HF 872

1st Committee Engrossment - 85th Legislature (2007 - 2008)

Posted on 12/22/2009 12:38 p.m.

1.1A bill for an act 1.2relating to unemployment insurance; providing extra unemployment benefits for 1.3certain workers laid off from the Ainsworth Lumber Company. 1.4BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 1.5    Section 1. new text begin LUMBER COMPANY EXTRA BENEFITS. new text end 1.6     new text begin Subdivision 1. new text end new text begin Extra benefits; availability. new text end new text begin Extra unemployment benefits are new text end 1.7 new text begin available to an applicant if the applicant was laid off due to lack of work after April 1, new text end 1.8 new text begin 2006, from the Ainsworth Lumber Company plants in Bemidji, Cook, and Grand Rapids, new text end 1.9 new text begin and established a benefit account under Minnesota Statutes, section 268.07, prior to March new text end 1.10 new text begin 1, 2007. new text end 1.11     new text begin Subd. 2. new text end new text begin Payment from fund; effect on employer. new text end new text begin Extra unemployment benefits new text end 1.12 new text begin are payable from the unemployment insurance trust fund. Extra unemployment benefits new text end 1.13 new text begin paid under this section will not be used in computing the experience rating of Ainsworth new text end 1.14 new text begin Lumber Company under Minnesota Statutes, section 268.047. new text end 1.15     new text begin Subd. 3. new text end new text begin Eligibility conditions. new text end new text begin An applicant is eligible to receive extra new text end 1.16 new text begin unemployment benefits under this section for any week through December 31, 2007, new text end 1.17 new text begin following the effective date of the applicant's benefit account of regular unemployment new text end 1.18 new text begin benefits, as a result of a layoff described under subdivision 1, if: new text end 1.19     new text begin (1) a majority of the applicant's wage credits were with Ainsworth Lumber Company new text end 1.20 new text begin or Ainsworth Engineered; new text end 1.21     new text begin (2) the applicant meets the eligibility requirements of Minnesota Statutes, section new text end 1.22 new text begin 268.085; new text end 1.23     new text begin (3) the applicant is not subject to a disqualification under Minnesota Statutes, section new text end 1.24 new text begin 268.095; new text end 2.1     new text begin (4) the applicant is not entitled to regular unemployment benefits and the applicant new text end 2.2 new text begin is not entitled to receive unemployment benefits under any other state or federal law new text end 2.3 new text begin for that week; and new text end 2.4     new text begin (5) the applicant is enrolled in, or has within the last two weeks successfully new text end 2.5 new text begin completed, a program that qualifies as reemployment assistance training under Minnesota new text end 2.6 new text begin Statutes, section 268.035, subdivision 21a, except that an applicant whose training is new text end 2.7 new text begin scheduled to begin in more than 30 days may be considered to be in training if: (i) the new text end 2.8 new text begin applicant's chosen training program does not offer an available start date within 30 days; new text end 2.9 new text begin (ii) the applicant is scheduled to begin training on the earliest available start date for new text end 2.10 new text begin the chosen training program; and (iii) the applicant is scheduled to begin training in no new text end 2.11 new text begin more than 60 days. new text end 2.12     new text begin Subd. 4. new text end new text begin Weekly amount of extra benefits. new text end new text begin The weekly extra unemployment new text end 2.13 new text begin benefits amount available to an applicant is the same as the applicant's weekly regular new text end 2.14 new text begin unemployment benefit amount on the benefit account established as a result of a layoff new text end 2.15 new text begin under subdivision 1. new text end 2.16     new text begin Subd. 5. new text end new text begin Maximum amount of extra unemployment benefits. new text end new text begin (a) The maximum new text end 2.17 new text begin amount of extra unemployment benefits available is equal to 13 weeks at the applicant's new text end 2.18 new text begin weekly extra unemployment benefits amount. new text end 2.19     new text begin (b) If an applicant qualifies for a new regular benefit account under Minnesota new text end 2.20 new text begin Statutes, section 268.07, at any time after exhausting regular unemployment benefits new text end 2.21 new text begin as a result of the layoff under subdivision 1, the applicant must apply for and exhaust new text end 2.22 new text begin entitlement to those new regular unemployment benefits. The maximum amount of extra new text end 2.23 new text begin unemployment benefits available is reduced by any new regular unemployment benefits new text end 2.24 new text begin available if the majority of wage credits on that new regular benefit account were with new text end 2.25 new text begin Ainsworth Lumber Company or Ainsworth Engineered. new text end 2.26     new text begin Subd. 6. new text end new text begin Program expiration. new text end new text begin This extra unemployment benefit program expires new text end 2.27 new text begin on December 31, 2007. No extra unemployment benefits may be paid for any week after new text end 2.28 new text begin the expiration of this program. new text end 2.29     new text begin Subd. 7. new text end new text begin Findings. new text end new text begin The legislature finds that providing extra unemployment new text end 2.30 new text begin benefits to assist laid-off workers of Ainsworth Lumber Company, while in training, is new text end 2.31 new text begin appropriate because: new text end 2.32     new text begin (1) the unemployment rate in the applicant's county of employment is higher than new text end 2.33 new text begin the statewide average rate of unemployment; new text end 2.34     new text begin (2) the average weekly wages paid in the applicant's county of employment is below new text end 2.35 new text begin the statewide average weekly wage; new text end 3.1     new text begin (3) the applicant's weekly wage is higher than the statewide average weekly wage; new text end 3.2 new text begin and new text end 3.3     new text begin (4) the dislocated worker program has determined that the applicant does not new text end 3.4 new text begin currently possess skills making reemployment in a comparable position likely. new text end 3.5    Sec. 2. new text begin EFFECTIVE DATE. new text end 3.6     new text begin Section 1 is effective the first Sunday following final enactment. new text end