HF 2355 (LSB 5336HV (1) 89)

HOUSE FILE 2355

BY  COMMITTEE ON LABOR

(SUCCESSOR TO HSB 596)

A BILL FOR

An Act relating to employment security benefits.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF IOWA:

    Section 1.  Section 96.3, subsection 7, paragraph b, subparagraph (1), subparagraph division (a), Code 2022, is amended to read as follows:
   (a)  If the department determines that an overpayment has been made, the charge for the overpayment against the employer’s account shall be removed and the account shall be credited with an amount equal to the overpayment from the unemployment compensation trust fund and this credit shall include both contributory and reimbursable employers, notwithstanding section 96.8, subsection 5. The employer shall not be relieved of charges if benefits are paid because the employer or an agent of the employer failed to respond timely or adequately to the department’s request for information relating to the payment of benefits. This prohibition against relief of charges shall apply to both contributory and reimbursable employers.  If the department determines that an employer’s failure to respond timely or adequately was through no fault of the employer, the employer’s account shall not be charged for the overpayment.
    Sec. 2.  Section 96.40, subsection 2, Code 2022, is amended by adding the following new paragraph:
   NEW PARAGRAPH.  l.  The reduction in work hours for employees was not based on a work week exceeding forty hours.
    Sec. 3.  Section 96.40, Code 2022, is amended by adding the following new subsections:
   NEW SUBSECTION.  4A.  Approval of a shared work plan shall be revoked if the employer lays off any employee, whether the employee is employed within an affected unit or not, while participating in the shared work unemployment compensation program.
   NEW SUBSECTION.  12.  A part-time employee shall be eligible for shared work unemployment compensation program benefits, provided that the employee meets all other requirements in this section.
EXPLANATION
The inclusion of this explanation does not constitute agreement with
the explanation’s substance by the members of the general assembly.
   This bill relates to employment security benefits.
   The bill allows an employer to obtain relief for an overpayment of unemployment benefits even though the employer or an agent of the employer failed to respond timely or adequately to a request by the department of workforce development for information relating to the payment of benefits provided that the department determines that the failure was through no fault of the employer. Under current law, a failure to respond timely or adequately is a bar to an employer’s relief for an overpayment regardless of whether the failure was the employer’s fault.
   The shared work unemployment compensation program, or voluntary shared work program (VSW), is a program intended for use as an alternative to employee layoffs for businesses experiencing a decline in regular business activities. Under the VSW program, an employer creates a shared work plan to reduce the work hours of employees and unemployment insurance replaces lost earnings due to the reduced hours. The bill prevents a shared work plan from claiming a reduction of an employee’s work hours based on a work week exceeding 40 hours.
   The bill automatically revokes approval of a shared work plan if the employer who entered into the plan lays off an employee, whether the employee is covered by the shared work plan or not, while participating in the VSW program.
   The bill makes part-time employees eligible for VSW program benefits, provided that the employees meet all other requirements for the VSW program.