|
$ |
3,000,000 |
|
|
FEDERAL UNEMPLOYMENT PROGRAMS
Of the foregoing appropriation item 600678, Federal
Unemployment Programs, $3,000,000 shall be used by the Department
of Job and Family Services to administer the delivery of
unemployment benefits to eligible part-time workers in accordance
with section 4141.29 of the Revised Code and to eligible persons
that enter training programs in accordance with section 4141.302
of the Revised Code.
Within the limits set forth in this act, the Director of
Budget and Management shall establish accounts indicating the
source and amount of funds for each appropriation made in this
act, and shall determine the form and manner in which
appropriation accounts shall be maintained. Expenditures from
appropriations contained in this act shall be accounted for as
though made in Am. Sub. H.B. 1 of the 128th General Assembly.
The appropriations made in this act are subject to all
provisions of Am. Sub. H.B. 1 of the 128th General Assembly that
are generally applicable to such appropriations.
Section 4. (A) There is hereby created the Unemployment
Modernization Review Committee. The Committee shall review the
amendments to sections 4141.241, 4141.25, and 4141.29 of the
Revised Code by this act and the enactment of section 4141.302 of
the Revised Code by this act to determine whether Ohio's
unemployment compensation system can sustain the payment of
unemployment compensation benefits resulting from the amendment or
enactment of those sections upon the exhaustion of the funding
received under section 2003 of the "American Recovery and
Reinvestment Act of 2009," Pub. L. No. 111-5, 123 Stat. 115, as
amended.
(B) The Committee shall consist of three members of the House
of Representatives appointed by the Speaker of the House of
Representatives and three members of the Senate appointed by the
President of the Senate. Not more than two members appointed by
the Speaker of the House of Representatives and not more than two
members appointed by the President of the Senate may be of the
same political party.
Each member of the Committee shall hold office during the
General Assembly in which the member is appointed and until a
successor has been appointed, notwithstanding the adjournment sine
die of the General Assembly in which the member was appointed or
the expiration of the member's term as a member of the General
Assembly. Any vacancies occurring among the members of the
Committee shall be filled in the manner of the original
appointment.
(C) The Speaker of the House of Representatives and the
President of the Senate shall appoint the initial members of the
Committee within one year after the effective date of this
section. The Committee shall hold the initial meeting of the
Committee not later than ten days after the date the last member
of the Committee is appointed, and at that meeting the Committee
shall select a chairperson. All additional meetings shall be at
the discretion of the chairperson.
(D) The Committee shall submit a report to the General
Assembly approximately thirty days after the date the funds
described in division (A) of this section are exhausted. The
report shall include a determination of whether the changes
described in division (A) of this section are sustainable and
should remain as a part of Chapter 4141. of the Revised Code and
the unemployment compensation system. The Committee shall have
access to only the records of the Department of Job and Family
Services that are necessary to make a determination as described
under this section. The Committee may request the Director of Job
and Family Services, or any of the employees appointed by the
Director, or any employer or employee subject to Chapter 4141. of
the Revised Code, to appear before it and to testify relative to
the functioning of amendments to sections 4141.241, 4141.25, and
4141.29 of the Revised Code by this act and the enactment of
section 4141.302 of the Revised Code by this act. The Committee is
abolished upon submission of the report required under this
section.
(E) Nothing in this section shall be construed as preventing
or prohibiting the Unemployment Compensation Advisory Council from
reviewing the amendments to sections 4141.241, 4141.25, and
4141.29 of the Revised Code by this act and the enactment of
section 4141.302 of the Revised Code by this act.
(F) Members of the Committee shall serve without
compensation. The staff of the Legislative Service Commission
shall provide clerical and technical assistance to the Committee.
The General Assembly shall provide a location for the Committee to
meet.
|