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S1020.......................................by COMMERCE AND HUMAN RESOURCES
UNEMPLOYMENT CLAIMS - Amends existing law to delete the penalty for
employers who fail to provide separation information within ten days of a
request from the Department of Labor.
01/17 Senate intro - 1st rdg - to printing
01/18 Rpt prt - to Com/HuRes
01/19 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
01/22 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
02/01 3rd rdg - PASSED - 30-0-4(1 vacant)
AYES -- Andreason, Boatright, Brandt, Bunderson, Burtenshaw,
Danielson, Darrington, Deide, Dunklin, Frasure, Geddes, Goedde,
Hawkins, Ingram, Ipsen, Keough, King-Barrutia, Lee, Lodge, Noh,
Richardson, Sandy, Schroeder, Sorensen, Stegner, Stennett, Thorne,
Wheeler, Whitworth, Williams,
NAYS -- None
Absent and excused -- Branch, Cameron, Davis, Risch
Vacant -- Dist. #4
Floor Sponsor - Ipsen
Title apvd - to House
02/02 House intro - 1st rdg - to Com/HuRes
02/16 Rpt out - rec d/p - to 2nd rdg
02/19 2nd rdg - to 3rd rdg
02/28 3rd rdg - PASSED - 67-0-3
AYES -- Barraclough, Barrett, Bedke, Bell, Bieter, Black, Boe, Bolz,
Bradford, Bruneel, Callister, Campbell, Chase, Clark, Collins, Crow,
Cuddy, Deal, Denney, Ellis, Eskridge, Field(13), Field(20), Gagner,
Gould, Hadley, Hammond, Harwood, Henbest, Higgins, Hornbeck, Jaquet,
Kellogg, Kendell, Kunz, Lake, Langford, Loertscher, Mader, Marley,
McKague, Meyer, Montgomery, Mortensen, Moss, Moyle, Pearce, Pischner,
Pomeroy, Raybould, Ridinger, Roberts, Robison, Sali, Schaefer,
Sellman, Shepherd, Smith, Smylie, Stevenson, Stone, Tilman, Trail,
Wheeler, Wood, Young, Mr. Speaker
NAYS -- None
Absent and excused -- Ellsworth, Jones, Swan
Floor Sponsor -- Ridinger
Title apvd - to Senate
03/01 To enrol
03/02 Rpt enrol - Pres signed
03/05 Sp signed
03/06 To Governor
03/08 Governor signed
Session Law Chapter 37
Effective: 03/08/01
|||| LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF IDAHO ||||
Fifty-sixth Legislature First Regular Session - 2001
IN THE SENATE
SENATE BILL NO. 1020
BY COMMERCE AND HUMAN RESOURCES COMMITTEE
1 AN ACT
2 RELATING TO THE EMPLOYMENT SECURITY LAW; AMENDING SECTION 72-1368, IDAHO CODE,
3 TO DELETE THE PENALTY FOR EMPLOYERS WHO FAIL TO PROVIDE SEPARATION INFOR-
4 MATION WITHIN TEN DAYS OF A DEPARTMENT REQUEST; AND DECLARING AN EMER-
5 GENCY.
6 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Idaho:
7 SECTION 1. That Section 72-1368, Idaho Code, be, and the same is hereby
8 amended to read as follows:
9 72-1368. CLAIMS FOR BENEFITS AND APPELLATE PROCEDURE. (1) Claims for ben-
10 efits shall be made in accordance with such rules as the director may pre-
11 scribe.
12 (2) (a) Each employer shall post and maintain in places readily accessi-
13 ble to individuals performing services for him printed statements concerning
14 benefit rights under this chapter which shall be provided by the department
15 without cost to the employer.
16 (b) On and after July 1, 1999, an employer who receives a department
17 request for separation information after a claim has been filed shall pro-
18 vide the information to the department within ten (10) days from the date
19 the request was mailed. The time limit provided in this subsection may be
20 extended by the department at its discretion, upon the request of an
21 employer. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, an employer
22 who fails, without good cause, to provide the requested information within
23 the time provided in this subsection or as extended by the department
24 shall be precluded from contesting any determinations on the claim,
25 including chargeability determinations, or participating in any hearing on
26 the claim as an interested party. If an employer asserts that there was
27 good cause for such failure or that the requested information was provided
28 by the due date, the employer must so notify the department in writing
29 within fourteen (14) days after notice, as provided in subsection (5) of
30 this section, of the initial determination on the claim. After affording
31 the employer a reasonable opportunity for a hearing on the issue, an
32 appeals examiner shall decide whether the employer has shown that the
33 requested information was provided by the due date or that good cause
34 existed for the failure to provide the requested information by the due
35 date. The decision of the appeals examiner shall be final and shall not be
36 subject to appeal. If the appeals examiner decides that the requested sep-
37 aration information was provided to the department by the due date or that
38 good cause existed for the employer's failure to timely provide the infor-
39 mation, the employer shall have fourteen (14) days after notice of the
40 decision to contest any determinations that have been issued on the claim.
41 (3) A representative of the department hereinafter referred to as a
42 claims examiner shall examine a claim filed pursuant to subsection (1) of this
43 section and, on the basis of the facts found by him, shall determine whether
2
1 the claimant is eligible for benefits and, if eligible, the date his benefit
2 year begins, the weekly benefit amount, the total benefit amount, the base
3 period wages, and the base period covered employers. In the event of a denial
4 of benefits, the determination shall include the reasons for the ineligibil-
5 ity. Before the determination becomes final or an appeal is filed, the claims
6 examiner, on his own motion, may issue a revised determination. The determina-
7 tion or revised determination shall become final unless, within fourteen (14)
8 days after notice, as provided in subsection (5) of this section, an appeal
9 is filed by an interested party with the department.
10 (4) The director may make a special redetermination whenever he finds
11 that a departmental error has occurred in connection with a determination, or
12 that additional wages of the claimant or other facts pertinent to such deter-
13 mination have become available or have been newly discovered, or that benefits
14 have been allowed or denied or the amount of benefits fixed on the basis of
15 nondisclosure or misrepresentation of fact. The special redetermination must
16 be made within one (1) year from the date of the original determination,
17 except that a special redetermination involving a finding that benefits have
18 been allowed or denied or the amount of benefits fixed on the basis of
19 nondisclosures or misrepresentations of fact may be made within two (2) years
20 from the date of the original determination. Subject to the same limitations
21 and for the same reasons, the director may make a special redetermination in
22 any case in which the final decision has been rendered by an appeals examiner,
23 the commission, or a court and may apply to the appeal tribunal which rendered
24 such final decision to issue a revised decision. In the event that an appeal
25 involving an original determination is pending as of the date a special rede-
26 termination is issued, the appeal, unless withdrawn, shall be treated as an
27 appeal from the special redetermination.
28 (5) All interested parties shall be entitled to prompt service of notice
29 of determinations and decisions. A notice shall be deemed served if delivered
30 to the person being served or if mailed to his last known address; service by
31 mail shall be deemed complete on the date of mailing.
32 (6) To hear and decide appeals from determinations and redeterminations,
33 the director shall appoint appeals examiners. Unless the appeal is withdrawn,
34 the appeals examiner shall affirm, modify, set aside or reverse the determina-
35 tion or redetermination involved, after affording the interested parties rea-
36 sonable opportunity for a fair hearing, or may refer a matter back to the
37 claims examiner for further action. The appeals examiner shall notify the
38 interested parties of his decision by serving notice in the same manner as
39 provided in subsection (5) of this section. The decision shall set forth find-
40 ings of fact and conclusions of law. The appeals examiner may, either upon
41 application for rehearing by an interested party or on his own motion, rehear,
42 affirm, modify, set aside or reverse any prior decision on the basis of the
43 evidence previously submitted or on the basis of additional evidence; pro-
44 vided, that such application or motion be made within ten (10) days after the
45 date of service of the decision. A complete record shall be kept of all pro-
46 ceedings in connection with an appealed claim. All testimony at any hearing
47 shall be recorded. If a claim for review of the appeals examiner's decision is
48 filed with the commission, the testimony shall be transcribed if ordered by
49 the commission. Witnesses subpoenaed by the appeals examiner shall be allowed
50 fees at a rate prescribed by the director. If any interested party to a hear-
51 ing formally requests the appeals examiner to issue a subpoena for a witness
52 whose evidence is deemed necessary, the appeals examiner shall promptly issue
53 the subpoena, unless such request is determined to be unreasonable. Unless an
54 interested party shall within fourteen (14) days after service of the decision
55 of the appeals examiner file with the commission a claim for review or unless
3
1 an application or motion is made for a rehearing of such decision, the deci-
2 sion of the appeals examiner shall become final.
3 (7) The commission shall decide all claims for review filed by any inter-
4 ested party in accordance with its own rules of procedure not in conflict
5 herewith. The record before the commission shall consist of the record of pro-
6 ceedings before the appeals examiner, unless it appears to the commission that
7 the interests of justice require that the interested parties be permitted to
8 present additional evidence. In that event, the commission may, in its sole
9 discretion, conduct a hearing or may remand the matter back to the appeals
10 examiner for an additional hearing and decision. On the basis of the record of
11 proceedings before the appeals examiner as well as additional evidence, if
12 allowed, the commission shall affirm, reverse, modify, set aside or revise the
13 decision of the appeals examiner or may refer the matter back to the appeals
14 examiner for further proceedings. The commission shall file its decision and
15 shall promptly serve notice of its decision to all interested parties. A deci-
16 sion of the commission shall be final and conclusive as to all matters adjudi-
17 cated by the commission upon filing the decision in the office of the commis-
18 sion; provided, within twenty (20) days from the date of filing the decision,
19 any party may move for reconsideration of the decision or the commission may
20 rehear or reconsider its decision on its own initiative. The decision shall be
21 final upon denial of a motion for rehearing or reconsideration or the filing
22 of the decision on reconsideration.
23 (8) No person acting on behalf of the director or any member of the com-
24 mission shall participate in any case in which he has a direct or indirect
25 personal interest.
26 (9) An appeal may be made to the Supreme Court from decisions and orders
27 of the commission within the times and in the manner prescribed by rule of the
28 Supreme Court.
29 (10) (a) Benefits shall be paid promptly in accordance with any decision
30 allowing benefits, regardless of:
31 (i) The pendency of a time period for filing an appeal or petition-
32 ing for commission review; or
33 (ii) The pendency of an appeal or petition for review.
34 (b) Such payments shall not be withheld until a subsequent appeals exam-
35 iner decision or commission decision modifies or reverses the previous
36 decision, in which event benefits shall be paid or denied in accordance
37 with such decision.
38 (11) (a) Any right, fact, or matter in issue, directly based upon or nec-
39 essarily involved in a determination, redetermination, decision of the
40 appeals examiner or decision of the commission which has become final,
41 shall be conclusive for all the purposes of this chapter as between the
42 interested parties who had notice of such determination, redetermination
43 or decision. Subject to appeal proceedings and judicial review by the
44 Supreme Court as set forth in this section, any determination, redetermi-
45 nation or decision as to rights to benefits shall be conclusive for all
46 purposes of this chapter and shall not be subject to collateral attack
47 irrespective of notice.
48 (b) No finding of fact or conclusion of law contained in a decision or
49 determination rendered pursuant to this chapter by an appeals examiner,
50 the industrial commission, a court, or any other person authorized to make
51 such determinations shall have preclusive effect in any other action or
52 proceeding, except proceedings that are brought (i) pursuant to this chap-
53 ter, (ii) to collect unemployment insurance contributions, (iii) to
54 recover overpayments of unemployment insurance benefits, or (iv) to chal-
55 lenge the constitutionality of provisions of this chapter or administra-
4
1 tive proceedings under this chapter.
2 (12) The provisions of the Idaho administrative procedure act, chapter 52,
3 title 67, Idaho Code, regarding contested cases and judicial review of con-
4 tested cases are inapplicable to proceedings involving claimants under the
5 provisions of this chapter.
6 SECTION 2. An emergency existing therefor, which emergency is hereby
7 declared to exist, this act shall be in full force and effect on and after its
8 passage and approval.
STATEMENT OF PURPOSE
RS10506
A major responsibility of the Idaho Department of Labor is to make
accurate and timely decisions on eligibility for unemployment
insurance (UI) benefits. Employers have a legal duty to provide
timely information to the Department when a former employee files
a claim for UI benefits. Currently, employers lose their appeal
rights if they fail to provide separation information without good
cause within 10 days of the Department's request for information.
This penalty, in practice, can be counterproductive to making
quality decisions because employers who miss the 10-day deadline
may not offer relevant information that is essential for accurate
decision-making. Alternatives to this penalty now exist for
obtaining timely separation information. The federal government has
added a new "Benefit Timeliness and Quality" (BTQ) requirement that
staff make reasonable attempts to contact all employers, before
initial UI decisions are made, to ask them to provide needed
information by a certain deadline, typically 48 hours. There is
confusion between this federal requirement and the penalty
provision in state law. Employers are confused by the additional
contact by Department staff requesting needed information by a
deadline that is different from the statutory 10-day deadline for
providing information. Some employers mistakenly believe they have
received an extension beyond the 10-day deadline to submit
information, or that the information they provide in response to
the contact by Department staff preserves their appeal rights, even
though it was obtained after the 10-day statutory limit. This
penalty has increased the Department's Appeals Bureau and Job
Service office workload because staff must explain the penalty,
grant extensions, and hold additional hearings to determine if
information was late or if the employer had good cause for missing
the deadline. The Industrial Commission, which hears UI appeals, is
not in agreement with the Department's interpretation of this law
and is remanding cases back to the Department for new hearings that
include the employer. Remands delay a final decision and payments
to eligible claimants. This legislation will repeal this penalty
provision for the above reasons.
FISCAL IMPACT
There is no fiscal impact on the State General Fund. There will be
some savings in UI administrative costs due to decreased workload.
CONTACT
Name: Dwight Johnson
Agency: Department of Labor
Phone: 334-6402
Statement of Purpose/Fiscal Note S102