WEST virginia legislature

2023 regular session

Committee Substitute

for

Senate Bill 59

By Senator Takubo, Woodrum, Hunt, and Barrett

[Originating in the Committee on Government Organization; reported on January 18, 2023]

A BILL to amend and reenact §21A-2D-2 and §21A-2D-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §21A-2D-2a; to amend said code by adding thereto a new article, designated §21A-3-1, §21A-3-2, and §21A-3-3; to amend and reenact §21A-6-1 and §21A-6-10 of said code; and to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §21A-6-1d, all relating to eligibility for and amount of unemployment benefits; modifying methodology for calculating maximum benefit rate; modifying benefit table consistent with adoption of indexing; requiring Workforce West Virginia Commissioner take certain actions to verify unemployment insurance claim program integrity; requiring commissioner to review suspicious or potentially improper claims under certain circumstances; defining “state average unemployment rate”; limiting the maximum duration of unemployment benefits based on the state average unemployment rate; requiring Workforce West Virginia to promulgate legislative rules; establishing an internal effective date; reducing maximum benefit for each wage class;  requiring work search activities to qualify for unemployment benefits; defining what constitutes work search activities; mandating submittal of proof of work search activities; providing for verification of work search activities; granting commissioner of Workforce West Virginia discretion in verification of work search activities; mandating establishment of process to refer individuals seeking unemployment benefits to job opportunities; requiring individuals receiving referrals to suitable work to apply for and accept that work; mandating employers to report refusal of offer of employment to commissioner; allowing individuals who accept part-time non-suitable employment to receive unemployment benefits without reduction for wages under certain circumstances; making certain individuals applying for or receiving unemployment benefits exempt from work search requirements; establishing process for notification of work search activity requirements; requiring rulemaking; setting internal effective date;

 and removing chart column made incorrect by adoption of indexing.

Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:

ARTICLE 2D.  UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROGRAM INTEGRITY ACT.

§21A-2D-2. Unemployment insurance program integrity.

The commissioner shall, on a weekly basis, unless otherwise specified: be required to

(a) (1) Check the unemployment insurance rolls against the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation’s list of imprisoned individuals to verify eligibility for unemployment benefits and ensure program integrity;

(b) (2) Check new hire records against the National Directory of New Hires to verify eligibility for unemployment benefits; and

(c) (3) Check the unemployment insurance rolls against a commercially available database that provides cross-matching functions to verify eligibility for unemployment benefits;

(4) On a monthly basis, cross-check the unemployment insurance rolls against state death records; and

(5) Verify the identity of unemployment claimants by methods including, but not limited to, verifying the identity of an applicant prior to awarding benefits and requiring multi-factor authentication as part of online applications.

§21A-2D-2a. Automatic claim review.

The commissioner shall perform a full eligibility review of suspicious or potentially improper claims in cases including, but not limited to:

(1) Multiple or duplicative claims filed online originating from the same IP address;

(2) Claims filed online from foreign IP addresses;

(3) Multiple or duplicative claims filed that are associated with the same mailing address; and

(4) Multiple or duplicative claims filed that are associated with the same bank account.

§21A-2D-3. Data sharing.

The commissioner shall have the authority to may execute a memorandum of understanding exchange information with any department, agency, or division for information required to be shared between agencies outlined in this article as necessary to carry out the requirements of this article.

ARTICLE 3. Unemployment BENEFITS Indexing.

§21A-3-1. Duration of benefits; calculation.

(a) For the purposes of this article, “state average unemployment rate” means the average of the seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for the months comprising the previous quarter of the most recent calendar year as published by Workforce West Virginia.

(b) For all valid unemployment compensation claims submitted during a calendar year, the maximum duration of benefits will be as follows:

(1) If the state average unemployment rate is below 5.5 percent, the maximum duration of benefits will be limited to 12 weeks;

(2) If the state average unemployment rate is at or above 5.5 percent, but below 6.0 percent, the maximum duration of benefits will be limited to 13 weeks;

(3) If the state average unemployment rate is at or above 6.0 percent, but below 6.5 percent, the maximum duration of benefits will be limited to 14 weeks;

(4) If the state average unemployment rate is at or above 6.5 percent, but below 7.0 percent, the maximum duration of benefits will be limited to 15 weeks;

(5) If the state average unemployment rate is at or above 7.0 percent, but below 7.5 percent, the maximum duration of benefits will be limited to 16 weeks;

(6) If the state average unemployment rate is at or above 7.5 percent, but below 8.0 percent, the maximum duration of benefits will be limited to 17 weeks;

(7) If the state average unemployment rate is at or above 8.0 percent, but below 8.5 percent, the maximum duration of benefits will be limited to 18 weeks;

(8) If the state average unemployment rate is at or above 8.5 percent, but below 9.0 percent, the maximum duration of benefits will be limited to 19 weeks; and

(9) If the state average unemployment rate is at or above 9.0 percent, the maximum duration of benefits will be limited to 20 weeks.

§21A-3-2. Rulemaking.

Workforce West Virginia shall promulgate legislative rules to carry out the requirements of this article in accordance with §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code.

§21A-3-3. Effective date.

The provisions of this article shall take effect on January 1, 2024.

ARTICLE 6. EMPLOYEE ELIGIBILITY; BENEFITS.

§21A-6-1. Eligibility qualifications.

An unemployed individual shall be eligible to receive benefits only if the commissioner finds that:

(1) He or she has registered for work at and thereafter continues to report at an employment office in accordance with the regulations of the commissioner;

(2) He or she has made a claim for benefits in accordance with the provisions of article seven of this chapter and has furnished his or her Social Security number, or numbers if he or she has more than one such number;

(3) He or she is able to work and is available for full-time work for which he or she is fitted by prior training or experience and is doing that which a reasonably prudent person in his or her circumstances would do in seeking work actively seeking work as defined in §21A-6-1d of this code;

(4) He or she has been totally or partially unemployed during his or her benefit year for a waiting period of one-week prior to the week for which he or she claims benefits for total or partial unemployment;

(5) He or she has within his or her base period been paid wages for employment equal to not less than $2,200 and must have earned wages in more than one quarter of his or her base period or, if he or she is not eligible under his or her base period, has within his or her alternative base period been paid wages for employment equal to not less than $2,200 and must have earned wages in more than one quarter of his or her alternative base period; and

(6) He or she participates in reemployment services as defined in §21A-6-1d of this code, such as job search assistance services, if the individual has been determined to be likely to exhaust regular benefits and needs reemployment services pursuant to a profiling system established by the commissioner, unless the commissioner determines that:

(A) The individual has completed such services; or

(B) There is justifiable cause for the claimant's failure to participate in such services.

§21A-6-1d. Jobs and Reemployment Act.

(a) In addition to compliance with all other eligibility requirements, an individual shall be eligible and shall remain eligible for unemployment benefits only if he or she actively seeks, and continues to seek, work by conducting at least four work search activities weekly, defined as:

(1) Registering for work with the state’s labor exchange system, placement firm, temporary work agencies, or educational institution with job placement offices;

(2) Logging on and looking for work in the state’s labor exchange or other online job matching system;

(3) Using reemployment services in job centers or completing similar online or self-service activities, including, but not limited to, obtaining and using labor market and career information, participating in Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment (RESEA) activities, participating in skills assessment for occupational matching, instructional workshops, or other specialized activities;

(4) Completing job applications for employers that have, or are reasonably expected to have, job openings, or following through on job referrals or job development attempts, as directed by Workforce West Virginia staff;

(5) Applying for or participating in employment and training services provided by partner programs in job centers;

(6) Participating in work-related networking events, such as job clubs, job fairs, industry association events, or networking groups;

(7) Making contacts with, or in-person visits to, employers that have, or are reasonably expected to have, job openings;

(8) Taking a civil service examination;

(9) Going on interviews with employers, either in-person or virtually; or

(10) Performing any other work search activities prescribed or allowed by rules promulgated by Workforce West Virginia.

(b) The commissioner shall:

(1) Require an individual, at the time of application for unemployment benefits and weekly thereafter, to provide proof of all his or her work search activities;

(2) Verify submissions of proof of work search activities by individuals applying for or receiving unemployment benefits; and

(3) Determine any individual who fails to perform work search activities or provide proof of work search activities as required by this section ineligible to receive unemployment benefits unless the individual can reasonably explain his or her failure to do so or timely remedy the failure to provide proof of his or her work search activity.

(c) The commissioner shall have discretion to determine the sufficiency of the proof of work search activities submitted, the explanation of a failure to submit such proof, the provision of such proof after an inaccuracy in the proof provided is identified, and whether an individual has otherwise complied with the requirements of this section.

(d) The commissioner shall, utilizing existing resources:

(1) Establish a process by which Workforce West Virginia will share open positions submitted to or posted by the Division of Personnel or any other state-administered job board by employers directly with individuals applying for or receiving unemployment benefits; and

(2) Establish a process by which, for the purpose of helping individuals applying for or receiving unemployment benefits secure suitable work, Workforce West Virginia shall refer individuals applying for or receiving unemployment benefits to such open positions, including facilitating contact between employers and those individuals and monitoring whether those individuals are sufficiently responsive to a referral.

(e) An individual applying for or receiving unemployment benefits who receives referrals from Workforce West Virginia to a job or jobs considered to be suitable, as that term is defined in this chapter, shall apply for that job or those jobs within one-week of receiving the referrals and accept employment in suitable work if offered.

(f) Employers shall report the refusal of any individual who is receiving unemployment benefits and who receives job referrals from Workforce West Virginia to accept an offer of employment to the commissioner. The report shall be made in writing in a manner prescribed by the commissioner and shall be signed by the employer. The report shall become part of the file of the individual’s claim for benefits.

(g) Individuals receiving unemployment benefits who accept a referral to a part-time open position or otherwise accept part-time employment for which the wages are less than his or her weekly benefit rate shall continue to receive unemployment benefits without reduction for those wages for the duration of his or her benefits period.

(h) With the exception of individuals who have received or been served with a summons for jury duty or are serving on a jury in any court of this state, the United States, or any state of the United States; are receiving vocational training as described in the provisions of §21A-6-4 of this code; or who are members in good standing of a union that refers its members to employment from a union hall; all individuals applying for or receiving unemployment benefits shall be subject to the requirements of this section, including, but not limited to, individuals who are seasonally unemployed or laid off subject to recall by their employer.

(i) Workforce West Virginia shall notify individuals seeking benefits, at the time an initial claim is filed and at any other time during the benefit year that the requirements substantively change, of the obligation to actively seek work. Delivery of the notification shall be made by the method selected by the individual seeking benefits, and may include United States mail, email, online mailbox, or text message. The notification shall include, at a minimum, the types of work search activities that are acceptable; the number of work search activities that are required in any week; the requirement that work search activities be documented; and the requirement to apply, and accept if offered, suitable jobs referred by the agency.

(j) The commissioner shall promulgate rules for legislative approval in accordance with the provisions of §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code.

(k) The provisions of this section shall become effective January 1, 2024.

§21A-6-10. Benefit rate — Total unemployment; annual computation and publication of rates.

(a) Each eligible individual who is totally unemployed in any week shall be paid benefits with respect to that week at the weekly rate appearing in Column (C) in the benefit table in this section, on the line on which in Column (A) there is indicated the employee’s wage class, except as otherwise provided under the term “total and partial unemployment” in §21A-1A-27 of this code. The employee’s wage class shall be determined by his or her base period wages as shown in Column (B) in the benefit table. The right of an employee to receive benefits shall may not be prejudiced nor the amount thereof be diminished by reason of failure by an employer to pay either the wages earned by the employee or the contribution due on such wages. An individual who is totally unemployed but earns in excess of $60 as a result of odd job or subsidiary work, or is paid a bonus in any benefit week shall be paid benefits for such week in accordance with the provisions of this chapter pertaining to benefits for partial unemployment.

(b) (1) The maximum benefit for each wage class shall be equal to twenty-six times the weekly benefit rate the employee’s weekly benefit rate multiplied by the maximum number of weeks available as determined by §21A-3-1.

(2) The maximum benefit rate shall be 66 and two-thirds percent of the average weekly wage in West Virginia.

(c) On July 1 of each year, the commissioner shall determine the maximum weekly benefit rate upon the basis of the formula set forth above and shall establish wage classes as are required, increasing or decreasing the amount of the base period wages required for each wage class by $150, establishing the weekly benefit rate for each wage class by rounded dollar amount to be 55 percent of one fifty-second  of the median dollar amount of wages in the base period for such wage class and establishing the maximum benefit for each wage class as an amount equal to twenty-six times the weekly benefit rate the employee’s weekly benefit rate multiplied by the maximum number of weeks available as determined by §21A-3-1: Provided, That the commissioner shall may not increase or decrease the maximum weekly benefit rate for the period beginning on the effective date of the amendment and reenactment of this section in the regular session of the Legislature in 2009 until the threshold wage is reduced to $9,000, as required by §21A-1A-28(d) of this code. The maximum weekly benefit rate, when computed by the commissioner, in accordance with the foregoing provisions, shall be rounded to the next lowest multiple of $1.

(d) After he or she has established such the wage classes, the commissioner shall prepare and publish a table setting forth such that information.

(e) Average weekly wage shall be computed by dividing the number of employees in West Virginia earning wages in covered employment into the total wages paid to employees in West Virginia in covered employment, and by further dividing said the result by 52, and shall be determined from employer wage and contribution reports for the previous calendar year which are furnished to the department on or before June 1 following such calendar year. The average weekly wage, as determined by the commissioner, shall be rounded to the next higher dollar.

(f) The computation and determination of rates as aforesaid shall be completed annually before July 1 and any such new wage class, with its corresponding wages in base period, weekly benefit rate, and maximum benefit in a benefit year established by the commissioner in the foregoing manner effective on July 1 shall apply only to a new claim established by a claimant on and after July 1, and does not apply to continued claims of a claimant based on his or her new claim established before said July 1.

BENEFIT TABLE