1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to unemployment insurance; providing extra 
  1.3             unemployment benefits for certain workers laid off 
  1.4             from Fingerhut.  
  1.5   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.6      Section 1.  [FINGERHUT EXTRA BENEFITS.] 
  1.7      Subdivision 1.  [EXTRA BENEFITS; AVAILABILITY.] Extra 
  1.8   unemployment benefits are available to an applicant who has a 
  1.9   benefit account effective March 1, 2002, or thereafter if the 
  1.10  applicant was laid off due to lack of work from Fingerhut in 
  1.11  Stearns, Hennepin, or St. Louis county. 
  1.12     Subd. 2.  [PAYMENT FROM FUND.] Extra unemployment benefits 
  1.13  are payable from the fund.  
  1.14     Subd. 3.  [ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS.] An applicant is 
  1.15  eligible to receive extra unemployment benefits under this 
  1.16  section for any week through December 31, 2003, if:  
  1.17     (1) a majority of the applicant's wage credits were with an 
  1.18  employer specified under subdivision 1; 
  1.19     (2) the applicant meets the eligibility requirements of 
  1.20  Minnesota Statutes, section 268.085; 
  1.21     (3) the applicant is not subject to a disqualification 
  1.22  under Minnesota Statutes, section 268.095; 
  1.23     (4) the applicant is not entitled to any regular, 
  1.24  additional, or extended unemployment benefits for that week and 
  1.25  the applicant is not entitled to receive unemployment benefits 
  2.1   under any other state or federal law for that week; 
  2.2      (5) the applicant is enrolled in, or has within the last 
  2.3   two weeks successfully completed, a program that qualifies as 
  2.4   reemployment assistance training under Minnesota Statutes, 
  2.5   section 268.035, subdivision 21a, except that an applicant whose 
  2.6   training is scheduled to begin in more than 30 days may be 
  2.7   considered to be in training if:  (i) the applicant's chosen 
  2.8   training program does not offer an available start date within 
  2.9   30 days; (ii) the applicant is scheduled to begin training on 
  2.10  the earliest available start date for the chosen training 
  2.11  program; and (iii) the applicant is scheduled to begin training 
  2.12  in no more than 60 days; and 
  2.13     (6) an applicant qualifies for a new regular benefit 
  2.14  account at any time after exhausting regular unemployment 
  2.15  benefits as a result of the layoff under subdivision 1, the 
  2.16  applicant must apply for and exhaust entitlement to those new 
  2.17  regular or any other type of unemployment benefits under any 
  2.18  state or federal law. 
  2.19     Subd. 4.  [WEEKLY AMOUNT OF EXTRA BENEFITS.] The weekly 
  2.20  extra unemployment benefits amount available to an applicant is 
  2.21  the same as the applicant's weekly regular unemployment benefit 
  2.22  amount on the benefit account established as a result of a 
  2.23  layoff under subdivision 1. 
  2.24     Subd. 5.  [MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF EXTRA UNEMPLOYMENT 
  2.25  BENEFITS.] The maximum amount of extra unemployment benefits 
  2.26  available is 26 times the applicant's weekly extra unemployment 
  2.27  benefits amount.  Any type of unemployment benefits, under any 
  2.28  state or federal law, the applicant may be entitled to after 
  2.29  exhausting regular unemployment benefits as a result of a layoff 
  2.30  under subdivision 1, shall reduce the maximum amount of extra 
  2.31  unemployment benefits available.  The reduction in total extra 
  2.32  unemployment benefits available shall equal the total amount of 
  2.33  any other type of unemployment benefits available.  
  2.34     Subd. 6.  [PROGRAM EXPIRATION.] This extra unemployment 
  2.35  benefit program expires on December 31, 2003.  No extra 
  2.36  unemployment benefits shall be paid for any week after the 
  3.1   expiration of this program. 
  3.2      Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.3      Section 1 is effective the day following final enactment.