HB 1962-1_ Filed 03/29/2001, 12:14

COMMITTEE REPORT




MR. PRESIDENT:

    The Senate Committee on Pensions and Labor, to which was referred House Bill No. 1962, has had the same under consideration and begs leave to report the same back to the Senate with the recommendation that said bill be AMENDED as follows:

SOURCE: Page 1, line 1; (01)AM196205.1. -->     Page 1, delete lines 1 through 17, begin a new paragraph and insert:
SOURCE: IC 22-4-11-1; (01)AM196205.1. -->     "SECTION 1. IC 22-4-11-1 IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2001]: Sec. 1. (a) For the purpose of charging employers' experience or reimbursable accounts with regular benefits paid subsequent to July 3, 1971, to any eligible individual but except as provided in IC 22-4-22 and subsection (f), such benefits paid shall be charged proportionately against the experience or reimbursable accounts of his employers in his base period (on the basis of total wage credits established in such base period) against whose accounts the maximum charges specified in this section shall not have been previously made. Such charges shall be made in the inverse chronological order in which the wage credits of such individuals were established. However, when an individual's claim has been computed for the purpose of determining his regular benefit rights, maximum regular benefit amount, and the proportion of such maximum amount to be charged to the experience or reimbursable accounts of respective chargeable employers in the base period, the experience or reimbursable account of any employer charged with regular benefits paid shall not be credited or recredited with any portion of such maximum amount because of any portion of such

individual's wage credits remaining uncharged at the expiration of his benefit period. The maximum so charged against the account of any employer shall not exceed twenty-eight percent (28%) of the total wage credits of such individual with each such employer with which wage credits were established during such individual's base period. Benefits paid under provisions of IC 22-4-22-3 in excess of the amount that the claimant would have been monetarily eligible for under other provisions of this article shall be paid from the fund and not charged to the experience account of any employer; however, this exception shall not apply to those employers electing to make payments in lieu of contributions who shall be charged for all benefit payments which are attributable to service in their employ. Irrespective of the twenty-eight percent (28%) maximum limitation provided for in this section, any extended benefits paid to an eligible individual based on service with a governmental entity of this state or its political subdivisions shall be charged to the experience or reimbursable accounts of the employers, and fifty percent (50%) of any extended benefits paid to an eligible individual shall be charged to the experience or reimbursable accounts of his employers in his base period, other than governmental entities of this state or its political subdivisions, in the same proportion and sequence as are provided in this section for regular benefits paid. Additional benefits paid under IC 22-4-12-4 (c) shall:
        (1) be paid from the fund; and
        (2) not be charged to the experience account or the reimbursable account of any employer.
    (b) If the aggregate of wages paid to an individual by two (2) or more employers during the same calendar quarter exceeds the maximum wage credits (as defined in IC 22-4-4-3 ) then the experience or reimbursable account of each such employer shall be charged in the ratio which the amount of wage credits from such employer bears to the total amount of wage credits during the base period.
    (c) When wage records show that an individual has been employed by two (2) or more employers during the same calendar quarter of the base period but do not indicate both that such employment was consecutive and the order of sequence thereof, then and in such cases it shall be deemed that the employer with whom the individual established a plurality of wage credits in such calendar quarter is the most recent employer in such quarter and its experience or reimbursable account shall be first charged with benefits paid to such individual. The experience or reimbursable account of the employer with whom the next highest amount of wage credits were established shall be charged secondly and the experience or reimbursable accounts

of other employers during such quarters, if any, shall likewise be charged in order according to plurality of wage credits established by such individual.
    (d) Except as provided in subsection (f), if an individual:
        (1) voluntarily leaves an employer without good cause in connection with the work; or
        (2) is discharged from an employer for just cause;
wage credits earned with the employer from whom the employee has separated under these conditions shall be used to compute the claimant's eligibility for benefits, but charges based on such wage credits shall be paid from the fund and not charged to the experience account of any employer. However, this exception shall not apply to those employers who elect to make payments in lieu of contributions, who shall be charged for all benefit payments which are attributable to service in their employ.
    (e) Any nonprofit organization which elects to make payments in lieu of contributions into the unemployment compensation fund as provided in this article is not liable to make the payments with respect to the benefits paid to any individual whose base period wages include wages for previously uncovered services as defined in IC 22-4-4-4 , nor is the experience account of any other employer liable for charges for benefits paid the individual to the extent that the unemployment compensation fund is reimbursed for these benefits pursuant to Section 121 of P.L.94-566. Payments which otherwise would have been chargeable to the reimbursable or contributing employers shall be charged to the fund.
    (f) If an individual:
        (1) earns wages during his base period through employment with two (2) or more employers concurrently;
        (2) is laid off separated from work by one (1) of the employers for reasons that would not result in disqualification under IC 22-4-15-1 ; and
        (3) continues to work for one (1) or more of the other employers after the end of the base period and continues to work during the applicable benefit year on substantially the same basis as during the base period;
wage credits earned with the base period employers shall be used to compute the claimant's eligibility for benefits, but charges based on the wage credits from the employer who continues to employ the individual shall be charged to the experience or reimbursable account of the separating employer. who laid the claimant off.
    (g) Subsection (f) does not affect the eligibility of a claimant who

otherwise qualifies for benefits nor the computation of his benefits.
     (h) Unemployment benefits paid shall not be charged to the experience account of a base period employer when the claimant's unemployment from the employer was a direct result of the condemnation of property by a municipal corporation (as defined in IC 36-1-2-10 ), the state, or the federal government, a fire, a flood, or an act of nature, when at least fifty percent (50%) of the employer's employees, including the claimant, became unemployed as a result. This exception does not apply when the unemployment was an intentional result of the employer or a person acting on behalf of the employer.".
    Delete page 2.

SOURCE: Page 3, line 1; (01)AM196205.3. -->     Page 3, delete lines 1 through 12.
    Page 3, line 19, strike "in rate schedule D".
    Page 3, line 28, delete "Except as provided in section".
    Page 3, line 29, delete "3.2(b) of this chapter, each" and insert " Each".
    Page 4, line 18, delete "Except as provided in section 3.2(b) of this chapter, each" and insert " Each".
    Page 4, delete lines 27 through 28, begin a new line blocked left and insert:
    " As    Than    A    B    C    D    E
        1.50    4.44    4.34    4.24    4.14    3.60
".
    Page 4, delete lines 33 through 42, begin a new paragraph and insert:
SOURCE: IC 22-4-11-4; (01)AM196205.4. -->     "SECTION 4. IC 22-4-11-4 IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2001]: Sec. 4. (a) If the commissioner finds that any employer has failed to file any payroll report or has filed a report which the commissioner finds incorrect or insufficient, the commissioner shall make an estimate of the information required from the employer on the basis of the best evidence reasonably available to the commissioner at the time and notify the employer thereof by mail addressed to the employer's last known address. Except as provided in subsection (b), unless the employer files the report or a corrected or sufficient report, as the case may be, within fifteen (15) days after the mailing of the notice, the commissioner shall compute the employer's rate of contribution on the basis of the estimates, and the rate determined in this manner shall be subject to increase but not to reduction on the basis of subsequently ascertained information. The estimated amount of contribution is considered prima facie correct.
    (b) The commissioner may adjust the amount of contribution

estimated in this manner on the basis of information ascertained after the expiration of the notice period if the employer or other interested party:
        (1) makes an affirmative showing of all facts alleged as a reasonable cause for the failure to timely file any payroll report; and
        (2) submits accurate and reliable payroll reports.
".
    Delete pages 5 through 9.

SOURCE: Page 10, line 1; (01)AM196205.10. -->     Page 10, delete lines 1 through 14.
    Page 10, line 22, delete "IC 22-4-10.5-1." and insert " the board.".
    Page 10, line 24, delete " of IC 22-4-10.5." and insert " for which the skills 2016 training program is established.".
    Page 10, line 37, delete "under IC 22-4-10.5." and insert " .".
    Page 10, line 42, delete "under IC 22-4-10.5-8." and insert " .".
    Page 11, delete lines 10 through 42.
    Delete pages 12 through 16.
    Page 17, delete lines 1 through 22, begin a new paragraph and insert:
SOURCE: IC 22-4.1-4-2; (01)AM196205.5. -->     "SECTION 5. IC 22-4.1-4-2 IS AMENDED TO READ AS FOLLOWS [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2001]: Sec. 2. (a) This section applies only to an employer who employs individuals within the state.
    (b) As used in this section, "date of hire" is the first date that an employee provides labor or services to an employer.
    (c) As used in this section, "employee":
        (1) has the meaning set forth in Chapter 24 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986; and
        (2) includes any individual:
            (A) required under Internal Revenue Service regulations to complete a federal form W-4; and
            (B) who has provided services to an employer.
The term does not include an employee of a federal or state agency who performs intelligence or counter intelligence functions if the head of the agency determines that the reporting information required under this section could endanger the safety of the employee or compromise an ongoing investigation or intelligence mission.
    (d) As used in this section, "employer" has the meaning set forth in Section 3401(d) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986. The term includes:
        (1) governmental agencies and labor organizations; and
        (2) a person doing business in the state as identified by:
            (A) the person's federal employer identification number; or
            (B) if applicable, the common paymaster, as defined in Section

3121 of the Internal Revenue Code or the payroll reporting agent of the employer, as described in IRS Rev. Proc. 70-6, 1970-1, C.B. 420.
    (e) As used in this section, "labor organization" has the meaning set forth in 42 U.S.C. 653A(a)(2)(B)(ii).
    (f) The department shall maintain the Indiana directory of new hires as required under 42 U.S.C. 653A.
    (g) The directory under subsection (f) must contain information that an employer must provide to the department for each newly hired employee as follows:
        (1) The information must be transmitted within twenty (20) business days of the employee's date of hire.
        (2) If an employer transmits reports under this section magnetically or electronically, the information must be transmitted in two (2) monthly transactions that are:
            (A) not less than twelve (12) days apart; and
            (B) not more than sixteen (16) days apart.
If mailed, the report is considered timely if it is postmarked on or before the due date. If the report is transmitted by facsimile machine or by using electronic or magnetic media, the report is considered timely if it is received on or before the due date.
    (h) The employer shall provide the information required under this section on an employee's withholding allowance certificate (Internal Revenue Service form W-4) or, at the employer's option, an equivalent form. The report may be transmitted to the department by first class mail, by facsimile machine, electronically, or magnetically. The report must include at least the following:
        (1) The name, address, and social security number of the employee.
        (2) The name, address, and federal tax identification number of the employer.
         (3) The date of hire of the employee.
    (i) An employer that has employees in two (2) or more states and that transmits reports under this section electronically or magnetically may comply with this section by doing the following:
        (1) Designating one (1) state to receive each report.
        (2) Notifying the Secretary of the United States Department of Health and Human Services which state will receive the reports.
        (3) Transmitting the reports to the agency in the designated state that is charged with receiving the reports.
    (j) The department may impose a civil penalty of five hundred dollars ($500) on an employer that fails to comply with this section if

the failure is a result of a conspiracy between the employer and the employee to:
        (1) not provide the required report; or
        (2) provide a false or an incomplete report.
    (k) The information received from an employer regarding newly hired employees shall be:
        (1) entered into the state's new hire directory within five (5) business days of receipt; and
        (2) forwarded to the national directory of new hires within three (3) business days after entry into the state's new hire directory.
The state shall use quality control standards established by the Administrators of the National Directory of New Hires.
    (l) The information contained in the Indiana directory of new hires is available only for use by the department and the office of the secretary of family and social services for purposes required by 42 U.S.C. 653A, unless otherwise provided by law.
    (m) The office of the secretary of family and social services shall reimburse the department for any costs incurred in carrying out this section.
    (n) The office of the secretary of family and social services and the department shall enter into a purchase of service agreement that establishes procedures necessary to administer this section.

SOURCE: IC 16-27-2-8; (01)AM196205.6. -->     SECTION 6. IC 16-27-2-8 IS REPEALED [EFFECTIVE JULY 1, 2001].".
    Renumber all SECTIONS consecutively.
    (Reference is to HB 1962 as printed February 14, 2001.)

and when so amended that said bill do pass .

Committee Vote: Yeas 9, Nays 0.

____________________________________

Senator Harrison, Chairperson


AM 196205/DI 102    2001