Bill Text: AZ HB2173 | 2013 | Fifty-first Legislature 1st Regular | Introduced
Bill Title: Unemployment insurance; omnibus
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Republican 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2013-06-19 - Governor Signed [HB2173 Detail]
Download: Arizona-2013-HB2173-Introduced.html
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REFERENCE TITLE: unemployment insurance; omnibus |
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State of Arizona House of Representatives Fifty-first Legislature First Regular Session 2013
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HB 2173 |
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Introduced by Representative Fann
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AN ACT
amending sections 23-727, 23-772, 23-787 and 29-857, Arizona Revised Statutes; relating to employment security.
(TEXT OF BILL BEGINS ON NEXT PAGE)
Be it enacted by the Legislature of the State of Arizona:
Section 1. Section 23-727, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
23-727. Credits and charges to employer accounts
A. The commission shall maintain a separate account for each employer and shall credit the account with all contributions and payments in lieu of contributions paid by the employer and shall charge the account with all benefits chargeable to it.
B. Nothing in this chapter shall be construed to grant any employer or individuals in its service prior claims or rights to the amounts paid by the employer into the fund.
C. Except as otherwise provided in subsections D, E, F, G, I and J of this section and sections 23‑773 and 23‑777, benefits paid to an individual shall be charged against the accounts of the individual's base‑period employers. The amount of benefits so chargeable against each base‑period employer's account shall bear the same ratio to the total benefits paid to an individual as the base‑period wages paid to the individual by the employer bear to the total amount of base‑period wages paid to the individual by all the individual's base‑period employers.
D. Benefits paid to an individual whose separation from work with any employer occurs under conditions found by the commission to be within those prescribed by section 23‑775, paragraph 1 or 2 or for compelling personal reasons not attributable to the employer and not warranting disqualification for benefits shall not be used as a factor in determining the future contribution rate of the employer from whose employment the individual so separated, but the employer shall establish the condition of such separation to the satisfaction of the commission by submitting information the commission requires within ten days after the date of notification or mailing of notice by the commission that the individual has first filed a claim for benefits.
E. Benefits paid to an individual who, during the individual's base period, earned wages for part‑time employment with an employer shall not be used as a factor in determining the future contribution rate of that employer if the employer continues to give employment opportunities to the individual to the same extent while the individual is receiving benefits as during the base period and the employer submits information the commission may require within ten working days after the date of notification or mailing of notice by the commission that the individual has first filed a claim for benefits. The commission has the burden of proof to establish that the employer failed to give employment opportunities to the individual to the same extent as during the base period.
F. Benefits paid to an individual whose employment was terminated by retirement pursuant to a nongovernmental retirement or lump sum retirement pay plan under which the age of mandatory retirement has been agreed on between the employer and its employees or by the bargaining agent representing such employees shall not be used as a factor in determining the future contribution rate of that employer but the employer shall establish that fact by submitting information the commission may require within ten days after the date of notification or mailing of notice by the commission that the individual has first filed a claim for benefits.
G. Benefits paid pursuant to section 23‑771, subsections B and D shall not be used as a factor in determining the future contribution rate of the affected base‑period employers.
H. A determination that benefits paid shall be used in determining future contribution rates of the employer may be appealed by the employer in the same manner provided for appeals of benefit determinations.
I. Benefits paid to an individual whose employment was terminated because the individual's employer was called to active duty in the military shall not be used as a factor in determining the future contribution rate of the employer from whose employment the individual was terminated.
J. Benefits paid to an individual whose employment was terminated because a former employee of the employer returned to work for the employer after being called to active duty in the military shall not be used as a factor in determining the future contribution rate of the employer from whose employment the individual was terminated.
K. A base-period employer's account shall not be relieved of charges related to benefits paid to an individual if the department determines that both of the following are true:
1. The payment was made because the employer or an agent of the employer failed to respond timely or adequately to a request from the department for information relating to the compensation claim.
2. The employer or agent has a pattern of failing to respond timely or adequately to these requests.
L. The department shall adopt rules to implement subsection K of this section.
Sec. 2. Section 23-772, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
23-772. Claims for benefits; notice to employer; posting printed statements dealing with claims
A. Claims for benefits shall be made in accordance with such regulations as the department prescribes.
B. All base period base-period employers of a claimant for benefits shall be promptly notified when a claimant files an initial a payable continued claim for benefits during a period of unemployment.
C. Each employer shall post and maintain printed statements dealing with claims for benefits in places readily accessible to individuals in his the employer's service, and shall make available to each individual at the time he the individual becomes unemployed, a printed statement dealing with claims for benefits. Printed statements shall be supplied by the department to each employer without cost.
Sec. 3. Section 23-787, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
23-787. Repayment of and deductions for benefits obtained by claimants not entitled to benefits; collection
A. A person who receives any amount as benefits under this chapter to which the person is not entitled is liable to repay the overpaid amount to the department. The department may deduct all or a portion of the overpayment from future benefits payable to the person under this chapter.
B. If benefits to which a person is not entitled are received by reason of fraud committed by the person as determined by the department, the department shall assess a penalty on the person equal to fifteen per cent of the amount of the erroneous payment and the person is not eligible to receive any benefits under this chapter until the total amount of the overpayment has been recovered or otherwise satisfied in compliance with a civil judgment. The department shall immediately deposit all assessments paid pursuant to this subsection in the unemployment compensation fund established by section 23-701.
C. If benefits to which a person is not entitled are received without any fault on the person's part and if repayment or deduction from future benefits would be against equity and good conscience, the department may waive all or a portion of the amount overpaid.
D. If benefits to which a person is not entitled are received without any fault on the person's part, deductions made by the department pursuant to subsection A of this section from benefits payable to an individual for any week shall not exceed twenty‑five per cent of the individual's weekly benefit amount unless required by federal law, except that the amount recouped from benefits payable may be fifty per cent of the weekly benefit amount if the individual has previously received benefits but has not received benefits for at least twelve consecutive months prior to before the most recent receipt of benefits and there has been no reasonable attempt to repay the indebtedness during that period. The fifty per cent recoupment rate may not be put in effect prior to before one year after the establishment of the overpayment.
E. The department shall adopt rules to implement the provisions of subsection D of this section.
F. The attorney general or the appropriate county attorney may institute appropriate court proceedings to recover in the name of the department any amount for which a person is liable to the department.
Sec. 4. Section 29-857, Arizona Revised Statutes, is amended to read:
29-857. Taxation
A limited liability company established under this chapter or a foreign limited liability company transacting business in this state pursuant to this chapter shall pay the taxes that are imposed by the laws of this state or any political subdivision of this state on domestic and foreign limited partnerships on an identical basis, except that, for purposes of title 23, chapter 4 and title 43, a domestic or foreign limited liability company and its members shall be taxed as if the limited liability company is either a partnership or a corporation or is disregarded as an entity as determined pursuant to the internal revenue code as defined in section 43‑105.
