1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to unemployment compensation; providing extra 
  1.3             benefits for certain employees of iron ore mining 
  1.4             companies and certain vendors. 
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [IRON ORE MINING EXTRA BENEFITS.] 
  1.7      Subdivision 1.  [EXTRA BENEFITS; AVAILABILITY.] Extra 
  1.8   unemployment benefits are available to an applicant if the 
  1.9   applicant was permanently laid off due to lack of work after 
  1.10  June 1, 1999, from: 
  1.11     (1) an iron ore mining company in Minnesota, including the 
  1.12  LTV Mining Company power plant operation at Taconite Harbor in 
  1.13  Lake county; or 
  1.14     (2) a vendor of an iron ore mining company if the applicant 
  1.15  was permanently laid off because of the vendor's loss of 
  1.16  business with a single iron ore mining company and the applicant 
  1.17  resided in the Arrowhead region at the time of layoff. 
  1.18     For purposes of this section, a "vendor" of an iron ore 
  1.19  mining company is an employer, which had at least 25 percent of 
  1.20  its total revenue in 2000 from direct sales to a single iron ore 
  1.21  mining company in Minnesota. 
  1.22     For purposes of this section, the "Arrowhead region" 
  1.23  includes St. Louis, Lake, Cook, Carlton, and Itasca counties. 
  1.24     Subd. 2.  [PAYMENT FROM FUND; EFFECT ON EMPLOYER.] Extra 
  1.25  unemployment benefits are payable from the fund.  Extra 
  2.1   unemployment benefits shall not affect the future tax rate of a 
  2.2   taxpaying employer nor be charged to the reimbursing account of 
  2.3   a government or nonprofit employer. 
  2.4      Subd. 3.  [ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS.] An applicant is 
  2.5   eligible to receive extra unemployment benefits under this 
  2.6   section for any week during the 156-week period following the 
  2.7   effective date of the applicant's benefit account of regular 
  2.8   unemployment benefits, as a result of a layoff described under 
  2.9   subdivision 1, if: 
  2.10     (1) a majority of the applicant's wage credits were with an 
  2.11  employer described in subdivision 1; 
  2.12     (2) except as provided in subdivision 6, the applicant 
  2.13  meets the eligibility requirements of Minnesota Statutes, 
  2.14  section 268.085; 
  2.15     (3) the applicant is not subject to a disqualification 
  2.16  under Minnesota Statutes, section 268.095, except as provided in 
  2.17  subdivision 7; and 
  2.18     (4) the applicant is not entitled to regular unemployment 
  2.19  benefits and the applicant is not entitled to receive 
  2.20  unemployment benefits under any other state or federal law for 
  2.21  that week.  
  2.22     If an applicant qualifies for a new regular benefit account 
  2.23  at any time after exhausting regular unemployment benefits as a 
  2.24  result of the layoff under subdivision 1, the applicant must 
  2.25  apply for and exhaust entitlement to those new regular 
  2.26  unemployment benefits.  
  2.27     If an applicant was laid off under subdivision 1 during 
  2.28  1999, the applicant is eligible to receive extra benefits during 
  2.29  the 208-week period following the effective date of the 
  2.30  applicant's benefit account.  
  2.31     Subd. 4.  [WEEKLY AMOUNT OF EXTRA UNEMPLOYMENT 
  2.32  BENEFITS.] (a) The weekly extra unemployment benefit amount 
  2.33  available to an applicant is the same as the applicant's weekly 
  2.34  regular unemployment benefit amount on the benefit account 
  2.35  established as a result of a layoff under subdivision 1.  
  2.36     (b) If an applicant qualifies for a new benefit account in 
  3.1   this or any other state, after exhausting regular unemployment 
  3.2   benefits as a result of a layoff under subdivision 1 and the 
  3.3   weekly benefit amount on that new benefit account is less than 
  3.4   the applicant's extra unemployment benefit amount, the applicant 
  3.5   shall be entitled to receive a weekly benefit amount under this 
  3.6   section equal to the difference between the weekly benefit 
  3.7   amount on the new benefit account and the applicant's weekly 
  3.8   amount of extra unemployment benefits.  If the weekly benefit 
  3.9   amount on the new benefit account exceeds the weekly amount of 
  3.10  extra unemployment benefits, the applicant shall not be entitled 
  3.11  to any extra unemployment benefits until the applicant exhausts 
  3.12  unemployment benefits on that new benefit account.  
  3.13     Subd. 5.  [MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF EXTRA UNEMPLOYMENT 
  3.14  BENEFITS.] The maximum amount of extra unemployment benefits 
  3.15  available is 104 times the applicant's weekly extra unemployment 
  3.16  benefits amount minus the maximum amount of regular unemployment 
  3.17  benefits available on the benefit account established as a 
  3.18  result of a layoff under subdivision 1, and any additional 
  3.19  unemployment benefits.  
  3.20     Subd. 6.  [WORKERS' COMPENSATION OFFSET.] Notwithstanding 
  3.21  Minnesota Statutes, section 268.085, subdivision 3, clause (3), 
  3.22  an applicant laid off under subdivision 1 is eligible to receive 
  3.23  any type of unemployment benefits for any week even if the 
  3.24  applicant has a pending claim for that week for payment in an 
  3.25  amount equal to or in excess of the applicant's weekly 
  3.26  unemployment benefit amount in the form of compensation for loss 
  3.27  of wages under the workers' compensation law of this state or 
  3.28  any other state or under a similar law of the United States.  If 
  3.29  payment is made on the workers' compensation claim for any week 
  3.30  for which any type of unemployment benefits are received, the 
  3.31  unemployment benefits for that week must be reduced by the 
  3.32  amount of the workers' compensation benefits received for that 
  3.33  week.  The amount of the reduction is an overpayment and may be 
  3.34  recovered in the same manner as other overpayments.  
  3.35     This subdivision shall be effective starting with the date 
  3.36  of layoff under subdivision 1 and continues to be effective so 
  4.1   long as the applicant is entitled to extra unemployment benefits.
  4.2      Subd. 7.  [QUIT TO RETURN TO ARROWHEAD 
  4.3   REGION.] Notwithstanding Minnesota Statutes, section 268.095, 
  4.4   subdivision 1, if an applicant accepts employment outside of the 
  4.5   Arrowhead region and quits that employment in order to return to 
  4.6   the Arrowhead region, the applicant is not disqualified from 
  4.7   benefits.  
  4.8      This subdivision is effective starting with the date of 
  4.9   layoff under subdivision 1 and continues in effect while the 
  4.10  applicant is entitled to extra unemployment benefits. 
  4.11     Subd. 8.  [PROGRAM EXPIRATION.] This extra unemployment 
  4.12  benefit program expires on January 1, 2005.  No extra 
  4.13  unemployment benefits shall be paid for any week after the 
  4.14  expiration of this program. 
  4.15     Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  4.16     Section 1 is effective the day following final enactment 
  4.17  and is retroactive to June 1, 1999.