News & Information

CCH® UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE — 10/26/09

Montana amends its UI law on various subjects

Montana has amended its Unemployment Insurance Law as follows:

Leave of absence. An individual is ineligible for benefits during a leave of absence, but may receive benefits when he or she returns if suitable work is not available.

Suspension. An individual who is on a disciplinary suspension is ineligible for benefits during the suspension or for two weeks, whichever occurs first. After the second week, the individual is considered discharged. At that point, eligibility depends on whether the individual committed misconduct.

Trust fund requisition. Language providing that money credited to the state’s trust fund account could be used to pay administrative expenses has been eliminated. Further, the law now provides that money withheld for repayment of child support obligations is considered benefits.

State-federal cooperation. A new subsection has been added that allows the Department to charge fees for providing information.

Confidentiality. The Department will adopt rules, consistent with federal requirements, regarding confidentiality of unemployment insurance information. The law now specifies that individuals who receive information from the Department may use it only for authorized purposes. There are penalties for violations.

Inactive accounts. The law now provides that an employer that has not done business for five consecutive years will be considered a new employer and will not be credited with its previous experience when computing any future experience factor.

Total unemployment. New language has been added specifying that an individual is totally unemployed if he or she worked less than the customary hours that are normal for the individual’s particular occupation due to a lack of work and if his or her wages are less than two times the individual's weekly benefit amount. Prior law provided that an individual was totally unemployed if he or she worked less than full time.

Board of Labor appeals. A new subsection has been added allowing the governor to appoint substitute Board members to serve in place of regular members who are unable to participate in a meeting.

Benefit eligibility. Language that allowed a claimant not to lose eligibility for failing to look for work due to an illness or disability occurring after he or she filed or reopened a claim has been eliminated. In addition, language providing that a claimant would not lose eligibility if he or she enrolled as a student has also been eliminated.

New language has been added providing that if an individual is unavailable for work for less than three days within a week for which work is available, he or she must be paid the weekly benefit amount reduced by one-fifth of that amount for each day or part of a day that the individual is unavailable for work. Further, if the individual is unavailable for three days or more within such a week, the individual is considered unavailable for the entire week and not eligible for benefits.

School attendance. Language that disqualified students from benefits during the school year or school breaks has been eliminated in favor of a test that allows students to demonstrate that they meet the general eligibility requirements.

False statements. A new subsection has been added providing that an individual who authorizes another person (who is not an attorney) to make a claim for benefits on his or her behalf must do so in writing and specify the time covered by the designation and any limit on the agent’s authority. Action taken by the agent will have the same effect as action taken by the individual.

Overpayments. New language has been added allowing the Department to collect benefit overpayments or penalties by having the claimant pay the amount owed directly or by offsetting the overpaid benefits against future unemployment benefits or retirement benefits. The Department must notify the claimant that he or she has 30 days to request a hearing challenging the offset. Further, the claimant is responsible for any penalties or fees related to repayment.

The law also provides that the debt does not have to be determined to be uncollectible before it is transferred for offset. The Department may direct the offset of funds if the person owes a covered unemployment debt. The term “covered unemployment debt” is defined as a benefit overpayment and penalty owed due to fraud that has been adjudicated as a debt and has remained uncollected for up to 10 years, or employer contributions, penalty and interest owed due to fraud that has remained uncollected for up to 10 years.

Note that if, upon demand, the claimant fails to make such payments, the unpaid payments may be treated as a judgment against the claimant. However, the Department may waive the overpayment if it finds that the claimant did not conceal or misrepresent a material fact to obtain the overpayment; if recovery of the overpayment would cause a long-term financial hardship to the claimant; or if the overpayment was due to Department error.

In addition, the law now provides that an action for collection of an overpayment must be brought within five years of the date of the overpayment.

Limitation of fees. The section relating to the limitation of fees in claims for benefits has been eliminated.

Reciprocal benefit arrangements. The law now provides that services performed in more than one state may be considered to be performed entirely within any of the states in which part of the services are performed, the individual maintains his or her residence, or the employer maintains a place of business. In addition, the law now provides that an employer must make an election that must be approved by the Department in order to designate within which state the services will be considered to have been performed.

State fiscal year. The new term “state fiscal year” is defined as the four consecutive calendar years ending on June 30.

Payments in lieu of contributions. The subsection providing that when benefits are paid to an individual by more than one employer, the amount payable by each employer is in the same ratio to total benefits paid to the worker as the base period wages paid to the individual by each employer bears to the amount of base period wages paid to the individual by all the individual’s base period employers has been eliminated.

Governmental entities. Language that required government entities to make payments at the median rate has been eliminated.

Jeopardy assessments. New language provides that if the Department has good cause to amend a jeopardy assessment, it can do so without notice to the employer. Under prior law, if a claimant filed a written protest of a jeopardy assessment, the Department was required to notify the employer and provide a hearing to ascertain the amount due. New language now provides that the Department may reconsider the assessment and then notify the employer of the redetermination and its reasons. The redetermination now becomes final if no appeal is filed within 10 days.

Weekly benefit amount. Language providing that the minimum weekly benefit amount, if not a multiple of $1, must be computed to the nearest lower full dollar amount has been eliminated.

Suitable work. Language providing that an individual is disqualified from receiving benefits if he or she fails to return to customary self-employment, if any, when directed to do so by the Department has been eliminated.

Prompt payment. The law now specifies that benefits must be paid promptly in accordance with decisions of the Board and review courts.

False statements. The law now states that any person who makes a false statement or fails to disclose a material fact to avoid the requirements of the law is subject to a criminal penalty. Further, an employing unit is subject to a penalty if it willingly fails or refuses to make any required contribution or payments or furnish required reports or allow inspection or copying of materials.

Part-time work search. This new section provides that an individual may not be denied benefits solely because he or she is seeking only part-time work if the majority his or her work weeks in the base period were part time.

Worker training. This new section provides that training benefits are available to an individual who has exhausted all rights to regular benefits and who is attending an approved worker training program. An individual is eligible for training benefits if he or she was separated from a declining occupation; involuntarily and indefinitely separated as a result of a permanent reduction of operations at the individual’s place of employment; the training enhances the individual’s marketable skills and earning power; and the training is targeted to those industries or skills that are in demand within the labor market.

Benefits must be paid at the individual’s average weekly benefit amount during the applicable benefit year and under the same terms and conditions as regular benefits. Such benefits are payable only for weeks during which the individual is attending an approved training program. An employer’s account may not be charged for payment of benefits to an individual in such situations.