SF 2324

as introduced - 84th Legislature (2005 - 2006) Posted on 12/15/2009 12:00am

A bill for an act
relating to unemployment insurance; eliminating the
one-week waiting period from the eligibility
requirements for benefits; amending Minnesota Statutes
2004, sections 268.07, subdivision 3b; 268.085,
subdivision 1.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA:

Section 1.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 268.07,
subdivision 3b, is amended to read:

Subd. 3b.

Limitations.

(a) A benefit account shall be
established effective the Sunday of the calendar week that the
application for unemployment benefits was filed. Upon specific
request of an applicant, an application for unemployment
benefits may be backdated one calendar week prior to the Sunday
of the week the application was actually filed. An application
shall be backdated only if the applicant was unemployed
throughout the period of the backdating. If an individual
attempted to file an application for unemployment benefits, but
was prevented from filing an application by the department, the
benefit account shall be effective the Sunday of the calendar
week the individual first attempted to file an application.

(b) A benefit account, once established, may later be
withdrawn only if deleted text begin :
deleted text end

deleted text begin (1) deleted text end a new application for unemployment benefits is filed
and a new benefit account is established at the time of the
withdrawal deleted text begin ; and
deleted text end

deleted text begin (2) the applicant has not served a waiting week under
section 268.085, subdivision 1, clause (3) deleted text end .

A determination or amended determination pursuant to
section 268.101, that was issued before the withdrawal of the
benefit account, shall remain in effect and shall not be voided
by the withdrawal of the benefit account. A determination of
disqualification requiring subsequent earnings to satisfy the
disqualification under section 268.095, subdivision 10, shall
apply to the weekly unemployment benefit amount on the new
benefit account.

(c) An application for unemployment benefits shall not be
allowed prior to the Sunday following the expiration of the
benefit year on a prior benefit account. Except as allowed
under paragraph (b), a applicant may establish only one benefit
account each 52 calendar weeks.

(d) All unemployment benefits shall be available from the
trust fund only for weeks occurring during the applicant's
benefit year.

Sec. 2.

Minnesota Statutes 2004, section 268.085,
subdivision 1, is amended to read:

Subdivision 1.

Eligibility conditions.

An applicant
shall be eligible to receive unemployment benefits for any week
if:

(1) the applicant has an active benefit account and has
filed a continued biweekly request for unemployment benefits for
that week pursuant to section 268.086;

(2) the applicant was able to work and was available for
suitable employment, and was actively seeking suitable
employment. The applicant's weekly unemployment benefit amount
shall be reduced one-fifth for each day the applicant is unable
to work or is unavailable for suitable employment. If the
computation of the reduced unemployment benefits is not a whole
dollar, it shall be rounded down to the next lower whole dollar.

This clause shall not apply to an applicant who is in
reemployment assistance training, or each day the applicant is
on jury duty; new text begin and
new text end

(3) deleted text begin the applicant has served a waiting period of one week
that the applicant is otherwise entitled to some amount of
unemployment benefits. This clause shall not apply if the
applicant would have been entitled to federal disaster
unemployment assistance because of a disaster in Minnesota, but
for the applicant's establishment of a benefit account under
section 268.07; and
deleted text end

deleted text begin (4) deleted text end the applicant has been participating in reemployment
assistance services, such as job search and resume writing
classes, if the applicant has been determined in need of
reemployment assistance services by the commissioner, unless
there is good cause for the applicant's failure to participate.