Bill Text: MI HB4342 | 2021-2022 | 101st Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Employment security: claimants; nonmonetary eligibility and qualification for benefits; modify. Amends sec. 32 of 1936 (Ex Sess) PA 1 (MCL 421.32).
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 46-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-02-25 - Bill Electronically Reproduced 02/24/2021 [HB4342 Detail]
Download: Michigan-2021-HB4342-Introduced.html
HOUSE BILL NO. 4342
February 24, 2021, Introduced by Reps. Sabo,
Brabec, Cavanagh, Tate, Witwer, Rabhi, Haadsma, Sowerby, Shannon, Brenda
Carter, Hope, Sneller, Ellison, Coleman, Manoogian, Koleszar, Puri, Young,
Hertel, Aiyash, Tyrone Carter, Cherry, Stone, Steckloff, Steenland,
Cambensy, Garza, Peterson, Weiss, Hood, Hammoud, Neeley, Brixie, Scott,
Bolden, Cynthia Johnson, Clemente, Anthony, Kuppa, Thanedar, Breen,
Camilleri, Pohutsky, Lasinski, Jones and Yancey and referred to the
Committee on Government Operations.
A bill to amend 1936 (Ex Sess) PA 1,
entitled
"Michigan employment security act,"
by amending section 32 (MCL 421.32), as amended by 2020 PA 229.
The people of the state of michigan enact:
Sec. 32. (a)
Claims for benefits shall be made pursuant to regulations prescribed by the
unemployment agency. The unemployment agency shall designate representatives
who shall promptly examine claims and make a determination on the facts. The
unemployment agency may establish rules providing for the examination of
claims, the determination of the validity of the claims, and the amount and
duration of benefits to be paid. The claimant and other interested parties
shall be promptly notified of the determination and the reasons for the
determination.
(b) The unemployment agency shall mail to the claimant, to
each base period employer or employing unit, and to the separating employer or
employing unit, a monetary determination. The monetary determination shall notify
each of these employers or employing units that the claimant has filed an
application for benefits and the amount the claimant reported as earned with
the separating employer or employing unit, and shall state the name of each
employer or employing unit in the base period and the name of the separating
employer or employing unit. The monetary determination shall also state the
claimant's weekly benefit rate, the amount of base period wages paid by each
base period employer, the maximum benefit amount that could be charged to each
employer's account or experience account, and the reason for separation
reported by the claimant. The monetary determination shall also state whether
the claimant is monetarily eligible to receive unemployment benefits. Except
for separations under section 29(1)(a), no further reconsideration of a
separation from any base period employer will be made unless the base period
employer notifies the unemployment agency of a possible disqualifying
separation within 30 days of the separation in accordance with this subsection.
Charges to the employer and payments to the claimant shall be as described in
section 20(a). New, additional, or corrected information received by the
unemployment agency more than 10 days after mailing the monetary determination
shall be considered a request for reconsideration by the employer of the
monetary determination and shall be reviewed as provided in section 32a.
(c) For the purpose of determining a claimant's nonmonetary
eligibility and qualification for benefits, if the claimant's most recent base
period or benefit year separation was for a reason other than the lack of work,
then a determination shall be issued concerning that separation to the claimant
and to the separating employer. If a claimant is not disqualified based on his
or her most recent separation from employment and has satisfied the
requirements of section 29, the unemployment agency shall issue a nonmonetary
determination as to that separation only. If a claimant is not disqualified based
on his or her most recent separation from employment and has not satisfied the
requirements of section 29, the unemployment agency shall issue 1 or more
nonmonetary determinations necessary to establish the claimant's qualification
for benefits based on any prior separation in inverse chronological order. The unemployment agency shall consider all base
period separations involving disqualifications under section 29(1)(h), (i),
(j), (k), (m), or (n) in determining a claimant's nonmonetary eligibility and qualification
for benefits. An employer may designate in writing to the
unemployment agency an individual or another employer or an employing unit to
receive any notice required to be given by the unemployment agency to that
employer or to represent that employer in any proceeding before the
unemployment agency as provided in section 31. Notwithstanding any other
provision of this act, beginning May 1, 2020, and until the effective date of
the amendatory act that added this subsection, in determining a claimant's
nonmonetary eligibility to qualify for benefits, the unemployment agency shall
not issue a determination with respect to the claimant's separation from a base
period or benefit year employer other than the separating employer, and the
unemployment agency shall consider the claimant to have satisfied the
requirements of section 29(2) and (3).
(d) If the unemployment agency requests additional monetary
or nonmonetary information from an employer or employing unit and the
unemployment agency fails to receive a written response from the employer or
employing unit within 10 calendar days after the date of mailing the request
for information, the unemployment agency shall make a determination based upon
the available information at the time the determination is made. Charges to the
employer and payments to the claimant shall be as described in section 20(a).
(e) The claimant or interested party may file an application
with an office of the unemployment agency for a redetermination in accordance
with section 32a.
(f) The issuance of each benefit check shall be considered a
determination by the unemployment agency that the claimant receiving the check
was covered during the compensable period, and eligible and qualified for
benefits. A chargeable employer, upon receipt of a listing of the check as
provided in section 21(a), may protest by requesting a redetermination of the
claimant's eligibility or qualification as to that period and a determination
as to later weeks and benefits still unpaid that are affected by the protest.
Upon receipt of the protest or request, the unemployment agency shall
investigate and redetermine whether the claimant is eligible and qualified as
to that period. If, upon the redetermination, the claimant is found ineligible
or not qualified, the unemployment agency shall proceed as described in section
62. In addition, the unemployment agency shall investigate and determine
whether the claimant obtained benefits for 1 or more preceding weeks within the
series of consecutive weeks that includes the week covered by the
redetermination and, if so, shall proceed as described in section 62 as to
those weeks. Notwithstanding any other provision of this act, for benefits
charged after March 15, 2020 but before January 1, 2021, an employer has 1 year
after the date a benefit payment is charged against the employer's account to
protest that charge.
(g) If a claimant commences to file continued claims through
a different state claim office in this state or elsewhere, the unemployment
agency promptly shall issue written notice of that fact to the chargeable
employer.
(h) If a claimant refuses an offer of work, or fails to apply
for work of which the claimant has been notified, as provided in section
29(1)(c) or (e), the unemployment agency shall promptly make a written
determination as to whether or not the refusal or failure requires
disqualification under section 29. Notice of the determination, specifying the
name and address of the employing unit offering or giving notice of the work
and of the chargeable employer, shall be sent to the claimant, the employing
unit offering or giving notice of the work, and the chargeable employer.
(i) The unemployment agency shall issue a notification to the
claimant of claimant rights and responsibilities within 2 weeks after the
initial benefit payment on a claim and 6 months after the initial benefit
payment on the claim. If the claimant selected a preferred form of
communication, the notification must be conveyed by that form. Issuing the
notification must not delay or interfere with the claimant's benefit payment.
The notification must contain clear and understandable information pertaining
to all of the following:
(i) Determinations as
provided in section 62.
(ii) Penalties and other sanctions as provided in this act.
(iii) Legal right to protest the determination and the right to
appeal through the administrative hearing system.
(iv) Other information needed to understand and comply with
agency rules and regulations not specified in this section.
