1997 Minnesota Statutes

CHAPTER 268. Department of economic security

     268.001 Citation; economic security law. 

    This chapter shall be known and may be cited as the 
 "Minnesota Economic Security Law." 

    HIST: 1987 c 385 s 47; 1994 c 483 s 1 

  268.01 Repealed, 1965 c 45 s 73 

  268.011 Repealed, 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 78 subd 1 

     268.0111 Definitions. 

    Subdivision 1.    Applicability.  The definitions in 
 this section apply to this chapter. 

    Subd. 2.    Commissioner.  "Commissioner" means the 
 commissioner of economic security. 

    Subd. 3. Repealed, 1987 c 403 art 2 s 164 

    Subd. 3a.    Department.  "Department" means the 
 department of economic security. 

    Subd. 4.    Employment and training services.  
 "Employment and training services" means programs, activities, 
 and services related to job training, job placement, and job 
 creation including job service programs, job training 
 partnership act programs, wage subsidies, work readiness 
 programs, job search, counseling, case management, community 
 work experience programs, displaced homemaker programs, 
 disadvantaged job training programs, grant diversion, employment 
 experience programs, youth employment programs, conservation 
 corps, apprenticeship programs, community investment programs, 
 community development corporations, economic development 
 programs, and opportunities industrialization centers. 

    Subd. 4a.    Homeless individual.  "Homeless 
 individual," or "homeless person" means: 

    (1) an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate 
 nighttime residence; and 

    (2) an individual who has a primary nighttime residence 
 that is:  

    (i) a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter or 
 dwelling designed to provide temporary living accommodations, 

    (ii) an institution that provides a temporary residence for 
 individuals intended to be institutionalized, or 

    (iii) a public or private place not designed for, or 
 ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for humans. 

    The term "homeless individual" does not include any 
 individual imprisoned or otherwise detained pursuant to federal 
 or state law. 

    Subd. 5.    Income maintenance and support services.  
 "Income maintenance and support services" means programs through 
 which the state or its subdivisions provide direct financial or 
 in-kind support to unemployed or underemployed persons, 
 including reemployment insurance, aid to families with dependent 
 children, Minnesota family investment program-statewide, general 
 assistance, food stamps, energy assistance, disability 
 determinations, and child care.  Income maintenance and support 
 services do not include medical assistance, aging services, 
 social services, community social services, mental health 
 services, or services for the emotionally disturbed, the 
 mentally retarded, or residents of nursing homes. 

    Subd. 5a.    Indian tribe.  For purposes of employment 
 and training services, "Indian tribe" means a tribe, band, 
 nation, or other organized group or community of Indians that is 
 recognized as eligible for the special programs and services 
 provided by the United States to Indians because of their status 
 as Indians, and for which a reservation exists as is consistent 
 with Public Law Number 100-485, as amended. 

    Subd. 6.    Local service unit.  "Local service unit" 
 means a county, counties operating under a joint powers 
 agreement, one or more counties and one or more cities of the 
 first class operating under a joint powers agreement, or a city 
 of the first class. 

    Subd. 7.    Public assistance.  "Public assistance" 
 means aid to families with dependent children, Minnesota family 
 investment program-statewide, and general assistance.  

    Subd. 8.    Service provider.  "Service provider" means 
 a public, private, or nonprofit agency that is capable of 
 providing or administrating one or more of the employment and 
 training services or income maintenance and support services. 

    Subd. 9.    Wage subsidies.  "Wage subsidies" means 
 issuing of payments to employers to offset the costs of wages, 
 fringe benefits, and training for eligible employees under the 
 limitations established in sections 268.672 to 268.682, and may 
 be referred to as Minnesota employment and economic development 
 (MEED) wage subsidies.  

    HIST: 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 38; 1987 c 403 art 2 s 128; 1988 c 
 689 art 2 s 219; 1989 c 282 art 5 s 121,122; 1990 c 568 art 4 s 
 61; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1994 c 488 s 8; 1997 c 66 s 1; 1997 c 85 art 
 4 s 24,25 

  268.012 Repealed, 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 78 subd 1 

     268.0121 Creation. 

    Subdivision 1.    Purpose.  The department of economic 
 security has broad responsibility to increase the economic 
 independence of Minnesotans with special effort toward those who 
 are currently unemployed or who face special disadvantages in 
 the labor market.  The department shall develop employment 
 policies and link training and employment-related services with 
 temporary income replacement and income maintenance programs, 
 veterans' programs, workers' compensation, vocational and 
 post-secondary education, federal income insurance programs, and 
 economic development programs. 

    Subd. 2.    Commissioner.  The governor shall appoint 
 the commissioner of economic security with the advice and 
 consent of the senate. 

    Subd. 3.    Unclassified positions.  The commissioner 
 may establish positions in the unclassified service in 
 accordance with section 43A.08.  The commissioner may appoint 
 and define the duties of other subordinate officers and 
 employees as the commissioner deems necessary to discharge the 
 functions of the department. 

    The commissioner may establish the position of director of 
 the state job training office in the unclassified service. 

    Subd. 4.    Delegation of powers.  The commissioner may 
 delegate, in written orders filed with the secretary of state, 
 any powers or duties subject to the commissioner's control to 
 officers and employees in the department.  Notwithstanding any 
 other law, the commissioner may delegate the execution of 
 specific contracts or specific types of contracts to the 
 commissioner's deputies, an assistant commissioner, or a program 
 director if the delegation has been approved by the commissioner 
 of administration and filed with the secretary of state. 

    Subd. 5.    Receipt of gifts, money.  The commissioner 
 may accept gifts, bequests, grants, payments for services, and 
 other public and private money to help finance the activities of 
 the department. 

    HIST: 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 39; 1990 c 571 s 42; 1990 c 589 art 
 1 s 2; 1994 c 483 s 1 

     268.0122 Powers and duties. 

    Subdivision 1.    State agency.  The commissioner of 
 economic security is designated the "state agency" as defined by 
 United States Code, title 29, section 49c, the Wagner-Peyser 
 Act, as amended through December 31, 1984.  

    Subd. 2.    Specific powers.  The commissioner of 
 economic security shall: 

    (1) administer and supervise all forms of unemployment 
 insurance provided for under federal and state laws that are 
 vested in the commissioner; 

    (2) administer and supervise all employment and training 
 services assigned to the department of economic security under 
 federal or state law; 

    (3) review and comment on local service unit plans and 
 community investment program plans and approve or disapprove the 
 plans; 

    (4) establish and maintain administrative units necessary 
 to perform administrative functions common to all divisions of 
 the department; 

    (5) supervise the county boards of commissioners, local 
 service units, and any other units of government designated in 
 federal or state law as responsible for employment and training 
 programs; 

    (6) establish administrative standards and payment 
 conditions for providers of employment and training services; 

    (7) act as the agent of, and cooperate with, the federal 
 government in matters of mutual concern, including the 
 administration of any federal funds granted to the state to aid 
 in the performance of functions of the commissioner; 

    (8) obtain reports from local service units and service 
 providers for the purpose of evaluating the performance of 
 employment and training services; and 

    (9) review and comment on plans for Indian tribe employment 
 and training services and approve or disapprove the plans. 

    Subd. 3.    Duties as a state agency.  The commissioner 
 shall: 

    (1) administer the unemployment insurance laws and related 
 programs; 

    (2) administer the aspects of aid to families with 
 dependent children, Minnesota family investment 
 program-statewide, general assistance, and food stamps that 
 relate to employment and training services, subject to the 
 contract under section 268.86, subdivision 2; 

    (3) administer wage subsidies and the discretionary 
 employment and training fund; 

    (4) administer a national system of public employment 
 offices as prescribed by United States Code, title 29, chapter 
 4B, the Wagner-Peyser Act, and other federal employment and 
 training programs; 

    (5) cooperate with the federal government and its 
 employment and training agencies in any reasonable manner as 
 necessary to qualify for federal aid for employment and training 
 services and money; 

    (6) enter into agreements with other departments of the 
 state and local units of government as necessary; 

    (7) certify employment and training service providers and 
 decertify service providers that fail to comply with performance 
 criteria according to standards established by the commissioner; 

    (8) provide consistent, integrated employment and training 
 services across the state; 

    (9) establish the standards for all employment and training 
 services administered under this chapter; 

    (10) develop standards for the contents and structure of 
 the local service unit plans and plans for Indian tribe 
 employment and training services; 

    (11) provide current state and substate labor market 
 information and forecasts, in cooperation with other agencies; 

    (12) identify underserved populations, unmet service needs, 
 and funding requirements; 

    (13) consult with the council for the blind on matters 
 pertaining to programs and services for the blind and visually 
 impaired; and 

    (14) enter into agreements with Indian tribes as necessary 
 to provide employment and training services as funds become 
 available. 

    Subd. 4.    Demonstration projects.  The commissioner 
 may conduct and administer demonstration projects to test 
 methods and procedures for providing employment and training 
 services.  The demonstration must provide new methods and 
 procedures of administration and must not conflict with the 
 basic purposes, coverage, or benefits provided by law.  No 
 demonstration project authorized by this section is effective 
 until any required approval by a federal agency is obtained and 
 the comprehensive plan, including the estimated project costs, 
 is filed with the commissioner of administration.  

    Subd. 5.    Rulemaking.  (a) The commissioner may make 
 rules to carry out this chapter. 

    (b) Effective July 1, 1997, the commissioner may make rules 
 to carry out section 256J.51. 

    Subd. 6.    Mission; efficiency.  It is part of the 
 department's mission that within the department's resources the 
 commissioner shall endeavor to: 

    (1) prevent the waste or unnecessary spending of public 
 money; 

    (2) use innovative fiscal and human resource practices to 
 manage the state's resources and operate the department as 
 efficiently as possible; 

    (3) coordinate the department's activities wherever 
 appropriate with the activities of other governmental agencies; 

    (4) use technology where appropriate to increase agency 
 productivity, improve customer service, increase public access 
 to information about government, and increase public 
 participation in the business of government; 

    (5) utilize constructive and cooperative labor-management 
 practices to the extent otherwise required by chapters 43A and 
 179A; 

    (6) include specific objectives in the performance report 
 required under section 15.91 to increase the efficiency of 
 agency operations, when appropriate; and 

    (7) recommend to the legislature, in the performance report 
 of the department required under section 15.91, appropriate 
 changes in law necessary to carry out the mission of the 
 department. 

    Subd. 7.    Classification of data on individuals.  Data 
 collected on individuals pursuant to a program operated by the 
 commissioner are private data on individuals as defined in 
 section 13.02, subdivision 12, unless more restrictively 
 classified by law. 

    HIST: 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 40; 1987 c 403 art 2 s 129,130; art 
 3 s 50; 1989 c 282 art 5 s 123,124; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1995 c 248 
 art 11 s 19; 1995 c 259 art 1 s 40; 1996 c 339 s 2,3; 1997 c 7 
 art 5 s 34; 1997 c 85 art 4 s 26; 1997 c 245 art 4 s 6 

     268.0124 Plain language in written materials. 

    (a) To the extent reasonable and consistent with the goals 
 of providing easily understandable and readable materials and 
 complying with federal and state laws governing the programs, 
 all written materials relating to services and determinations of 
 eligibility for or amounts of benefits that will be given to 
 applicants for or recipients of assistance under a program 
 administered or supervised by the commissioner of economic 
 security must be understandable to a person of average 
 intelligence and education. 

    (b) All written materials relating to determinations of 
 eligibility for or amounts of benefits that will be given to 
 applicants for or recipients of assistance under programs 
 administered or supervised by the commissioner of economic 
 security must be developed to satisfy the plain language 
 requirements of the plain language contract act under sections 
 325G.29 to 325G.36.  Materials may be submitted to the attorney 
 general for review and certification.  Notwithstanding section 
 325G.35, subdivision 1, the attorney general shall review 
 submitted materials to determine whether they comply with the 
 requirements of section 325G.31.  The remedies available 
 pursuant to sections 8.31 and 325G.33 to 325G.36 do not apply to 
 these materials.  Failure to comply with this section does not 
 provide a basis for suspending the implementation or operation 
 of other laws governing programs administered by the 
 commissioner. 

    (c) The requirements of this section apply to all materials 
 modified or developed by the commissioner on or after July 1, 
 1988.  The requirements of this section do not apply to 
 materials that must be submitted to a federal agency for 
 approval, to the extent that application of the requirements 
 prevents federal approval. 

    (d) Nothing in this section may be construed to prohibit a 
 lawsuit brought to require the commissioner to comply with this 
 section. 

    HIST: 1988 c 689 art 2 s 220; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1995 c 259 art 1 
 s 41; 1996 c 339 s 4; 1997 c 7 art 1 s 104 

     268.0125 Annual report to legislature. 

    The commissioner shall provide to the legislature no later 
 than January 15 of each year a report of department programs and 
 services.  The report must include: 

    (1) a description of the department's programs and 
 services; 

    (2) the number of clients served by each program or 
 service; 

    (3) an evaluation of each program or service; and 

    (4) recommendations for changes or improvements to the 
 programs or services. 

    HIST: 1996 c 339 s 5 

  268.013 Repealed, 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 78 subd 1 

     268.014 Cooperation with other state agencies. 

    To effectively coordinate job training and placement 
 services with future job needs of the state the commissioner 
 shall maintain close liaison, coordination and cooperation with 
 the commissioner of trade and economic development and any other 
 state agency involved in employment issues affecting the state. 

    HIST: 1977 c 430 s 13; 1981 c 356 s 186; 1983 c 289 s 115 subd 
 1; 1987 c 312 art 1 s 26 subd 2 

  268.02 Repealed, 1965 c 45 s 73 

     268.021 Rules. 

    The commissioner of the department of economic security is 
 authorized to adopt rules in accordance with chapter 14, with 
 respect to programs the commissioner administers under this 
 chapter and other programs for which the commissioner is 
 responsible under federal or state law.  

    HIST: 1983 c 268 s 1; 1984 c 640 s 32; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 
 75; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1995 c 233 art 2 s 56 

     268.022 Workforce investment fund. 

    Subdivision 1.    Determination and collection of special 
 assessment.  (a) In addition to all other contributions, 
 assessments, and payment obligations under chapter 268, each 
 employer, except an employer making payments in lieu of 
 contributions is liable for a special assessment levied at the 
 rate of one-tenth of one percent per year on all taxable wages, 
 as defined in section 268.04, subdivision 25b.  The assessment 
 shall become due and be paid by each employer to the department 
 on the same schedule and in the same manner as other 
 contributions. 

    (b) The special assessment levied under this section shall 
 not affect the computation of any other contributions, 
 assessments, or payment obligations due under this chapter. 

    (c) Notwithstanding any provision to the contrary, if on 
 June 30 of any year the unobligated balance of the special 
 assessment fund under this section is greater than $30,000,000, 
 the special assessment for the following year only shall be 
 levied at a rate of 1/20th of one percent on all taxable wages. 

    Subd. 2.    Disbursement of special assessment funds.  
 (a) The money collected under this section shall be deposited in 
 the state treasury and credited to a dedicated fund to provide 
 for the employment and training programs established under 
 sections 268.975 to 268.98; including vocational guidance, 
 training, placement, and job development. 

    (b) All money in the dedicated fund is appropriated to the 
 commissioner who must act as the fiscal agent for the money and 
 must disburse the money for the purposes of this section, not 
 allowing the money to be used for any other obligation of the 
 state.  All money in the dedicated fund shall be deposited, 
 administered, and disbursed in the same manner and under the 
 same conditions and requirements as are provided by law for the 
 other dedicated funds in the state treasury, except that all 
 interest or net income resulting from the investment or deposit 
 of money in the fund shall accrue to the fund for the purposes 
 of the fund. 

    (c) No more than five percent of the dedicated funds 
 collected in each fiscal year may be used by the department of 
 economic security for its administrative costs. 

    (d) Reimbursement for costs related to collection of the 
 special assessment shall be in an amount negotiated between the 
 commissioner and the United States Department of Labor. 

    (e) The dedicated funds, less amounts under paragraphs (c) 
 and (d) shall be allocated as follows:  

    (1) 40 percent to be allocated annually to substate 
 grantees for provision of expeditious response activities under 
 section 268.9771 and worker adjustment services under section 
 268.9781; and 

    (2) 60 percent to be allocated to activities and programs 
 authorized under sections 268.975 to 268.98. 

    (f) Any funds not allocated, obligated, or expended in a 
 fiscal year shall be available for allocation, obligation, and 
 expenditure in the following fiscal year. 

    HIST: 1990 c 568 art 6 s 1,4; 1990 c 612 s 17; 1991 c 292 art 
 3 s 33,41; 1993 c 369 s 78,79; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1997 c 66 s 2 

  268.025 Repealed, 1965 c 45 s 73 

  268.026 Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

     268.027 Department of economic security; Minneapolis 
  location; right of eminent domain. 

    Notwithstanding sections 16B.24 and 268.026 or chapter 94, 
 the commissioner of administration, in consultation with the 
 commissioner of economic security, is authorized to buy and sell 
 real property in Minneapolis and the greater Minneapolis area 
 for the purpose of relocating department offices to locations 
 more accessible to the residents of Minneapolis and colocating 
 with other social service agencies. 

    Property acquired under authority of this section may be 
 acquired by gift, purchase, or condemnation proceedings.  
 Condemnation proceedings must be done under chapter 117.  
 Condemnation proceedings authorized by this section may be used 
 to acquire property at only one proposed office site. 

    HIST: 1988 c 641 s 5; 1989 c 300 art 1 s 32; 1994 c 483 s 1 

     268.03 Declaration of public policy. 

    As a guide to the interpretation and application of 
 sections 268.03 to 268.30, the public policy of this state is 
 declared to be as follows:  Economic insecurity due to 
 unemployment is a serious menace to the health, morals, and 
 welfare of the people of this state.  Involuntary unemployment 
 is therefore a subject of general interest and concern which 
 requires appropriate action by the legislature to prevent its 
 spread and to lighten its burdens.  This can be provided by 
 encouraging employers to provide more stable employment and by 
 the systematic accumulation of funds during periods of 
 employment to provide benefits for periods of unemployment, thus 
 maintaining purchasing power and limiting the serious social 
 consequences of poor relief assistance.  The legislature, 
 therefore, declares that in its considered judgment the public 
 good and the general welfare of the citizens of this state will 
 be promoted by providing, under the police powers of the state 
 for the compulsory setting aside of unemployment reserves to be 
 used for the benefit of persons unemployed through no fault of 
 their own.  In recognition of its focus on returning the worker 
 to gainful employment, this program will be known in Minnesota 
 as "reemployment insurance." 

    HIST: (4337-21) Ex1936 c 2 s 1; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1; 1994 c 
 488 s 1; 1997 c 7 art 1 s 105 

     268.04 Definitions. 

    Subdivision 1.    Scope.  Unless the language or context 
 clearly indicates that a different meaning is intended, the 
 following words, terms and phrases, for the purposes of sections 
 268.03 to 268.23, shall be given the meanings subjoined to them. 

    Subd. 2.    Base period.  "Base period" means the first 
 four of the last five completed calendar quarters immediately 
 preceding the first day of a claimant's benefit year; except:  
 (a) if during the base period a claimant received workers' 
 compensation for temporary disability under chapter 176 or a 
 similar law of the United States, or if a claimant whose own 
 serious illness caused a loss of work for which the claimant 
 received compensation due to the illness from some other source 
 or under a law of this state other than chapter 176 or a similar 
 law of the United States, the claimant's base period shall be 
 lengthened to the extent stated as follows: 

    (1) if a claimant was compensated, as described above, for 
 a loss of work of seven to 13 weeks, the original base period 
 shall be extended to include one calendar quarter preceding the 
 original base period; or 

    (2) if a claimant was compensated, as described above, for 
 a loss of work of 14 to 26 weeks, the original base period shall 
 be extended to include two calendar quarters preceding the 
 original base period; or 

    (3) if a claimant was compensated, as described above, for 
 a loss of work of 27 to 39 weeks, the original base period shall 
 be extended to include the first three calendar quarters 
 preceding the original base period; or 

    (4) if a claimant was compensated, as described above, for 
 a loss of work of 40 to 52 weeks, the original base period shall 
 be extended to include the first four quarters preceding the 
 original base period; or 

    (b) if the commissioner finds that, during the base period 
 described above, the claimant subject to clause (a) has 
 insufficient wage credits to establish a reemployment insurance 
 account, the claimant may request a determination of a 
 reemployment insurance account using an alternate base period of 
 the last four completed calendar quarters preceding the first 
 day of a claimant's benefit year.  This alternate base period 
 may be used by a claimant only once during any five calendar 
 year period to establish a reemployment insurance account. 

    In no instance shall the base period be extended to include 
 more than four additional calendar quarters. 

    No base period, extended base period, or alternate base 
 period under paragraph (b) shall include wage credits upon which 
 a claim was established and benefits were paid with respect to 
 that reemployment insurance account. 

    Subd. 3.    Benefits.  "Benefits" means the money 
 payments payable to an individual, as provided in sections 
 268.03 to 268.23, with respect to the individual's unemployment. 

    Subd. 4.    Benefit year.  "Benefit year" with respect 
 to any claimant means the period of 52 calendar weeks beginning 
 with the first day of the first week with respect to which the 
 claimant establishes a reemployment insurance account.  For 
 claimants with a reemployment insurance account established 
 effective January 1, April 1, July 1, or October 1, the benefit 
 year will be a period of 53 weeks beginning with the first week 
 with respect to which the claimant establishes a reemployment 
 insurance account.  

    Subd. 5.    Calendar quarter.  "Calendar quarter" means 
 the period of three consecutive calendar months ending on March 
 31, June 30, September 30, or December 31. 

    Subd. 5a.    Claimant.  "Claimant" means an individual 
 who has made an application for a reemployment insurance account 
 and has established or is actively pursuing the establishment of 
 a reemployment insurance account. 

    Subd. 6.    Contributions.  "Contributions" means the 
 money payments required by sections 268.03 to 268.23 to be made 
 by any employing unit on account of having individuals in its 
 employ. 

    Subd. 7.    Corporation.  "Corporation" includes 
 associations, joint-stock companies, and insurance companies.  
 This definition shall not be exclusive. 

    Subd. 8. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 9.    Employing unit.  "Employing unit" means any 
 individual or type of organization, including any partnership, 
 limited liability company, association, trust, estate, 
 joint-stock company, insurance company, or corporation, whether 
 domestic or foreign, or the receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, 
 trustee or successor of any of the foregoing, or the legal 
 representative of a deceased person, which has or subsequent to 
 January 1, 1936, had in its employ one or more individuals 
 performing services for it.  All individuals performing services 
 within this state for any employing unit which maintains two or 
 more separate establishments within this state shall be deemed 
 to be employed by a single employing unit.  Each individual 
 employed to perform or assist in performing the work of any 
 agent or individual employed by an employing unit shall be 
 deemed to be employed by such employing unit whether such 
 individual was hired or paid directly by such employing unit or 
 by such agent or individual, provided the employing unit had 
 actual or constructive knowledge of such work.  Any private or 
 nonprofit organization or government agency providing or 
 authorizing the hiring of homeworkers, personal care attendants, 
 or other individuals performing similar services in the private 
 home of an individual is the employing unit of the homeworker, 
 attendant or similar worker whether the agency pays the employee 
 directly or provides funds to the recipient of the services to 
 pay for the services.  

    Subd. 10.    Employer.  "Employer" means:  (1) Any 
 employing unit which, after December 31, 1995, has one or more 
 individuals performing services in employment for which there 
 were wages paid, within either the current or preceding calendar 
 year, except as provided in clause (17); 

    (2) Any employing unit (whether or not an employing unit at 
 the time of acquisition) which acquired the organization, trade, 
 or business, or substantially all of the assets thereof, of 
 another employing unit which at the time of such acquisition was 
 an employer subject to this law; or which acquired a part of the 
 organization, trade, or business of another employing unit which 
 at the time of such acquisition was an employer subject to this 
 law; 

    (3) For purposes of clause (1), employment shall include 
 service which would constitute employment but for the fact that 
 such service is deemed to be performed entirely within another 
 state pursuant to an election under an arrangement entered into 
 (in accordance with section 268.13, subdivision 1) by the 
 commissioner and an agency charged with the administration of 
 any other state or federal unemployment compensation law; 

    (4) Any employing unit which acquired the organization, 
 trade, or business, or substantially all the assets thereof, of 
 another employing unit, and which, if treated as a single unit 
 with such other employing unit, would be an employer under 
 clause (1); 

    (5) Any employing unit which, together with one or more 
 other employing units, is owned or controlled (by legally 
 enforceable means or otherwise) directly or indirectly by the 
 same interests, or which owns or controls one or more other 
 employing units (by legally enforceable means or otherwise) and 
 which, if treated as a single unit with such other employing 
 units or interests or both, would be an employer under clause 
 (1), except as provided in clause (17); 

    (6) Any joint venture composed of one or more employers as 
 otherwise defined herein; 

    (7) Any nonresident employing unit which employs within 
 this state one or more employees for one or more weeks; 

    (8) Any employing unit for which service in employment, as 
 defined in subdivision 12, clause (9), is performed; 

    (9) Any employing unit which, having become an employer 
 under the preceding clauses or clause (14), (15), or (16), has 
 not, under section 268.042, ceased to be an employer subject to 
 these sections; 

    (10) For the effective period of its election pursuant to 
 section 268.042, subdivision 3, any other employing unit which 
 has elected to become subject to sections 268.03 to 268.23; 

    (11) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of 
 sections 268.03 to 268.23, any employing unit not an employer by 
 reason of any other clause of this subdivision for which service 
 is performed with respect to which such employing unit is liable 
 for any federal tax against which credit may be taken for 
 contributions required to be paid into a state unemployment 
 compensation fund or which, as a condition for the approval of 
 this law for full tax credit against the tax imposed by the 
 federal unemployment tax act, is required pursuant to such act, 
 to be an "employer" under the law; 

    (12) Except as provided in clause (11), and notwithstanding 
 any other provisions of sections 268.03 to 268.23, no employing 
 unit shall be initially determined a subject employer on the 
 basis of covered employment performed more than four years prior 
 to the year in which such determination is made, unless the 
 commissioner finds that the records of such employment 
 experience were fraudulently concealed or withheld for the 
 purpose of escaping liability under said sections; 

    (13) Any employing unit for which service in employment, as 
 defined in subdivision 12, clause (7), is performed; 

    (14) Any employing unit for which service in employment as 
 defined in subdivision 12, clause (8), is performed; 

    (15) Any employing unit for which agricultural labor as 
 defined in subdivision 12, clause (13), is performed; 

    (16) Any employing unit for which domestic service in 
 employment as defined in subdivision 12, clause (14), is 
 performed; 

    (17) (a) In determining whether or not an employing unit 
 for which domestic service and other than domestic service is 
 performed is an employer under clause (1) or (5), the wages 
 earned or the employment of an employee performing domestic 
 service shall not be taken into account. 

    (b) In determining whether or not an employing unit for 
 which agricultural labor and other than agricultural labor is 
 performed is an employer under clause (1), (8) or (16), the 
 wages earned or the employment of an employee performing service 
 in agricultural labor after December 31, 1977, shall not be 
 taken into account.  If an employing unit is an employer of 
 agricultural labor the determination of whether it is an 
 "employer" shall be governed by clause (1). 

    Subd. 11.    Employee.  "Employee" means every 
 individual, whether male, female, citizen, alien, or minor, who 
 is performing, or subsequent to January 1, 1936, has performed 
 services in insured work. 

    Subd. 12.    Employment.  "Employment" means: 

    (1) Any service performed, including service in interstate 
 commerce, by; 

    (a) any officer of any corporation; 

    (b) any member of a limited liability company who is a 
 servant under the law of master and servant; 

    (c) any individual who performs services for remuneration 
 for any person as an agent-driver or commission-driver engaged 
 in distributing meat products, vegetable products, fruit 
 products, bakery products, beverages, or laundry or dry cleaning 
 services, for a principal, or as a traveling or city 
 salesperson, other than as an agent-driver or commission-driver, 
 engaged upon a full-time basis in the solicitation on behalf of, 
 and the transmission to, a principal (except for sideline sales 
 activities on behalf of some other person) of orders from 
 wholesalers, retailers, contractors, or operators of hotels, 
 restaurants, or other similar establishments for merchandise for 
 resale or supplies for use in their business operations; or 

    (d) any individual who is a servant under the law of master 
 and servant or who performs services for any employing unit, 
 unless such services are performed by an independent contractor. 

    Provided, that for purposes of clause (1)(c), the term 
 "employment" shall include services described above only if the 
 contract of service contemplates that substantially all of the 
 services are to be performed personally by such individual, the 
 individual does not have a substantial investment in facilities 
 used in connection with the performance of the services (other 
 than in facilities for transportation), and the services are not 
 in the nature of a single transaction that is not part of a 
 continuing relationship with the person for whom the services 
 are performed. 

    (2) The term "employment" shall include an individual's 
 entire service, performed within or both within and without this 
 state if (a) the service is localized in this state; or (b) the 
 service is not localized in any state but some of the service is 
 performed in this state and (1) the base of operations, or, if 
 there is no base of operations, then the place from which such 
 service is directed or controlled, is in this state; or (2) the 
 base of operations or place from which such service is directed 
 or controlled is not in any state in which some part of the 
 service is performed, but the individual's residence is in this 
 state. 

    (3) Service shall be deemed to be localized within a state 
 if (a) the service is performed entirely within such state; or 
 (b) the service is performed both within and without such state, 
 but the service performed without such state is incidental to 
 the individual's service within the state, for example, is 
 temporary or transitory in nature or consists of isolated 
 transactions. 

    (4) The term "employment" shall include an individual's 
 service wherever performed within the United States or Canada, 
 if 

    (a) such service is not covered under the unemployment 
 compensation law of any other state or Canada; and 

    (b) the place from which the service is directed or 
 controlled is in this state. 

    (5)(a) Service covered by an election pursuant to section 
 268.042, subdivision 3; and 

    (b) service covered by an arrangement pursuant to section 
 268.13 between the commissioner and the agency charged with the 
 administration of any other state or federal employment security 
 law, pursuant to which all service performed by an individual 
 for an employing unit is deemed to be performed entirely within 
 this state, shall be deemed to be employment if the commissioner 
 has approved an election of the employing unit for which such 
 service is performed, pursuant to which the entire service of 
 such individual during the period covered by such election is 
 deemed to be employment. 

    (6) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions of sections 
 268.03 to 268.23, the term "employment" shall include any 
 services which are performed by an individual with respect to 
 which an employing unit is liable for any federal tax against 
 which credit may be taken for contributions required to be paid 
 into a state reemployment insurance fund or which as a condition 
 for full tax credit against the tax imposed by the Federal 
 Unemployment Tax Act is required to be covered under this law. 

    (7) Service performed by an individual in the employ of the 
 state of Minnesota or any instrumentality which is wholly owned 
 by the state of Minnesota or in the employ of this state and one 
 or more other states or an instrumentality of this state and one 
 or more of its political subdivisions or an instrumentality of 
 this state and another state or an instrumentality of this state 
 and one or more political subdivisions of another state if such 
 service is excluded from "employment" as defined by section 
 3306(c)(7) of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act and is not 
 excluded from "employment" under clause (10). 

    (8) Service performed by an individual in the employ of any 
 political subdivision of the state of Minnesota or 
 instrumentality thereof or an instrumentality of two or more 
 political subdivisions of this state or any instrumentality of a 
 political subdivision of this state and another state or 
 political subdivisions of another state if such service is 
 excluded from "employment" as defined by section 3306(c)(7) of 
 the Federal Unemployment Tax Act and is not excluded from 
 "employment" under clause (10). 

    (9) Service performed by an individual in the employ of a 
 religious, charitable, educational or other organization but 
 only if the following conditions are met: 

    (a) the service is excluded from "employment" as defined in 
 the Federal Unemployment Tax Act solely by reason of section 
 3306(c)(8) of that act; and 

    (b) the organization had one or more individuals in 
 employment for some portion of a day in each of 20 different 
 weeks, whether or not such weeks were consecutive, within either 
 the current or preceding calendar year, regardless of whether 
 they were employed at the same moment of time. 

    (10) For the purposes of clauses (7), (8), and (9), the 
 term "employment" does not apply to service performed: 

    (a) in the employ of a church or convention or association 
 of churches, or an organization which is operated primarily for 
 religious purposes and which is operated, supervised, 
 controlled, or principally supported by a church or convention 
 or association of churches; or 

    (b) by a duly ordained, commissioned, or licensed minister 
 of a church in the exercise of a ministry or by a member of a 
 religious order in the exercise of duties required by such 
 order; or 

    (c) in a facility conducted for the purpose of carrying out 
 a program of rehabilitation for individuals whose earning 
 capacity is impaired by age or physical or mental deficiency or 
 injury or a program providing remunerative work for individuals 
 who because of an impaired physical or mental capacity cannot be 
 readily absorbed in the competitive labor market, by an 
 individual receiving the rehabilitation or remunerative work.  
 This exclusion applies only to services performed in a facility 
 which is certified by the Minnesota department of economic 
 security, division of rehabilitative services or in day training 
 and habilitation programs licensed by the department of human 
 services, and is limited to the effective period of the 
 certificate or license; or 

    (d) as part of an unemployment work relief or work training 
 program assisted or financed in whole or in part by any federal 
 agency or an agency of a state or political subdivision thereof, 
 by an individual receiving such work relief or work training.  
 This exclusion shall not apply to programs that provide for and 
 require unemployment insurance coverage for the participants; or 

    (e) by an inmate of a custodial or penal institution; or 

    (f) in the employ of governmental entities referred to in 
 clauses (7) and (8) if such service is performed by an 
 individual in the exercise of duties: 

    (i) as an elected official, 

    (ii) as a member of a legislative body, or a member of the 
 judiciary, 

    (iii) as a member of the Minnesota national guard or air 
 national guard, 

    (iv) as an employee serving only on a temporary basis in 
 case of fire, storm, snow, earthquake, flood or similar 
 emergency, 

    (v)(a) in a position with the state of Minnesota which is a 
 major nontenured policy making or advisory position in the 
 unclassified service, or 

    (b) a policy making position with the state of Minnesota or 
 a political subdivision the performance of the duties of which 
 ordinarily does not require more than eight hours per week; or 

    (c) in a position with a political subdivision which is a 
 major nontenured policy making or advisory position. 

    (11) The term "employment" shall include the service of an 
 individual who is a citizen of the United States, performed 
 outside the United States, except in Canada, in the employ of an 
 American employer (other than service which is deemed 
 "employment" under the provisions of clause (2), (3), or (4) or 
 the parallel provisions of another state's law) if: 

    (a) The employer's principal place of business in the 
 United States is located in this state; or 

    (b) The employer has no place of business in the United 
 States, but the employer is an individual who is a resident of 
 this state, or the employer is a corporation which is organized 
 under the laws of this state, or the employer is a partnership 
 or a trust and the number of partners or trustees who are 
 residents of this state is greater than the number who are 
 residents of any one other state; or 

    (c) None of the criteria of clauses (a) and (b) is met but 
 the employer has elected coverage in this state, or the employer 
 having failed to elect coverage in any state, the individual has 
 filed a claim for benefits, based on such service, under the law 
 of this state. 

    (d) An "American employer," for the purposes of this 
 subdivision, means a person who is an individual who is a 
 resident of the United States, or a partnership if two-thirds or 
 more of the partners are residents of the United States, or a 
 trust, if all of the trustees are residents of the United 
 States, or a corporation organized under the laws of the United 
 States or of any state; 

    (e) As used in this subdivision, the term "United States" 
 includes the states, the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth 
 of Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. 

    (12) Notwithstanding clause (2), all service performed by 
 an officer or member of the crew of an American vessel on or in 
 connection with such vessel, if the operating office, from which 
 the operations of such vessel operating on navigable waters 
 within, or within and without, the United States are ordinarily 
 and regularly supervised, managed, directed, and controlled is 
 within this state. 

    (13) Service performed by an individual in agricultural 
 labor as defined in clause (15)(a) when: 

    (a) Such service is performed for a person who: 

    (i) during any calendar quarter in either the current or 
 the preceding calendar year paid wages of $20,000 or more to 
 individuals employed in agricultural labor, or 

    (ii) for some portion of a day in each of 20 different 
 calendar weeks, whether or not such weeks were consecutive, in 
 either the current or preceding calendar year employed in 
 agricultural labor four or more individuals regardless of 
 whether they were employed at the same time. 

    (b) For the purpose of this clause (13) any individual who 
 is a member of a crew furnished by a crew leader to perform 
 service in agricultural labor for any other person shall be 
 treated as an employee of the crew leader: 

    (i) if the crew leader holds a valid certificate of 
 registration under the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker 
 Protection Act; or substantially all of the members of the crew 
 operate or maintain tractors, mechanized harvesting or crop 
 dusting equipment, or any other mechanized equipment, which is 
 provided by the crew leader; and 

    (ii) if the individual is not an employee of another person 
 as determined by clause (1). 

    (c) For the purpose of this clause (13) in the case of any 
 individual who is furnished by a crew leader to perform service 
 in agricultural labor for any other person and who is not 
 treated as an employee of the crew leader under subclause 
 (13)(b): 

    (i) such other person and not the crew leader shall be 
 treated as the employer of such individual; and 

    (ii) such other person shall be treated as having paid 
 wages to such individual in an amount equal to the amount of 
 wages paid to such individual by the crew leader (either on the 
 crew leader's behalf or on behalf of such other person) for the 
 service in agricultural labor performed for such other person. 

    (d) For the purposes of this clause (13) the term "crew 
 leader" means an individual who: 

    (i) furnishes individuals to perform service in 
 agricultural labor for any other person, 

    (ii) pays (either on the crew leader's own behalf or on 
 behalf of such other person) the individuals so furnished by the 
 crew leader for the service in agricultural labor performed by 
 them, and 

    (iii) has not entered into a written agreement with such 
 other person under which such furnished individual is designated 
 as an employee of such other person. 

    (e) For the purposes of this clause (13) services performed 
 by an officer or shareholder of a family farm corporation shall 
 be excluded from agricultural labor and employment unless said 
 corporation is an employer as defined in section 3306(a)(2) of 
 the Federal Unemployment Tax Act. 

    (f) For the purposes of this clause (13), services 
 performed by an individual 16 years of age or under shall be 
 excluded from agricultural labor and employment unless the 
 employer is an employer as defined in section 3306(a)(2) of the 
 Federal Unemployment Tax Act. 

    (14) Domestic service in a private home, local college 
 club, or local chapter of a college fraternity or sorority 
 performed for a person who paid wages of $1,000 or more in any 
 calendar quarter in either the current or preceding calendar 
 year to individuals employed in domestic service. 

    "Domestic service" includes all service for an individual 
 in the operation and maintenance of a private household, for a 
 local college club, or local chapter of a college fraternity or 
 sorority as distinguished from service as an employee in the 
 pursuit of an employer's trade, occupation, profession, 
 enterprise, or vocation. 

    (15) The term "employment" shall not include: 

    (a) Agricultural labor.  Service performed by an individual 
 in agricultural labor, except as provided in clause (13).  The 
 term "agricultural labor" includes all services performed: 

    (1) On a farm, in the employ of any person or family farm 
 corporation, in connection with cultivating the soil, or in 
 connection with raising or harvesting any agricultural or 
 horticultural commodity, including the raising, shearing, 
 feeding, caring for, training, and management of livestock, 
 bees, poultry, fur-bearing animals and wildlife; 

    (2) In the employ of the owner or tenant or other operator 
 of a farm, in connection with the operation, management, 
 conservation, improvement, or maintenance of such farm and its 
 tools and equipment, or in salvaging timber or clearing land of 
 brush and other debris left by a tornadic-like storm, if the 
 major part of such service is performed on a farm; 

    (3) In connection with the production or harvesting of any 
 commodity defined as an agricultural commodity in section 15(g) 
 of the Agricultural Marketing Act, as amended (46 Statutes 1550, 
 section 3; United States Code, title 12, section 1141j) or in 
 connection with the ginning of cotton, or in connection with the 
 operation or maintenance of ditches, canals, reservoirs, or 
 waterways, not owned or operated for profit, used exclusively 
 for supplying and storing water for farming purposes; 

    (4) In the employ of the operator of a farm in handling, 
 planting, drying, packing, packaging, processing, freezing, 
 grading, storing, or delivering to storage or to market or to a 
 carrier for transportation to market, in its unmanufactured 
 state, any agricultural or horticultural commodity; but only if 
 such operator produced more than one-half of the commodity with 
 respect to which such service is performed, or in the employ of 
 a group of operators of farms (or a cooperative organization of 
 which such operators are members) in the performance of service 
 described herein, but only if such operators produced more than 
 one-half of the commodity with respect to which such service is 
 performed; however, the provisions of this paragraph shall not 
 be deemed to be applicable with respect to service performed in 
 connection with commercial canning or commercial freezing or in 
 connection with any agricultural or horticultural commodity 
 after its delivery to a terminal market for distribution for 
 consumption; or 

    (5) On a farm operated for profit if such service is not in 
 the course of the employer's trade or business. 

    As used herein, the term "farm" includes stock, dairy, 
 poultry, fruit, fur-bearing animal, and truck farms, 
 plantations, ranches, nurseries, ranges, greenhouses or other 
 similar structures used primarily for the raising of 
 agricultural or horticultural commodities, and orchards. 

    (b) Casual labor not in the course of the employing unit's 
 trade or business; 

    (c) Service performed on the navigable waters of the United 
 States as to which this state is prohibited by the constitution 
 and laws of the United States of America from requiring 
 contributions of employers with respect to wages as provided in 
 sections 268.03 to 268.23; 

    (d) Service performed by an individual in the employ of a 
 son, daughter, or spouse, and service performed by a child under 
 the age of 18 in the employ of the child's father or mother; 

    (e) Service performed in the employ of the United States 
 government, or any instrumentality of the United States exempt 
 under the Constitution of the United States from the 
 contributions imposed by sections 268.03 to 268.23, except that 
 with respect to such service and to the extent that the Congress 
 of the United States shall permit states to require any 
 instrumentalities of the United States to make payments into a 
 reemployment insurance fund under a state reemployment insurance 
 act; then, to the extent permitted by Congress, and from and 
 after the date as of which such permission becomes effective, 
 all of the provisions of these sections shall be applicable to 
 such instrumentalities and to services performed for such 
 instrumentalities in the same manner, to the same extent, and on 
 the same terms as to all other employers, employing units, 
 individuals, and services; provided, that if this state shall 
 not be certified for any year by the United States Department of 
 Labor under section 3304(c) of the federal Internal Revenue 
 Code, the payments required of such instrumentalities with 
 respect to such year shall be refunded by the commissioner from 
 the fund in the same manner and within the same period as is 
 provided in section 268.057, subdivision 7, with respect to 
 contributions erroneously collected; 

    (f) Service with respect to which reemployment insurance is 
 payable under an unemployment compensation system established by 
 an act of Congress; 

    (g)(1) Service performed in any calendar quarter in the 
 employ of any organization exempt from income tax under section 
 501(a) (other than an organization described in section 401(a)) 
 or section 521 of the federal Internal Revenue Code, if the 
 remuneration for such service is less than $50; or 

    (2) Service performed in the employ of a school, college, 
 or university, if such service is performed by a student who is 
 enrolled and is regularly attending classes at such school, 
 college, or university; or 

    (3) Service performed by an individual who is enrolled at a 
 nonprofit or public educational institution which normally 
 maintains a regular faculty and curriculum and normally has a 
 regularly organized body of students in attendance at the place 
 where its educational activities are carried on as a student in 
 a full-time program, taken for credit at such institution, which 
 combines academic instruction with work experience, if such 
 service is an integral part of such program, and such 
 institution has so certified to the employer, except that this 
 paragraph shall not apply to service performed in a program 
 established for or on behalf of an employer or group of 
 employers; 

    (h) Service performed in the employ of a foreign government 
 (including service as a consular or other officer or employee or 
 a nondiplomatic representative); 

    (i) Service performed in the employ of an instrumentality 
 wholly owned by a foreign government, if 

    (1) The service is of a character similar to that performed 
 in foreign countries by employees of the United States 
 government or of an instrumentality thereof; and 

    (2) The commissioner finds that the United States Secretary 
 of State has certified to the United States Secretary of the 
 Treasury that the foreign government, with respect to whose 
 instrumentality exemption is claimed, grants an equivalent 
 exemption with respect to similar service performed in the 
 foreign country by employees of the United States government and 
 of instrumentalities thereof. 

    (j) Service covered by an arrangement between the 
 commissioner and the agency charged with the administration of 
 any other state or federal employment security law pursuant to 
 which all services performed by an individual for an employing 
 unit during the period covered by such employing unit's duly 
 approved election, are deemed to be performed entirely within 
 such agency's state; 

    (k) Service performed in the employ of a hospital, if such 
 service is performed by a patient of the hospital, as defined in 
 clause (17); 

    (l) Service performed as a student nurse in the employ of a 
 hospital or a nurses' training school by an individual who is 
 enrolled and is regularly attending classes in a nurses' 
 training school chartered and approved pursuant to state law; 
 and service performed as an intern in the employ of a hospital 
 by an individual who has completed a four years' course in a 
 medical school chartered and approved pursuant to state law; 

    (m) Service performed by an individual other than a 
 corporate officer, for a person as an insurance agent or as an 
 insurance solicitor, if all such service performed by such 
 individual for such person is performed for remuneration solely 
 by way of commission (the word "insurance" as used in this 
 subdivision shall include an annuity and an optional annuity); 

    (n) Service performed by an individual under the age of 18 
 in the delivery or distribution of newspapers or shopping news, 
 not including delivery or distribution to any point for 
 subsequent delivery or distribution; 

    (o) Service performed by an individual other than a 
 corporate officer, for a person as a real estate salesperson, if 
 all such service performed by such individual for such person is 
 performed for remuneration solely by way of commission; 

    (p) If the service performed during one-half or more of any 
 pay period by an individual for the person employing the 
 individual constitutes employment, all the service of such 
 individual for such period shall be deemed to be employment; but 
 if the service performed during more than one-half of any such 
 pay period by an individual for the person employing the 
 individual does not constitute employment, then none of the 
 service of such individual for such period shall be deemed to be 
 employment.  As used in this subdivision, the term "pay period" 
 means a period of not more than a calendar month for which a 
 payment or remuneration is ordinarily made to the individual by 
 the person employing the individual. 

    (q) Services performed for a state, other than the state of 
 Minnesota, or an instrumentality wholly owned by such other 
 state or political subdivision of such other state; 

    (r) Services performed as a direct seller as defined in 
 United States Code, title 26, section 3508; 

    (s) Notwithstanding clauses (1)(a) and (15)(m), services 
 performed as an officer of a township mutual insurance company 
 or farmer's mutual insurance company operating pursuant to 
 chapter 67A.  

    (16) "Institution of higher education," for the purposes of 
 this chapter, means an educational institution which: 

    (a) Admits as regular students only individuals having a 
 certificate of graduation from a high school, or the recognized 
 equivalent of such a certificate; 

    (b) Is legally authorized in this state to provide a 
 program of education beyond high school; 

    (c) Provides an educational program for which it awards a 
 bachelor's or higher degree, or provides a program which is 
 acceptable for credit toward such a degree, a program of 
 postgraduate or postdoctoral studies, or a program of training 
 to prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized 
 occupation; and 

    (d) Is a public or other nonprofit institution. 

    (e) Notwithstanding any of the foregoing provisions of this 
 clause, all colleges and universities in this state are 
 institutions of higher education for purposes of this section. 

    (17) "Hospital" means an institution which has been 
 licensed, certified or approved by the department of health as a 
 hospital. 

    Subd. 12a.    Independent contractor/construction.  A 
 worker doing commercial or residential building construction or 
 improvement, in the public or private sector, performing 
 services in the course of the trade, business, profession, or 
 occupation of the employing unit, shall be considered an 
 employee under the law of master and servant and not an 
 "independent contractor" under subdivision 12, clause (1)(d) 
 unless the worker meets all the following conditions: 

    (1) maintains a separate business with the independent 
 contractor's own office, equipment, materials, and other 
 facilities; 

    (2) holds or has applied for a federal employer 
 identification number; 

    (3) operates under contracts to perform specific services 
 or work for specific amounts of money under which the 
 independent contractor controls the means of performing the 
 services or work; 

    (4) incurs the main expenses related to the service or work 
 that the independent contractor performs under contract; 

    (5) is responsible for the satisfactory completion of work 
 or services that the independent contractor contracts to perform 
 and is liable for a failure to complete the work or service; 

    (6) receives compensation for work or service performed 
 under a contract on a commission or per job or competitive bid 
 basis and not on any other basis; 

    (7) may realize a profit or suffer a loss under contracts 
 to perform work or service; 

    (8) has continuing or recurring business liabilities or 
 obligations; and 

    (9) the success or failure of the independent contractor's 
 business depends on the relationship of business receipts to 
 expenditures. 

    Subd. 13. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 14. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 15.    Filing; filed.  "Filing" or "filed" means 
 the delivery of any document to the commissioner or any of the 
 commissioner's agents, or the depositing of the document in the 
 United States mail properly addressed to the department with 
 postage prepaid, in which case the document shall be considered 
 filed on the day indicated by the cancellation mark of the 
 United States Postal Service. 

    If, where allowed, an application, protest, appeal, or 
 other required action is made by telephone or electronic 
 transmission, it shall be considered filed on the day received 
 by the department. 

    Subd. 16.    Fund.  "Fund" means the reemployment 
 insurance fund established by sections 268.03 to 268.23. 

    Subd. 17.    Insured work.  "Insured work" means 
 employment for employers as defined in this section, except that 
 for the purposes of satisfying of disqualifications, the term 
 "insured work" shall include insured work under a similar law of 
 any other state or employment covered under the Railroad 
 Unemployment Compensation Act, and United States Code, title 5, 
 chapter 85.  Periods for which an individual receives back pay 
 are periods of insured work for benefit purposes, except for the 
 satisfying of disqualifications.  

    Subd. 18. Repealed, 1996 c 417 s 32 

    Subd. 19.    Person.  "Person" means an individual, 
 trust or estate, a partnership or a corporation. 

    Subd. 20. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 21. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 22.    State.  "State" includes, in addition to 
 the states of the United States of America, Puerto Rico, the 
 District of Columbia and the Virgin Islands. 

    Subd. 22a.    State's average annual and average weekly 
 wage.  (a) On or before June 30 of each year, the commissioner 
 shall calculate the state's average annual wage and the state's 
 average weekly wage in the following manner: 

    (1) The sum of the total monthly employment reported by all 
 employers subject to this law for the previous calendar year 
 shall be divided by 12 to calculate the average monthly 
 employment. 

    (2) The sum of the total wages reported by all employers 
 subject to this law for the previous calendar year shall be 
 divided by the average monthly employment to calculate the 
 state's average annual wage. 

    (3) The state's average annual wage shall be divided by 52 
 to calculate the state's average weekly wage. 

    (b) For purposes of contributions under section 268.06, 
 subdivision 1, the state's average annual wage shall apply to 
 the calendar year succeeding the calculation. 

    (c) For purposes of calculating the maximum weekly benefit 
 amount payable on any reemployment insurance account under 
 section 268.07, subdivision 2, paragraph (c), the state's 
 average weekly wage shall apply to the 12-month period beginning 
 July 1 of the calendar year of the calculation. 

    Subd. 23.    Unemployment.  An individual shall be 
 deemed "unemployed" in any week during which the individual 
 performs no service and with respect to which no wages are 
 payable to the individual, or in any week of less than full-time 
 work if the wages payable with respect to such week are less 
 than the individual's weekly benefit amount.  Any individual 
 unemployed as a result of a uniform vacation shutdown shall not 
 be deemed to be voluntarily unemployed.  The commissioner may, 
 prescribe rules relating to the payment of benefits to such 
 unemployed individuals. 

    Subd. 24. Repealed, 1996 c 417 s 32 

    Subd. 25.    Wages.  "Wages" means all remuneration for 
 services, including commissions; bonuses; back pay as of the 
 date of payment; tips and gratuities paid to an employee by a 
 customer of an employer and accounted for by the employee to the 
 employer; sickness and accident disability payments, except as 
 otherwise provided in this subdivision; and the cash value of 
 all remuneration in any medium other than cash, except that the 
 term shall not include: 

    (a) The amount of any payment made to, or on behalf of, an 
 employee under a plan or system established by an employer that 
 makes provision for employees generally or for a class or 
 classes of employees (including any amount paid by an employer 
 for insurance or annuities, or into a fund, to provide for a 
 payment), on account of (1) retirement or (2) medical and 
 hospitalization expenses in connection with sickness or accident 
 disability, or (3) death, provided the employee has not the 
 option to receive, instead of provision for a death benefit, any 
 part of the payment, or if the death benefit is insured, any 
 part of the insurance premium paid by the employer and has no 
 right, under the provisions of the plan or system or policy of 
 insurance to assign the benefit, or to receive cash in lieu of a 
 benefit either upon withdrawal from the plan or system or upon 
 termination of the plan or system or policy of insurance or of 
 employment with the employer; 

    (b) The payment by an employer (without deduction from the 
 remuneration of the employee) (1) of the tax imposed upon an 
 employee under section 3101 of the federal Internal Revenue 
 Code, or (2) of any payment required from an employee under a 
 state reemployment insurance law, with respect to remuneration 
 paid to an employee for domestic service in a private home of 
 the employer or for agricultural labor; 

    (c) Any payments made to a former employee during the 
 period of active military service in the armed forces of the 
 United States by the employer, whether legally required or not; 

    (d) Any payment made to, or on behalf of, an employee or 
 beneficiary (1) from or to a trust described in section 401(a) 
 of the federal Internal Revenue Code that is exempt from tax 
 under section 501(a) of the code at the time of the payment 
 unless the payment is made to an employee of the trust as 
 remuneration for services rendered as an employee and not as a 
 beneficiary of the trust, or (2) under or to an annuity plan 
 that, at the time of the payment is a plan described in section 
 403(a) of the federal Internal Revenue Code; 

    (e) Sickness or accident disability payments made by the 
 employer after the expiration of six calendar months following 
 the last calendar month in which the individual worked for the 
 employer; 

    (f) Disability payments made under the provisions of any 
 workers' compensation law; 

    (g) Sickness or accident disability payments made by a 
 third party payer such as an insurance company; 

    (h) Payments made into a fund, or for the purchase of 
 insurance or an annuity, to provide for sickness or accident 
 disability payments to employees pursuant to a plan or system 
 established by the employer that provides for the employer's 
 employees generally or for a class or classes of employees; 

    (i) Nothing in this subdivision shall exclude from the term 
 "wages" any payment made under any type of salary reduction 
 agreement, including payments made under a cash or deferred 
 arrangement and cafeteria plan, as defined in sections 401(k) 
 and 125, respectively, of the federal Internal Revenue Code, to 
 the extent that the employee has the option to receive the 
 payment in cash. 

    Subd. 25a.    Wages paid.  "Wages paid" means the amount 
 of wages which have been actually paid or which have been 
 credited to or set apart for the employee so that payment and 
 disposition is under the control of the employee.  Wage payments 
 delayed beyond their regularly scheduled pay date are considered 
 "actually paid" on the missed pay date.  Any wages earned but 
 not paid with no scheduled date of payment shall be considered 
 "actually paid" on the last day services are performed in 
 employment before separation. 

    Wages paid shall not include wages earned but not paid 
 except as provided for in this subdivision. 

    Subd. 25b.    Taxable wages.  (a) "Taxable wages" means 
 those wages paid to an employee each calendar year up to an 
 amount equal to 60 percent of the state's average annual wage, 
 rounded to the nearest $100. 

    (b) Taxable wages includes the amount of wages paid by the 
 employer's predecessor in this state or under the reemployment 
 insurance law of any other state.  Any credit given for amounts 
 reported under the reemployment insurance law of another state 
 shall be limited to that state's taxable wage base. 

    Subd. 26.    Wage credits.  "Wage credits" mean the 
 amount of wages paid within the base period for insured work. 

    Subd. 27.    Week.  "Week" means calendar week, ending 
 at midnight Saturday, or the equivalent thereof, as determined 
 in accordance with rules prescribed by the commissioner. 

    Subd. 28.    Weekly benefit amount.  "Weekly benefit 
 amount" with respect to any particular week of total 
 unemployment means the amount of benefits computed in accordance 
 with the provisions of section 268.07, which an individual would 
 be entitled to receive for such week, if totally unemployed and 
 eligible. 

    Subd. 29. Repealed, 1987 c 362 s 27 

    Subd. 30. Repealed, 1987 c 362 s 27 

    Subd. 31.    Family farm corporation.  "Family farm 
 corporation" has the meaning given to it in section 500.24, 
 subdivision 2. 

    Subd. 32. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 33.    Back pay.  "Back pay" means a retroactive 
 payment of money by an employer to an employee or former 
 employee for lost wages because of the employer's noncompliance 
 with a state or federal law or a collective bargaining agreement 
 as determined in an arbitration award, administrative or 
 judicial decision, or negotiated settlement.  The period to 
 which the payment shall be applied shall commence immediately 
 following the last day of work or as specified in the 
 arbitration award, administrative or judicial decision, or 
 negotiated settlement.  

    Subd. 34.    Contribution report.  "Contribution report" 
 means the summary report of wages paid and employment used to 
 determine the amount of contributions due by employers on a 
 calendar quarter basis.  An auxiliary report broken down by 
 business locations, when required by the commissioner, is part 
 of the contribution report.  The auxiliary report shall contain 
 the number of employees for each month, and the quarterly total 
 wages, excess wages, taxable wages, and tax for each location. 

    Subd. 35. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 36.    High quarter.  "High quarter" means the 
 calendar quarter in an individual's base period for which the 
 individual's total wage credits during that quarter are equal to 
 or greater than the individual's total wage credits during any 
 other calendar quarter in the individual's base period. 

    HIST: (4337-22) Ex1936 c 2 s 2; 1937 c 43 s 1; 1937 c 306; 
 1939 c 443 s 1; 1941 c 554 s 1; 1943 c 650 s 1; 1945 c 376 s 1; 
 1947 c 432 s 1,2; 1947 c 574 s 1; 1949 c 605 s 1; 1951 c 442 s 
 1; 1953 c 97 s 1,2; 1953 c 603 s 1; 1955 c 380 s 1; 1957 c 467 s 
 1; 1957 c 873 s 1; 1957 c 883 s 1; 1959 c 595 s 1,2; 1959 c 702 
 s 1; 1963 c 562 s 1; 1963 c 588 s 1; 1965 c 45 s 39; 1965 c 741 
 s 1-5; 1967 c 439 s 1,2; 1967 c 573 s 1,2; 1969 c 567 s 3; 1969 
 c 585 s 1; 1969 c 854 s 1-5; 1969 c 1129 art 10 s 2; 1971 c 942 
 s 1,2; 1973 c 65 s 1; 1973 c 123 art 5 s 7; 1973 c 254 s 3; 1973 
 c 431 s 1; 1973 c 599 s 1; 1973 c 725 s 51; 1975 c 143 s 1; 1975 
 c 336 s 1-5; 1976 c 2 s 90; 1976 c 43 s 1,2; 1977 c 4 s 1-3; 
 1977 c 297 s 1-5; 1977 c 430 s 24; 1978 c 688 s 1; 1978 c 722 s 
 3; 1979 c 181 s 1-3; 1979 c 212 s 1; 1980 c 508 s 1; 1Sp1982 c 1 
 s 1-3; 1983 c 216 art 1 s 87; 1983 c 372 s 1-7; 1984 c 654 art 5 
 s 58; 1984 c 655 art 1 s 44; 1985 c 248 s 43,70; 1Sp1985 c 14 
 art 9 s 75; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 333 s 22; 1987 c 362 s 1-8; 1987 
 c 385 s 1-6,8,9; 1989 c 65 s 1,2; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1,30; 1990 
 c 426 art 2 s 1; 1991 c 199 art 2 s 1; 1992 c 484 s 1-3; 1993 c 
 67 s 1,2; 1993 c 137 s 7; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1994 c 488 s 8; 1994 c 
 512 s 3; 1995 c 54 s 1; 1996 c 417 s 1-3,31; 1997 c 66 s 3-9,79 

  268.041 Renumbered 268.043 

     268.042 Employers coverage. 

    Subdivision 1.    Employer for part of year.  Except as 
 provided in subdivisions 2 and 3, any employing unit which is or 
 becomes an employer subject to sections 268.03 to 268.23 within 
 any calendar year shall be deemed to be an employer during the 
 whole of such calendar year.  

    Subd. 2.    Application for termination of coverage.  
 Except as otherwise provided in subdivision 3, any employing 
 unit shall cease to be an employer subject to sections 268.03 to 
 268.23 as of the last day of the calendar quarter in which the 
 employing unit files with the commissioner a written application 
 for termination of coverage, if the commissioner finds the 
 employment in the preceding calendar year and during the current 
 calendar year, up to the last day of the calendar quarter in 
 which the application was received, was not sufficient to make 
 the employing unit liable under the provisions of section 
 268.04, subdivision 10.  For the purpose of this subdivision the 
 two or more employing units mentioned in section 268.04, 
 subdivision 10, clause (2), (3), (5), or (6), shall be treated 
 as a single employing unit.  

    The commissioner shall waive the requirement for an 
 application for termination of coverage whenever it shall appear 
 that the employer was unable to comply with such requirement for 
 the reason that, at the time when the employer had qualified for 
 release from liability under the provisions of this chapter, the 
 employer was in good faith not aware of the fact that it was an 
 employer subject to the provisions of this chapter.  

    The commissioner at the commissioner's discretion may make 
 a motion to terminate the coverage of any employer who no longer 
 meets the definition of employer under section 268.04, 
 subdivision 10.  

    Subd. 3.    Election agreements; termination powers of 
 commissioner.  (1) An employing unit, not defined as an 
 employer under this chapter, that files with the commissioner a 
 written election to become an employer, shall, with the written 
 approval of the commissioner, become an employer for not less 
 than two calendar years to the same extent as all other 
 employers, as of the date stated in the approval.  The employing 
 unit shall cease to be an employer as of the first day of 
 January of any calendar year, only, if at least 30 calendar days 
 prior to the first day of January, the employing unit has filed 
 with the commissioner a written notice to that effect. 

    (2) Any employing unit that has services performed for it 
 that do not constitute employment, may file with the 
 commissioner a written election that all such service, in one or 
 more distinct establishments or places of business, shall be 
 deemed to constitute employment for purposes of this chapter for 
 not less than two calendar years.  Upon the written approval of 
 the commissioner, the services shall be deemed to constitute 
 employment from and after the date stated in the approval.  The 
 services shall cease to be deemed employment as of the first day 
 of January of any calendar year only if at least 30 calendar 
 days prior to the first day of January the employing unit has 
 filed with the commissioner a written notice to that effect.  

    (3) The commissioner must terminate any election agreement 
 under this subdivision upon 30 calendar days notice to the 
 employing unit, if the employing unit fails to pay all 
 contributions due or payments in lieu of contributions due the 
 reemployment insurance fund. 

    HIST: Ex1936 c 2 s 9; 1937 c 306 s 6; 1941 c 554 s 8; 1945 c 
 376 s 8; 1947 c 600 s 2; 1949 c 605 s 10; 1953 c 97 s 13,14; 
 1965 c 45 s 41; 1969 c 854 s 9,10; 1983 c 372 s 35,36; 1986 c 
 444; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1; 1996 c 417 s 31; 1997 c 66 s 61,79 

     268.043 Determinations of coverage. 

    An official, designated by the commissioner, upon the 
 commissioner's own motion or upon application of an employing 
 unit, shall determine if an employing unit is an employer within 
 the meaning of this chapter or as to whether services performed 
 for it constitute employment within the meaning of this chapter, 
 or whether the remuneration for services constitutes wages as 
 defined in section 268.04, subdivision 25, and shall notify the 
 employing unit of the determination.  The determination shall be 
 final unless the employing unit, within 30 days after the 
 mailing of notice of the determination to the employing unit's 
 last known address, files a written appeal from it.  Proceedings 
 on the appeal shall be conducted in accordance with section 
 268.105.  The commissioner may at any time upon the 
 commissioner's own motion correct any error of the department 
 resulting in an erroneous determination under this section, 
 except for those matters that have been appealed to the court of 
 appeals and heard on the merits.  The commissioner shall issue a 
 redetermination which shall be final unless the employing unit, 
 within 30 days after the mailing of notice of the 
 redetermination to the employing unit's last known address, 
 files a written appeal from it.  Proceedings on the appeal shall 
 be conducted in accordance with section 268.105. 

    HIST: 1995 c 54 s 2; 1996 c 417 s 4; 1997 c 66 s 79 

     268.044 Wage reporting. 

    Subdivision 1.    Wage detail report.  (a) Each employer 
 shall provide the commissioner with a quarterly wage detail 
 report that shall include for each employee the employee's name, 
 social security number, the total wages paid to the employee, 
 and total number of paid hours worked.  For employees exempt 
 from the definition of employee in section 177.23, subdivision 
 7, clause (6), the employer shall report 40 hours worked for 
 each week any duties were performed by a full-time employee and 
 shall report a reasonable estimate of the hours worked for each 
 week duties were performed by a part-time employee.  The report 
 is due and must be filed on or before the last day of the month 
 following the end of the calendar quarter. 

    (b) An employer need not include the name of the employee 
 or other required information on the wage detail report if 
 disclosure is specifically exempted by federal law. 

    Subd. 2.    Failure to file report.  Any employer who 
 fails to file the wage detail report shall pay to the 
 department, for each month the report is delinquent, a penalty 
 of one-half of one percent of total wages paid that quarter.  
 The penalty shall not be assessed if the wage detail report is 
 properly made and filed within 30 calendar days after a demand 
 for the report is mailed to the employer's address of record.  
 In no case shall the amount of the penalty, if assessed, be less 
 than $25.  Penalties due under this subdivision may be waived 
 where good cause for late filing is found by the commissioner.  

    Subd. 3.    Missing or erroneous information.  Any 
 employer who files the wage detail report, but knowingly fails 
 to include any of the required information or knowingly enters 
 erroneous information, shall be subject to a penalty of $25 for 
 each employee for whom the information is missing or erroneous.  

    Subd. 4.    Penalties.  The penalties provided for in 
 subdivisions 2 and 3 are in addition to interest and other 
 penalties imposed by this chapter and shall be collected in the 
 same manner as delinquent contributions and shall be credited to 
 the contingent account. 

    HIST: 1Sp1982 c 1 s 42; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 362 s 24; 1987 c 
 370 art 2 s 16; 1987 c 385 s 26; 1997 c 66 s 79; 1997 c 74 s 1; 
 1Sp1997 c 5 s 7 

*   NOTE:  Subdivision 1 of this section that was also amended 
*by Laws 1997, chapter 66, section 64, to read as follows: 

*   "Subdivision 1.    Wage detail report.  (a) Each 
*employer subject to this chapter shall provide the commissioner 
*with a quarterly report known as the wage detail report, that 
*shall include, for each employee covered by this chapter, the 
*employee's name, social security number, and the total wages 
*paid to the employee.  The report is due and must be filed on or 
*before the last day of the month following the end of the 
*calendar quarter. 

*   (b) An employer need not include the name of the employee 
*or other required information on the wage detail report if 
*disclosure is specifically exempted by federal law."

     268.045 Employer accounts. 

    (a) The commissioner shall maintain a separate account for 
 each employer, except as provided in this section, and shall 
 charge the account for any benefits determined chargeable to the 
 employer under section 268.047 and shall credit the account with 
 all the contributions paid, or if the employer is liable for 
 payments in lieu of contributions, the payments made. 

    (b) Two or more related corporations concurrently employing 
 the same employees and compensating those employees through a 
 common paymaster which is one of the corporations may apply to 
 the commissioner to establish a common paymaster account that 
 shall be the account of the common paymaster corporation.  If 
 approved, the separate accounts shall be maintained, but the 
 employees compensated through the common paymaster shall be 
 reported as employees of the common paymaster corporation.  The 
 corporations using the common paymaster account shall be jointly 
 and severally liable for any unpaid contributions, penalties, 
 and interest owing from the common paymaster account.  The 
 commissioner may prescribe rules for the establishment, 
 maintenance and termination of common paymaster accounts. 

    (c) Two or more employing units having 50 percent or more 
 common ownership and compensating employees through a single 
 payee that is one of the employing units may apply to the 
 commissioner for a merging of the experience rating records of 
 the employing units into a single joint account. 

    If approved, the joint account shall be effective on that 
 date assigned by the commissioner and shall remain in effect for 
 not less than two calendar years, and continuing unless written 
 notice terminating the joint account is filed with the 
 commissioner.  The termination shall be effective on January 1 
 next following the filing of the written notice of termination. 

    The employing units in the joint account shall be jointly 
 and severally liable for any unpaid contributions, penalties, 
 and interest owing from the joint account. 

    (d) Two or more employers that are liable for payments in 
 lieu of contributions may apply to the commissioner for the 
 establishment of a group account for the purpose of sharing the 
 cost of benefits charged based upon wage credits from all 
 employers in the group.  The application shall identify and 
 authorize a group representative to act as the group's agent for 
 the purposes of the account.  If approved, the commissioner 
 shall establish a group account for the employers effective as 
 of the beginning of the calendar year that the application is 
 received.  The account shall remain in effect for not less than 
 two calendar years and thereafter until terminated at the 
 discretion of the commissioner or upon application by the group 
 at least 30 calendar days prior to the end of the two year 
 period or 30 calendar days prior to January 1 of any calendar 
 year subsequent.  Each employer in the group shall be jointly 
 and severally liable for payments in lieu of contributions for 
 all benefits paid based upon wage credits from all employers in 
 the group during the period the group account was in effect.  
 The commissioner may prescribe rules for the establishment, 
 maintenance and termination of group accounts. 

    HIST: Ex1936 c 2 s 4; 1937 c 306 s 2; 1939 c 443 s 3; 1941 c 
 554 s 3; 1943 c 650 s 2; 1945 c 376 s 3; 1947 c 32 s 1-8; 1947 c 
 432 s 3-5,11; 1947 c 600 s 7; 1949 c 526 s 1; 1949 c 605 s 
 3-6,17,18; 1951 c 442 s 2; 1953 c 97 s 5,6,8; 1953 c 288 s 1; 
 1955 c 380 s 2-4,6; 1957 c 25 s 1; 1957 c 873 s 2; 1959 c 702 s 
 2-4; 1965 c 45 s 40; 1965 c 741 s 6-11; 1967 c 573 s 3; 1967 c 
 617 s 1; 1967 c 856 s 1; 1969 c 3 s 1; 1969 c 567 s 3; 1969 c 
 854 s 6; 1971 c 860 s 1; 1971 c 942 s 3-6; 1973 c 254 s 3; 1973 
 c 599 s 2-4; 1975 c 336 s 6-10; 1977 c 4 s 4,5; 1977 c 297 s 
 6-11; 1977 c 430 s 25 subd 1; 1977 c 455 s 82; 1978 c 674 s 60; 
 1979 c 181 s 4-8; 1980 c 508 s 2-7; 1Sp1982 c 1 s 5-12; 1983 c 
 216 art 1 s 87; 1983 c 247 s 112; 1983 c 372 s 9-15; 1985 c 248 
 s 70; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 75; 1986 c 444; 1986 c 451 s 1; 1987 
 c 242 s 1; 1987 c 362 s 9-12; 1987 c 385 s 10-18; 1989 c 65 s 
 3-5; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1; 1992 c 484 s 4-7; 1994 c 483 s 1; 
 1994 c 488 s 8; 1995 c 54 s 3-7; 1996 c 417 s 5-7,31; 1997 c 66 
 s 19,26,79 

     268.047 Benefits charged to employer. 

    Subdivision 1.    General rule.  Benefits paid to a 
 claimant pursuant to a reemployment insurance account, including 
 extended, additional, and shared work benefits, shall be charged 
 to the account of the claimant's base period employer as and 
 when paid except as provided in subdivisions 2 and 3.  The 
 amount of benefits chargeable to each base period employer's 
 account shall bear the same ratio to the total benefits paid to 
 a claimant as the wage credits the claimant was paid by the 
 employer bear to the total amount of wage credits the claimant 
 was paid by all the claimant's base period employers. 

    In making computations under this subdivision, the amount 
 of wage credits, if not a multiple of $1, shall be computed to 
 the nearest multiple of $1. 

    Subd. 2.    Exceptions to charges for all employers.  
 Benefits paid to a claimant shall not be charged to the account 
 of a contributing base period employer or to the account of a 
 base period employer that is liable for payments in lieu of 
 contributions under the following conditions: 

    (a) the claimant was discharged from the employment because 
 of gross misconduct as determined under section 268.09, 
 subdivision 10, clause (2).  This paragraph shall apply only to 
 benefits paid for weeks occurring subsequent to the claimant's 
 discharge from employment; 

    (b) a claimant's discharge from that employment was 
 required by a law mandating a background check, or the 
 claimant's discharge from that employment was required by law 
 because of a criminal conviction; 

    (c) the employer: 

    (1) provided regularly scheduled part-time employment to 
 the claimant during the claimant's base period; 

    (2) during the claimant's benefit year, continues to 
 provide the claimant with regularly scheduled employment 
 approximating 90 percent of the employment provided the claimant 
 by that employer in the base period, or, for a fire department 
 or firefighting corporation or operator of a life-support 
 transportation service, continues to provide employment for a 
 volunteer firefighter or a volunteer ambulance service personnel 
 on the same basis that employment was provided in the base 
 period; and 

    (3) is an involved employer because of the claimant's loss 
 of other employment.  The exception to charges shall terminate 
 effective the first week in the claimant's benefit year that the 
 employer fails to meet the provisions of clause (2); 

    (d) the claimant's unemployment: 

    (1) was directly caused by a major natural disaster 
 declared by the president pursuant to Section 102(2) of the 
 Disaster Relief Act of 1974, United States Code, title 42, 
 section 5122(2), if the claimant would have been eligible for 
 disaster unemployment assistance with respect to that 
 unemployment but for the claimant's receipt of reemployment 
 insurance benefits; or 

    (2) was directly caused by the condemnation of property by 
 a governmental agency, a fire, flood, or act of God where 70 
 percent or more of the employees employed in the affected 
 location became unemployed as a result and the employer 
 substantially reopens its operations in that same area within 18 
 months.  Benefits shall be charged to the employer where the 
 unemployment is caused by the willful act of the employer or a 
 person acting on behalf of the employer; 

    (e) the benefits were paid by another state as a result of 
 the transferring of wage credits under a federally combined wage 
 agreement provided for in section 268.13; 

    (f) on a second reemployment insurance account established 
 pursuant to section 268.07, subdivision 3, where the employer 
 provided 90 percent or more of the wage credits in the 
 claimant's preceding base period and the claimant did not 
 perform services for the employer during the subsequent base 
 period; 

    (g) the claimant left or partially or totally lost 
 employment because of a strike or other labor dispute at the 
 claimant's primary place of employment if the employer was not a 
 party to the particular strike or labor dispute; or 

    (h) the benefits were determined overpaid benefits under 
 section 268.18. 

    Subd. 3.    Exceptions to charges for contributing 
 employers.  Benefits paid to a claimant shall not be charged 
 to the account of a contributing base period employer under the 
 following conditions: 

    (a) the claimant's wage credits from that employer are less 
 than $500; 

    (b) the claimant quit the employment, unless it was 
 determined under section 268.09, subdivisions 1a and 9, to have 
 been because of a good reason caused by the employer.  This 
 paragraph shall apply only to benefits paid for periods 
 occurring subsequent to the claimant's quitting the employment; 

    (c) the employer discharged the claimant from employment 
 because of misconduct as determined pursuant to section 268.09, 
 subdivisions 10 and 12.  This paragraph shall apply only to 
 benefits paid for periods occurring subsequent to the claimant's 
 discharge from employment; 

    (d) the employer discharged the claimant from employment 
 because of reasons resulting directly from the claimant's 
 serious illness provided the employer made a reasonable effort 
 to retain the claimant in employment in spite of the claimant's 
 serious illness; or 

    (e) the claimant avoided or failed to accept an offer of 
 suitable reemployment, or reemployment that offered 
 substantially the same or better hourly wages or conditions of 
 employment, or both, as were previously provided by that 
 employer.  This paragraph shall apply to benefits paid for weeks 
 occurring after the claimant's refusal or avoidance. 

    Subd. 4.    Federal reimbursed benefits not charged.  
 Notwithstanding subdivision 1, no employer's account shall be 
 charged for benefits for which the reemployment insurance fund 
 is reimbursed by the federal government. 

    Subd. 5.    Notice of benefits charged.  (a) The 
 commissioner shall mail to the last known address of each 
 employer a quarterly notice of the benefits that have been 
 charged to the employer's account.  Unless a written protest is 
 filed within 30 calendar days from the date of mailing of the 
 notice, the charges set forth in the notice shall be final and 
 shall not be subject to collateral attack by way of review of a 
 contribution rate notice, application for adjustment or refund, 
 or otherwise. 

    (b) Upon receipt of a protest, the commissioner shall 
 review the charges on the notice and determine whether there has 
 been an error in the charging of the employer's account.  The 
 commissioner shall either affirm or make a redetermination of 
 the charges, and a notice of affirmation or redetermination 
 shall be mailed to the employer. 

    (c) The affirmation or redetermination shall be final 
 unless the employer files a written appeal within 30 calendar 
 days after the date of mailing.  Proceedings on the appeal shall 
 be conducted in accordance with section 268.105. 

    (d) An employer may not collaterally attack, by way of a 
 protest to a notice of benefits charged, any prior determination 
 or decision holding that benefits shall be charged to the 
 employer's account, that has become final. 

    (e) The commissioner may at any time upon the 
 commissioner's own motion correct a clerical error that resulted 
 in charges to an employer's account. 

    HIST: 1997 c 66 s 10,16,79 

     268.048 Benefits not charged in welfare-to-work. 

    (a) The commissioner shall, prior to computing a 
 contribution rate, remove benefit charges from the account of a 
 contributing employer if the claimant to whom those benefits 
 were paid was: 

    (1) a primary wage earner who was a recipient of cash 
 benefits under a Minnesota welfare program in the calendar 
 quarter or immediately preceding calendar quarter that wages 
 were first paid by that employer; 

    (2) paid wages by that employer in no more than two 
 calendar quarters; and 

    (3) paid wages by that employer of less than $3,000. 

    (b) This section shall only apply to benefit charges 
 accruing after July 1, 1997. 

    (c) If the commissioner finds that an employer discharged 
 the claimant, or engaged in the employment practice of 
 discharging workers, in order to meet the requirements of 
 paragraph (a), clauses (2) and (3), this section shall not 
 apply.  In addition, the employer's action shall constitute 
 employer misconduct and the penalties under section 268.184 
 shall be assessed. 

    HIST: 1997 c 66 s 79; 1997 c 80 s 1 

*   NOTE:  This section, as added by Laws 1997, chapter 80, 
*section 1, expires July 1, 1999.  Laws 1997, chapter 80, section 
*3.

  268.05 Renumbered 268.194 

     268.051 Employers contributions. 

    Subdivision 1.    Payments.  (a) Contributions shall 
 accrue and become payable by each employer for each calendar 
 year that the employer is subject to this chapter, except for:  

    (1) nonprofit corporations as provided in section 268.053; 
 and 

    (2) the state and political subdivisions as provided in 
 section 268.052.  

 Each employer shall pay contributions quarterly, at the 
 employer's assigned contribution rate, on the taxable wages paid 
 to each employee.  The contributions shall be paid to the 
 Minnesota reemployment insurance fund on or before the last day 
 of the month following the end of the calendar quarter. 

    (b) The contribution may be paid in an amount to the 
 nearest whole dollar. 

    (c) When the contribution for any calendar quarter is less 
 than $1, the contribution shall be disregarded. 

    Subd. 2.    Computation of contribution rates.  (a) For 
 each calendar year the commissioner shall compute the 
 contribution rate of each employer by adding the minimum 
 contribution rate to the employer's experience rating. 

    (b) The minimum contribution rate shall be six-tenths of 
 one percent if the amount in the reemployment insurance fund is 
 less than $200,000,000 on June 30 of the preceding calendar 
 year; or five-tenths of one percent if the fund is more than 
 $200,000,000 but less than $225,000,000; or four-tenths of one 
 percent if the fund is more than $225,000,000 but less than 
 $250,000,000; or three-tenths of one percent if the fund is more 
 than $250,000,000 but less than $275,000,000; or two-tenths of 
 one percent if the fund is $275,000,000 but less than 
 $300,000,000; or one-tenth of one percent if the fund is 
 $300,000,000 or more. 

    (c) The maximum contribution rate shall be 9.0 percent. 

    (d) For the purposes of this subdivision the reemployment 
 insurance fund shall not include any money advanced from the 
 federal unemployment trust fund. 

    Subd. 3.    Computation of each employer's experience 
 rating.  The commissioner shall compute an experience rating 
 for each employer who has been subject to this chapter for at 
 least the 15 consecutive calendar months immediately preceding 
 July 1 of the preceding calendar year.  The experience rating 
 shall be the ratio obtained by dividing 1-1/4 times the total 
 benefits charged to the employer's account during the period the 
 employer has been subject to this chapter but not less than the 
 15 or more than the 60 consecutive calendar months ending on 
 June 30 of the preceding calendar year by the employer's total 
 taxable payroll for the same period on which all contributions 
 due have been paid on or before October 31 of the preceding 
 calendar year.  The experience rating shall be computed to the 
 nearest one-tenth of a percent.  

    Subd. 4.    Experience rating record transfer.  (a) When 
 an employing unit succeeds to or acquires the organization, 
 trade or business or substantially all the assets of another 
 employing unit that at the time of the acquisition was an 
 employer subject to this law, and continues the organization, 
 trade or business, the experience rating record of the 
 predecessor employer shall be transferred as of the date of 
 acquisition to the successor employer for the purpose of 
 computation of a contribution rate. 

    (b) When an employing unit succeeds to or acquires a 
 distinct severable portion of the organization, trade, business, 
 or assets that is less than substantially all of the employing 
 enterprises of another employing unit, the successor employing 
 unit shall acquire the experience rating record attributable to 
 the portion to which it has succeeded, and the predecessor 
 employing unit shall retain the experience rating record 
 attributable to the portion that it has retained, if (1) the 
 successor continues the organization, trade, or business of the 
 portion acquired, (2) the successor makes a written request to 
 file an application for the transfer of the experience rating 
 record for the severable portion acquired from the predecessor 
 (3) and within 90 days from the date of mailing the application 
 to the successor the successor and predecessor jointly sign and 
 file an application as prescribed by the commissioner that 
 furnishes sufficient information to substantiate the severable 
 portion and to assign the appropriate total and taxable wages 
 and benefit charges to the successor for experience rating 
 purposes.  

    (c) If the successor employer under paragraphs (a) and (b) 
 had an experience rating record at the time of the acquisition, 
 the transferred record of the predecessor shall be combined with 
 the successor's record for purposes of computation of a 
 contribution rate. 

    (d) If there has been a transfer of an experience rating 
 record under paragraph (a) or (b), employment with a predecessor 
 employer shall not be deemed to have been terminated if similar 
 employment is offered by the successor employer and accepted by 
 the employee. 

    (e) The commissioner, upon the commissioner's own motion or 
 upon application of an employing unit shall determine if an 
 employing unit is a successor within the meaning of this 
 subdivision and shall mail the determination to the last known 
 address of the employing unit.  The determination shall be final 
 unless a written appeal is filed by the employing unit within 30 
 calendar days after mailing of determination.  Proceedings on 
 the appeal shall be conducted in accordance with section 268.105.

    (f) The commissioner shall, as the result of any 
 determination or decision regarding succession or nonsuccession, 
 recompute the contribution rate of all employers affected by the 
 determination or decision for any year, including the year of 
 the acquisition or succession and subsequent years, that is 
 affected by the transfer or nontransfer of part or all of the 
 experience rating record under this subdivision.  This paragraph 
 does not apply to rates that have become final prior to the 
 filing of a written request to file an application for the 
 transfer of a severable portion of the experience rating record 
 as provided in paragraph (b). 

    (g) The experience rating record for purposes of this 
 subdivision shall consist of those factors which make up an 
 experience rating, without the 15-month minimum. 

    Subd. 5.    Rate for new employers.  (a) Each employer 
 that does not qualify for an experience rating, except employers 
 in the construction industry, shall be assigned a contribution 
 rate the higher of (1) one percent, or (2) the state's benefit 
 cost rate; to a maximum of 5-4/10 percent.  For purposes of this 
 paragraph, the state's benefit cost rate shall be computed 
 annually and shall be derived by dividing the total dollar 
 amount of benefits paid during the 60 consecutive calendar 
 months immediately preceding July 1 of each year by the total 
 taxable wages of all contributing employers during the same 
 period.  This rate shall be applicable for the calendar year 
 next succeeding the computation date.  

    (b) Each employer in the construction industry that does 
 not qualify for an experience rating shall be assigned a 
 contribution rate, the higher of (1) one percent, or (2) the 
 state's benefit cost rate for construction employers to a 
 maximum of 9.0 percent.  For purposes of this paragraph, the 
 state's benefit cost rate shall be computed annually and shall 
 be derived by dividing the total dollar amount of benefits paid 
 to claimants of construction industry employers during the 60 
 consecutive calendar months immediately preceding July 1 of each 
 year by the total taxable wages of construction industry 
 employers during the same period.  This rate shall be applicable 
 for the calendar year next succeeding the computation date.  

    For purposes of this subdivision an employer is in the 
 construction industry if the employer is within division C of 
 the Standard Industrial Classification Manual issued by the 
 United States Office of Management and Budget, except as 
 excluded by rules adopted by the commissioner. 

    Subd. 6.    Notice of contribution rate.  (a) The 
 commissioner shall mail to the last known address of each 
 employer notice of the employer's contribution rate as 
 determined for any calendar year.  The notice shall contain the 
 contribution rate and the factors used in determining the 
 employer's experience rating.  Unless a protest of the rate is 
 made, the assigned rate shall be final except for fraud and 
 shall be the rate upon which contributions shall be paid for the 
 calendar year for which the rate was assigned.  The contribution 
 rate shall not be subject to collateral attack by way of claim 
 for adjustment or refund, or otherwise.  

    (b) If the legislature, subsequent to the mailing of the 
 contribution rate, changes any of the factors used to determine 
 the rate, the earlier notice shall be void.  A new contribution 
 rate based on the new factors shall be computed and mailed to 
 the employer.  

    (c) A review of an employer's contribution rate may be 
 obtained by the employer filing with the commissioner a written 
 protest within 30 calendar days from the date of the mailing of 
 the contribution rate notice to the employer.  Upon receipt of 
 the protest, the commissioner shall review the contribution rate 
 to determine whether or not there has been any clerical error or 
 error in computation.  The commissioner shall either affirm or 
 make a redetermination of the rate and a notice of the 
 affirmation or redetermination shall be mailed to the employer.  
 The affirmation or redetermination shall be final unless the 
 employer files a written appeal within 30 calendar days after 
 the date of mailing.  Proceedings on the appeal shall be 
 conducted in accordance with section 268.105.  

    (d) The commissioner may at any time upon the 
 commissioner's own motion correct any error in the computation 
 or the assignment of an employer's contribution rate.  

    Subd. 7.    Contribution rate buydown.  (a) Any employer 
 who has been assigned a contribution rate based upon an 
 experience rating may, upon the voluntary payment of an amount 
 equivalent to any portion or all of the benefits charged to the 
 employer's account, plus a surcharge of 25 percent, obtain a 
 cancellation of benefits charged to the account equal to the 
 payment made, less the surcharge.  Upon the payment, the 
 commissioner shall compute a new experience rating for the 
 employer, and determine a new contribution rate.  

    (b) Voluntary payments may be made only during the 30 
 calendar day period immediately following the date of mailing of 
 the notice of contribution rate.  This period may be extended, 
 upon a showing of good cause, but in no event shall a voluntary 
 payment be allowed after 120 calendar days immediately following 
 the beginning of the calendar year for which the contribution 
 rate is effective. 

    (c) Voluntary payments made within the time required will 
 not be refunded unless a request is made in writing within 30 
 calendar days after mailing of the notice of the new 
 contribution rate. 

    Subd. 8.    Solvency assessment.  (a) If the fund 
 balance is greater than $75,000,000 but less than $150,000,000 
 on June 30 of any year, a solvency assessment will be in effect 
 for the following calendar year.  Each employer, except those 
 making payments in lieu of contributions shall pay a quarterly 
 solvency assessment of ten percent multiplied by the 
 contributions paid or due and payable for each calendar quarter 
 in that year.  Quarterly contributions and the solvency 
 assessment payments shall be combined and will be computed 
 notwithstanding the maximum contribution rate, by multiplying 
 the quarterly taxable payroll by the assigned contribution rate 
 multiplied by 1.10. 

    (b) If the fund balance is less than $75,000,000 on June 30 
 of any year, a solvency assessment will be in effect for the 
 following calendar year.  Each employer, except those making 
 payments in lieu of contributions, shall pay a quarterly 
 solvency assessment of 15 percent multiplied by the 
 contributions paid or due and payable for each calendar quarter 
 in that year.  Quarterly contributions and the solvency 
 assessment payments shall be combined and will be computed 
 notwithstanding the maximum contribution rate, by multiplying 
 the quarterly taxable payroll by the assigned contribution rate 
 multiplied by 1.15 rounded to the nearest one-hundredth of a 
 percent.  

    HIST: Ex1936 c 2 s 4; 1937 c 306 s 2; 1939 c 443 s 3; 1941 c 
 554 s 3; 1943 c 650 s 2; 1945 c 376 s 3; 1947 c 32 s 1-8; 1947 c 
 432 s 3-5,11; 1947 c 600 s 7; 1949 c 526 s 1; 1949 c 605 s 
 3-6,17,18; 1951 c 442 s 2; 1953 c 97 s 5,6,8; 1953 c 288 s 1; 
 1955 c 380 s 2-4,6; 1957 c 25 s 1; 1957 c 873 s 2; 1959 c 702 s 
 2-4; 1965 c 45 s 40; 1965 c 741 s 6-11; 1967 c 573 s 3; 1967 c 
 617 s 1; 1967 c 856 s 1; 1969 c 3 s 1; 1969 c 567 s 3; 1969 c 
 854 s 6; 1971 c 860 s 1; 1971 c 942 s 3-6; 1973 c 254 s 3; 1973 
 c 599 s 2-4; 1975 c 336 s 6-10; 1977 c 4 s 4,5; 1977 c 297 s 
 6-11; 1977 c 430 s 25 subd 1; 1977 c 455 s 82; 1978 c 674 s 60; 
 1979 c 181 s 4-8; 1980 c 508 s 2-7; 1Sp1982 c 1 s 5-12; 1983 c 
 216 art 1 s 87; 1983 c 247 s 112; 1983 c 372 s 9-15; 1985 c 248 
 s 70; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 75; 1986 c 444; 1986 c 451 s 1; 1987 
 c 242 s 1; 1987 c 362 s 9-12; 1987 c 385 s 10-18; 1989 c 65 s 
 3-5; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1; 1992 c 484 s 4-7; 1994 c 483 s 1; 
 1994 c 488 s 8; 1995 c 54 s 3-7; 1996 c 417 s 5-7,31; 1997 c 66 
 s 11-15,17,18,20,21,79 

     268.0511 Annual payment of small liabilities. 

    (a) An employer may file contribution reports and pay 
 contributions and assessments for any calendar year on an annual 
 basis if the employer: 

    (1) has an experience rating of zero for that calendar 
 year; 

    (2) had total taxable wages paid in the 12-month period 
 ending the prior June 30 of less than five times the state's 
 taxable wage base; and 

    (3) has no outstanding contribution or assessment 
 liability, including penalties and interest. 

    (b) Contribution reports and contributions and assessments 
 due under this section for any calendar year shall be paid on or 
 before the following January 31. 

    HIST: 1997 c 80 s 2 

*   NOTE:  This section, as added by Laws 1997, chapter 80, 
*section 2, is effective January 1, 1999.  Laws 1997, chapter 80, 
*section 4.

     268.052 Payment to fund by state and political 
  subdivisions. 

    Subdivision 1.    Payments to fund by state and political 
 subdivisions.  In lieu of contributions, the state of 
 Minnesota or its political subdivisions shall pay into the 
 reemployment insurance fund the amount of benefits charged to 
 its account.  Payments in the amount of benefits charged to the 
 account during a calendar quarter shall be made on or before the 
 last day of the month next following the month in which the 
 notice of benefits charged is mailed to the employer.  Past due 
 payments shall be subject to the same interest charges and 
 collection procedures that apply to past due contributions. 

    Subd. 2.    Election by state or political subdivision to 
 be a contributing employer.  (a) The state or political 
 subdivision may elect to be a contributing employer for any 
 calendar year if a written notice of election is filed with the 
 commissioner within 30 calendar days following January 1 of that 
 calendar year. 

    An election shall be for a minimum period of two calendar 
 years immediately following the effective date of the election 
 and continue unless a written notice terminating the election is 
 filed with the commissioner not later than 30 calendar days 
 prior to the beginning of the calendar year.  The termination 
 shall be effective at the beginning of the next calendar year. 

    (b) The method of payments to the reemployment insurance 
 fund shall apply to all contributions paid by or due from the 
 state or political subdivision that elects to be contributing 
 employers under this subdivision. 

    Subd. 3.    Method of payment by state to fund.  To 
 discharge its obligations, the state and its wholly owned 
 instrumentalities shall pay the reemployment insurance fund as 
 follows: 

    (a) Every self-sustaining department, institution and 
 wholly owned instrumentality of the state shall pay into the 
 fund the amounts the commissioner shall certify has been paid 
 from the fund that were charged to its account.  For the 
 purposes of this clause a "self-sustaining department, 
 institution or wholly owned instrumentality" is one in which the 
 dedicated income and revenue substantially offsets its cost of 
 operation. 

    (b) Every partially self-sustaining department, institution 
 and wholly owned instrumentality of the state shall pay into the 
 fund the proportion of the sum that the commissioner certifies 
 has been paid from the fund as the total of its income and 
 revenue bears to its annual cost of operation. 

    (c) Every department, institution or wholly owned 
 instrumentality of the state which is not self-sustaining shall 
 pay to the fund the amount the commissioner certifies has been 
 paid from the fund which were charged to their accounts to the 
 extent funds are available from appropriated funds. 

    (d) The departments, institutions and wholly owned 
 instrumentalities of the state, including the University of 
 Minnesota, which have money available shall immediately pay the 
 fund for benefits paid which were charged to their accounts upon 
 receiving notification from the commissioner of the charges.  If 
 a claimant was paid by a department, institution or wholly owned 
 instrumentality during the claimant's base period from a special 
 or administrative account or fund provided by law, the payment 
 into the fund shall be made from the special or administrative 
 account or fund with the approval of the department of 
 administration and the amounts are hereby appropriated. 

    (e) For those departments, institutions and wholly owned 
 instrumentalities of the state which cannot immediately pay the 
 fund for benefits that were charged to their accounts, the 
 commissioner shall certify on November 1 of each calendar year 
 to the department of finance the unpaid balances due and owing.  
 Upon receipt of the certification the commissioner of the 
 department of finance shall include the unpaid balances in the 
 biennial budget submitted to the legislature. 

    Subd. 4.    Method of payment by political subdivision to 
 fund.  A political subdivision or instrumentality thereof is 
 authorized and directed to pay its obligations under this 
 chapter by moneys collected from taxes or other revenues.  Every 
 political subdivision authorized to levy taxes may include in 
 its tax levy the amount necessary to pay its obligations.  If 
 the taxes authorized to be levied under this subdivision cause 
 the total amount of taxes levied to exceed any limitation upon 
 the power of a political subdivision to levy taxes, the 
 political subdivision may levy taxes in excess of the 
 limitations in the amounts necessary to meet its obligation 
 under this chapter.  The expenditures authorized shall not be 
 included in computing the cost of government as defined in any 
 home rule charter of any city.  The governing body of a 
 municipality, for the purpose of meeting its liabilities under 
 this chapter, in the event of a deficit, may issue its 
 obligations payable in not more than two years, in an amount 
 that may cause its indebtedness to exceed any statutory or 
 charter limitations, without an election, and may levy taxes in 
 the manner provided in section 475.61. 

    HIST: Ex1936 c 2 s 4; 1937 c 306 s 2; 1939 c 443 s 3; 1941 c 
 554 s 3; 1943 c 650 s 2; 1945 c 376 s 3; 1947 c 32 s 1-8; 1947 c 
 432 s 3-5,11; 1947 c 600 s 7; 1949 c 526 s 1; 1949 c 605 s 
 3-6,17,18; 1951 c 442 s 2; 1953 c 97 s 5,6,8; 1953 c 288 s 1; 
 1955 c 380 s 2-4,6; 1957 c 25 s 1; 1957 c 873 s 2; 1959 c 702 s 
 2-4; 1965 c 45 s 40; 1965 c 741 s 6-11; 1967 c 573 s 3; 1967 c 
 617 s 1; 1967 c 856 s 1; 1969 c 3 s 1; 1969 c 567 s 3; 1969 c 
 854 s 6; 1971 c 860 s 1; 1971 c 942 s 3-6; 1973 c 254 s 3; 1973 
 c 599 s 2-4; 1975 c 336 s 6-10; 1977 c 4 s 4,5; 1977 c 297 s 
 6-11; 1977 c 430 s 25 subd 1; 1977 c 455 s 82; 1978 c 674 s 60; 
 1979 c 181 s 4-8; 1980 c 508 s 2-7; 1Sp1982 c 1 s 5-12; 1983 c 
 216 art 1 s 87; 1983 c 247 s 112; 1983 c 372 s 9-15; 1985 c 248 
 s 70; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 75; 1986 c 444; 1986 c 451 s 1; 1987 
 c 242 s 1; 1987 c 362 s 9-12; 1987 c 385 s 10-18; 1989 c 65 s 
 3-5; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1; 1992 c 484 s 4-7; 1994 c 483 s 1; 
 1994 c 488 s 8; 1995 c 54 s 3-7; 1996 c 417 s 5-7,31; 1997 c 66 
 s 22-24,27,79 

     268.053 Payment to fund by nonprofit corporations. 

    (a) Any nonprofit organization that is determined to be an 
 employer shall pay contributions unless it elects to make 
 payments in lieu of contributions to the reemployment insurance 
 fund the amount of benefits charged to the employer's account. 

    (1) Any nonprofit organization may elect to become liable 
 for payments in lieu of contributions for a period of not less 
 than two calendar years beginning with the date that the 
 organization was determined to be an employer by filing a 
 written notice of election with the commissioner not later than 
 30 calendar days immediately following the date of the 
 determination. 

    (2) Any nonprofit organization that makes an election will 
 continue to be liable for payments in lieu of contributions 
 until it files with the commissioner a written notice 
 terminating its election not later than 30 calendar days prior 
 to the beginning of the calendar year for which the termination 
 shall first be effective.  

    (3) Any nonprofit organization that has been paying 
 contributions may change to making payments in lieu of 
 contributions by filing with the commissioner not later than 30 
 calendar days prior to January 1 of any calendar year a written 
 notice of election to become liable for payments in lieu of 
 contributions.  The election shall not be terminable by the 
 organization for that and the next calendar year. 

    (4) The commissioner may for good cause extend the period 
 that a notice of election, or a notice of termination, must be 
 filed and may permit an election to be retroactive. 

    (5) The commissioner shall notify each nonprofit 
 organization of any determination of its status as an employer 
 and of the effective date of any election or termination of 
 election.  The determinations shall be final unless a written 
 appeal is filed within 30 calendar days after mailing of the 
 determination.  Proceedings on the appeal shall be conducted in 
 accordance with section 268.105. 

    (b) Payments in lieu of contributions, in the amount of 
 benefits charged to the employer's account, during a calendar 
 quarter, shall be made on or before the last day of the month 
 next following the month in which the notice of benefits charged 
 is mailed to the employer.  

    (c) Past due payments in lieu of contributions shall be 
 subject to the same interest charges and collection procedures 
 that apply to past due contributions. 

    (d) If any nonprofit organization is delinquent in making 
 payments in lieu of contributions, the commissioner may 
 terminate the organization's election to make payments in lieu 
 of contributions as of the beginning of the next calendar year, 
 and the termination shall be effective for that and the 
 following calendar year. 

    (e) For purposes of this subdivision, a nonprofit 
 organization is an organization, or group of organizations, 
 described in section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code that 
 is exempt from income tax under section 501(a) of the code. 

    HIST: Ex1936 c 2 s 4; 1937 c 306 s 2; 1939 c 443 s 3; 1941 c 
 554 s 3; 1943 c 650 s 2; 1945 c 376 s 3; 1947 c 32 s 1-8; 1947 c 
 432 s 3-5,11; 1947 c 600 s 7; 1949 c 526 s 1; 1949 c 605 s 
 3-6,17,18; 1951 c 442 s 2; 1953 c 97 s 5,6,8; 1953 c 288 s 1; 
 1955 c 380 s 2-4,6; 1957 c 25 s 1; 1957 c 873 s 2; 1959 c 702 s 
 2-4; 1965 c 45 s 40; 1965 c 741 s 6-11; 1967 c 573 s 3; 1967 c 
 617 s 1; 1967 c 856 s 1; 1969 c 3 s 1; 1969 c 567 s 3; 1969 c 
 854 s 6; 1971 c 860 s 1; 1971 c 942 s 3-6; 1973 c 254 s 3; 1973 
 c 599 s 2-4; 1975 c 336 s 6-10; 1977 c 4 s 4,5; 1977 c 297 s 
 6-11; 1977 c 430 s 25 subd 1; 1977 c 455 s 82; 1978 c 674 s 60; 
 1979 c 181 s 4-8; 1980 c 508 s 2-7; 1Sp1982 c 1 s 5-12; 1983 c 
 216 art 1 s 87; 1983 c 247 s 112; 1983 c 372 s 9-15; 1985 c 248 
 s 70; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 75; 1986 c 444; 1986 c 451 s 1; 1987 
 c 242 s 1; 1987 c 362 s 9-12; 1987 c 385 s 10-18; 1989 c 65 s 
 3-5; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1; 1992 c 484 s 4-7; 1994 c 483 s 1; 
 1994 c 488 s 8; 1995 c 54 s 3-7; 1996 c 417 s 5-7,31; 1997 c 66 
 s 25,79 

     268.054 Indian tribal governments; wholly tribally 
  controlled subsidiaries and subdivisions. 

    To the extent permissible under the laws of the United 
 States, an Indian tribe defined in section 268.0111, subdivision 
 5a, and any wholly tribally controlled subsidiaries and 
 subdivisions shall, if elected by the tribe, be treated as a 
 self-sustaining state and political subdivision employer for the 
 purposes of section 268.052, subdivisions 1 and 2, or as a 
 nonprofit corporation employer for purposes of sections 268.045, 
 paragraph (d), and 268.053, or as an employer providing 
 employment excluded under section 268.04, subdivision 12, clause 
 (15).  Any tribal election must be in writing to the 
 commissioner and must be binding for a minimum of two years.  To 
 the extent permissible under the laws of the United States, a 
 tribe may make separate elections for itself and each of its 
 wholly tribally controlled subsidiaries and subdivisions.  

    HIST: Ex1936 c 2 s 4; 1937 c 306 s 2; 1939 c 443 s 3; 1941 c 
 554 s 3; 1943 c 650 s 2; 1945 c 376 s 3; 1947 c 32 s 1-8; 1947 c 
 432 s 3-5,11; 1947 c 600 s 7; 1949 c 526 s 1; 1949 c 605 s 
 3-6,17,18; 1951 c 442 s 2; 1953 c 97 s 5,6,8; 1953 c 288 s 1; 
 1955 c 380 s 2-4,6; 1957 c 25 s 1; 1957 c 873 s 2; 1959 c 702 s 
 2-4; 1965 c 45 s 40; 1965 c 741 s 6-11; 1967 c 573 s 3; 1967 c 
 617 s 1; 1967 c 856 s 1; 1969 c 3 s 1; 1969 c 567 s 3; 1969 c 
 854 s 6; 1971 c 860 s 1; 1971 c 942 s 3-6; 1973 c 254 s 3; 1973 
 c 599 s 2-4; 1975 c 336 s 6-10; 1977 c 4 s 4,5; 1977 c 297 s 
 6-11; 1977 c 430 s 25 subd 1; 1977 c 455 s 82; 1978 c 674 s 60; 
 1979 c 181 s 4-8; 1980 c 508 s 2-7; 1Sp1982 c 1 s 5-12; 1983 c 
 216 art 1 s 87; 1983 c 247 s 112; 1983 c 372 s 9-15; 1985 c 248 
 s 70; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 75; 1986 c 444; 1986 c 451 s 1; 1987 
 c 242 s 1; 1987 c 362 s 9-12; 1987 c 385 s 10-18; 1989 c 65 s 
 3-5; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1; 1992 c 484 s 4-7; 1994 c 483 s 1; 
 1994 c 488 s 8; 1995 c 54 s 3-7; 1996 c 417 s 5-7,31; 1997 c 66 
 s 79 

     268.057 Collection of contributions. 

    Subdivision 1.    Reports; delinquencies; penalties.  (a)
 Any employer who knowingly fails to make and submit to the 
 commissioner any contribution report at the time the report is 
 required shall pay to the department a penalty of up to $25 or 
 an amount of 1-1/2 percent of contributions accrued for each 
 month from and after the due date until the report is properly 
 made and submitted, whichever is greater.  

    (b) If any employer required to make and submit 
 contribution reports fails to do so within the time required, or 
 makes, willfully or otherwise, an incorrect, false, or 
 fraudulent contribution report, the employer shall, on the 
 written demand of the commissioner, make the contribution 
 report, or corrected report, within ten days after the mailing 
 of the written demand and at the same time pay the whole 
 contribution, or any additional contribution, due.  If the 
 employer fails within that time to make the report, or corrected 
 report, the commissioner shall make a report, or corrected 
 report, from the commissioner's own knowledge and from 
 information the commissioner may obtain and assess a 
 contribution on that basis, which contribution, plus any 
 penalties and interest shall be paid within ten days after the 
 commissioner has mailed to the employer a written notice of the 
 amount due and demand for payment.  Any contribution report or 
 assessment made by the commissioner on account of the failure of 
 the employer to make a report or corrected report shall be prima 
 facie correct and valid, and the employer shall have the burden 
 of establishing its incorrectness or invalidity in any 
 subsequent action or proceeding.  Whenever the delinquent 
 employer files a report or corrected report, the commissioner 
 may, on finding it substantially correct, substitute it for the 
 commissioner's report.  

    (c) If the commissioner finds that any part of any 
 employer's contribution deficiency is due to fraud with intent 
 to avoid payment of contributions to the fund, 50 percent of the 
 total amount of the deficiency or $500, whichever is greater, 
 shall be assessed as a penalty against the employer and 
 collected in addition to the deficiency. 

    (d) Any employing unit that fails to make and submit to the 
 commissioner any report, other than a contribution report or 
 wage detail report, as and when required by rule, shall be 
 subject to a penalty of $50. 

    (e) The penalties provided for in paragraphs (a), (c), and 
 (d) are in addition to interest and any other penalties and 
 shall be paid to the department and credited to the contingent 
 account. 

    (f) An employer or officer or agent of an employer is 
 guilty of a gross misdemeanor, unless the contribution or other 
 payment involved exceeds $500, in which case the person is 
 guilty of a felony, if the individual: 

    (1) in order to avoid becoming or remaining a subject 
 employer or to avoid or reduce any contribution or other payment 
 required under this chapter: 

    (i) makes a false statement or representation knowing it to 
 be false; or 

    (ii) knowingly fails to disclose a material fact; or 

    (2) willfully fails or refuses to make any contributions or 
 other payment at the time required. 

    Subd. 2.    Contribution or payment in lieu of 
 contribution presumed valid.  The contribution and payment in 
 lieu of contribution, as assessed by the commissioner, including 
 any penalties, shall be presumed to be valid and correctly 
 determined and assessed, and the burden shall be upon the 
 employer to show its incorrectness or invalidity.  A statement 
 by the commissioner of the amount of the contribution, payment 
 in lieu of contribution, interest and penalties as determined or 
 assessed by the commissioner, shall be admissible in evidence in 
 any court or administrative proceeding and shall be prima facie 
 evidence of the facts in the statement. 

    Subd. 3.    Confession of judgment.  (a) Any 
 contribution report or other form that is required to be filed 
 with the commissioner concerning contributions or payments in 
 lieu of contributions due, shall contain a written declaration 
 that it is made under the penalties for willfully making a false 
 report and shall contain a confession of judgment for the amount 
 of the contribution or payments in lieu of contributions shown 
 due thereon to the extent not timely paid together with any 
 interest and penalty due under this chapter. 

    (b) The commissioner may, within six years after the report 
 or other form is filed, notwithstanding section 541.09, enter 
 judgment on any confession of judgment after 20 calendar days' 
 notice served upon the employer by mail.  The judgment shall be 
 entered by the court administrator of any county upon the filing 
 of a photocopy of the confession of judgment along with a 
 statement of the commissioner that the contribution or payment 
 in lieu of contribution has not been paid. 

    Subd. 4.    Costs.  Any employing unit which fails to 
 make and submit reports or pay any contributions or 
 reimbursement when due is liable to the department for any 
 recording fees, sheriff fees, costs incurred by referral to any 
 public or private agency outside the department, or litigation 
 costs incurred in the collection of the amounts due or obtaining 
 the reports.  

    If any check or money order, in payment of any amount due 
 under this chapter, is not honored when presented for payment, 
 the employing unit will be assessed a fee of $20 which is in 
 addition to any other fees provided by this chapter.  The fee 
 shall be assessed regardless of the amount of the check or money 
 order or the reason for nonpayment with the exception of 
 processing errors made by a financial institution. 

    Costs due under this subdivision shall be paid to the 
 department and credited to the administration fund. 

    Subd. 5.    Interest on past due contributions.  If 
 contributions or reimbursements to the unemployment fund are not 
 paid on the date on which they are due the unpaid balance 
 thereof shall bear interest at the rate of one and one-half 
 percent per month or any part thereof.  Contributions or 
 reimbursements received by mail postmarked on a day following 
 the date on which the law requires contributions to be paid 
 shall be deemed to have been paid on the due date if there is 
 substantial evidence tending to prove that the contribution was 
 actually deposited in the United States mails properly addressed 
 to the department with postage prepaid thereon on or before the 
 due date.  Interest collected pursuant to this subdivision shall 
 be paid into the contingent account.  Interest on contributions 
 due under this subdivision may be waived in accordance with 
 rules as the commissioner may adopt. 

    Subd. 6.    Interest on judgments.  Notwithstanding 
 section 549.09, if judgment is or has been entered upon any past 
 due contribution or reimbursement which has not been paid within 
 the time specified by law for payment, the unpaid judgment shall 
 bear interest at the rate specified in subdivision 1 until the 
 date of payment.  The rate will be effective after July 1, 1987, 
 on any unpaid judgment balances and all new judgments docketed 
 after that date. 

    Subd. 7.    Adjustments, refunds.  If an employer makes 
 an application for an adjustment of any amount paid as 
 contributions or interest thereon, to be applied against 
 subsequent contribution payments, or for a refund thereof 
 because such adjustment cannot be made, and the payment was made 
 within four years prior to the year in which the application is 
 made, and if the commissioner shall determine that payment of 
 such contributions or interest or any portion thereof was 
 erroneous, the commissioner shall allow such employer to make an 
 adjustment thereof, without interest, in connection with 
 subsequent contribution payments by the employer, or if such 
 adjustment cannot be made, the commissioner shall refund from 
 the fund to which such payment has been credited, without 
 interest, the amount erroneously paid.  For like cause and 
 within the same period, adjustment or refund may be so made on 
 the commissioner's own initiative. 

    In the event that any application for adjustment or refund 
 is denied in whole or in part, a written notice of such denial 
 shall be mailed to the applicant.  Within 30 days after the 
 mailing of such notice of denial to the applicant's last known 
 address, the applicant may request, in writing, that the 
 commissioner grant a hearing for the purpose of reconsidering 
 the facts submitted and to consider any additional information.  
 Proceedings on the appeal shall be conducted in accordance with 
 section 268.105. 

    Subd. 8.    Limitation.  Nothing in sections 268.03 to 
 268.23, or any part thereof, shall be construed to authorize any 
 refund of moneys due and payable under the law and rules in 
 effect at the time such moneys were paid. 

    Subd. 9.    Prior decisions.  In the event a final 
 decision on an appeal under section 268.105 determines the 
 amount of contributions due under sections 268.03 to 268.23, 
 then, if the amount, together with interest and penalties, is 
 not paid within 30 days after the decision, the provisions of 
 section 268.058 apply.  The commissioner shall proceed 
 thereunder, substituting a certified copy of the final decision 
 in place of the contribution report.  A final decision on an 
 appeal under section 268.105 is conclusive for all the purposes 
 of sections 268.03 to 268.23 except as otherwise provided, and, 
 together with the records therein made, shall be admissible in 
 any subsequent judicial proceeding involving liability for 
 contributions. 

    Subd. 10.    Priorities under legal dissolutions or 
 distributions.  In the event of any distribution of an 
 employer's assets pursuant to an order of any court under the 
 laws of this state, including any receivership, assignment for 
 benefit of creditors, adjudicated insolvency, composition, or 
 similar proceeding, contributions then or thereafter due shall 
 be paid in full prior to all other claims except claims for 
 wages of not more than $250 to each claimant, earned within six 
 months of the commencement of the proceedings.  In the event of 
 an employer's adjudication in bankruptcy, judicially confirmed 
 extension proposal, or composition, under the federal bankruptcy 
 act of 1898, as amended, contributions then or thereafter due 
 shall be entitled to such priority as is provided in that act 
 for taxes due any state of the United States. 

    HIST: Ex1936 c 2 s 14; 1941 c 554 s 13; 1943 c 650 s 9; 1945 c 
 376 s 13; 1949 c 605 s 12,13; 1951 c 55 s 1; 1953 c 97 s 17; 
 1969 c 9 s 65; 1969 c 567 s 3; 1969 c 854 s 13; 1973 c 254 s 3; 
 1973 c 720 s 73 subds 2,3; 1975 c 108 s 1; 1975 c 302 s 3,4; 
 1975 c 336 s 22,23; 1977 c 430 s 25 subd 1; 1978 c 618 s 2; 1978 
 c 674 s 60; 1980 c 508 s 11-13; 3Sp1981 c 2 art 1 s 33; 1Sp1982 
 c 1 s 34,35; 1983 c 372 s 39; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 
 9 s 75; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 362 s 26; 1987 c 385 s 28-30; 1989 c 
 65 s 12; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1; 1993 c 67 s 11; 1994 c 483 s 1; 
 1995 c 54 s 13-15; 1996 c 417 s 24,31; 1997 c 66 s 66-69,79 

     268.058 Contribution and reimbursement lien. 

    Subdivision 1.    Lien.  (a) Any contributions, benefit 
 overpayments, or reimbursements due under this chapter and 
 interest and penalties imposed with respect thereto, shall 
 become a lien upon all the property, within this state, both 
 real and personal, of the person liable therefor, from the date 
 of assessment of the contribution, benefit overpayment, or 
 reimbursement.  The term "date of assessment" means the date a 
 report was due or the payment due date of the notice of benefits 
 charged to a reimbursable account. 

    (b)(1) The lien imposed by this section is not enforceable 
 against any purchaser, mortgagee, pledgee, holder of a uniform 
 commercial code security interest, mechanic's lien, or judgment 
 lien creditor, until a notice of lien has been filed by the 
 commissioner in the office of the county recorder of the county 
 in which the property is situated, or in the case of personal 
 property belonging to an individual who is not a resident of the 
 state, or which is a corporation, partnership, or other 
 organization, in the office of the secretary of state.  When the 
 filing of the notice of lien is made in the office of the county 
 recorder, the fee for filing and indexing shall be as prescribed 
 in sections 272.483 and 272.484.  

    (2) Notices of liens, lien renewals, and lien releases, in 
 a form prescribed by the commissioner of economic security, may 
 be filed with the county recorder or the secretary of state by 
 mail, personal delivery, or by electronic transmission by the 
 commissioner or a delegate into the computerized filing system 
 of the secretary of state authorized under section 336.9-411.  
 The secretary of state shall transmit the notice electronically 
 to the office of the county recorder, if that is the place of 
 filing, in the county or counties shown on the computer entry.  
 The filing officer, whether the county recorder or the secretary 
 of state, shall endorse and index a printout of the notice in 
 the same manner as if the notice had been mailed or delivered.  

    (3) County recorders and the secretary of state shall enter 
 information relative to lien notices, renewals, and releases 
 filed in their offices into the central database of the 
 secretary of state.  For notices filed electronically with the 
 county recorders, the date and time of receipt of the notice and 
 county recorder's file number, and for notices filed 
 electronically with the secretary of state, the secretary of 
 state's recording information, must be entered by the filing 
 officer into the central database before the close of the 
 working day following the day of the original data entry by the 
 department of economic security.  

    (c) The lien imposed on personal property by this section, 
 even though properly filed, is not enforceable against a 
 purchaser with respect to tangible personal property purchased 
 at retail or as against the personal property listed as exempt 
 in sections 550.37, 550.38 and 550.39. 

    (d) A notice of tax lien filed pursuant to this section has 
 priority over any security interest arising under chapter 336, 
 article 9, which is perfected prior in time to the lien imposed 
 by this section, but only if:  

    (1) the perfected security interest secures property not in 
 existence at the time the notice of tax lien is filed; and 

    (2) the property comes into existence after the 45th day 
 following the day on which the notice of tax lien is filed, or 
 after the secured party has actual notice or knowledge of the 
 tax lien filing, whichever is earlier. 

    (e) The lien imposed by this section shall be enforceable 
 from the time the lien arises and for ten years from the date of 
 filing the notice of lien.  A notice of lien may be renewed by 
 the commissioner before the expiration of the ten-year period 
 for an additional ten years.  The delinquent employer must 
 receive notice of the renewal. 

    (f) The lien imposed by this section shall be enforceable 
 by levy as authorized in subdivision 8 or by judgment lien 
 foreclosure as authorized in chapter 550.  

    Subd. 2.    Limitation for homestead property.  The lien 
 imposed by this section is a lien upon property defined as 
 homestead property in chapter 510.  The lien may be enforced 
 only upon the sale, transfer, or conveyance of the homestead 
 property. 

    Subd. 3.    Levy.  (a) If any contribution or 
 reimbursement payable to the department is not paid when due, 
 the amount may be collected by the commissioner, a duly 
 authorized representative, or by the sheriff of any county to 
 whom the commissioner has issued a warrant, who may levy upon 
 all property and rights of property of the person liable for the 
 contribution or reimbursement, (except that which is exempt from 
 execution pursuant to section 550.37), or property on which 
 there is a lien provided by subdivision 1.  The terms 
 "contribution or reimbursement" shall include any penalty, 
 interest, and costs.  The term "levy" includes the power of 
 distraint and seizure by any means.  Before a levy is made or 
 warrant issued, notice and demand for payment of the amount due 
 shall be given to the person liable for the contribution or 
 reimbursement at least ten days prior to the levy or issuing of 
 a warrant.  

    (b) Upon the commissioner issuing a warrant, the sheriff 
 shall proceed within 60 days to levy upon the rights to property 
 of the employer within the employer's county, except the 
 homestead and household goods of the employer and property of 
 the employer not liable to attachment, garnishment, or sale on 
 any final process issued from any court under the provisions of 
 section 550.37, and shall sell so much thereof as is required to 
 satisfy the contribution, reimbursement, interest, and 
 penalties, together with the commissioner's costs.  The sales 
 shall, as to their manner, be governed by the law applicable to 
 sales of like property on execution issued against property upon 
 a judgment of a court of record.  The proceeds of the sales, 
 less the sheriff's costs, shall be turned over to the 
 commissioner, who shall retain a part thereof as is required to 
 satisfy the contribution, reimbursement, interest, penalties, 
 and costs, and pay over any balance to the employer.  

    (c) If the commissioner has reason to believe that 
 collection of the contribution or reimbursement is in jeopardy, 
 notice and demand for immediate payment of the amount may be 
 made by the commissioner.  If the contribution or reimbursement 
 is not paid, the commissioner may proceed to collect by levy or 
 issue a warrant without regard to the ten-day period provided 
 herein.  

    (d) In making the execution of the levy and in collecting 
 the contribution or reimbursement due, the commissioner shall 
 have all of the powers provided in chapter 550 and in any other 
 law for purposes of effecting an execution against property in 
 this state.  The sale of property levied upon and the time and 
 manner of redemption therefrom shall be as provided in chapter 
 550.  The seal of the court, subscribed by the court 
 administrator, as provided in section 550.04, shall not be 
 required.  The levy for collection of contributions or 
 reimbursements may be made whether or not the commissioner has 
 commenced a legal action for collection of the amount. 

    (e) Where a jeopardy assessment or any other assessment has 
 been made by the commissioner, the property seized for 
 collection of the contribution or reimbursement shall not be 
 sold until any determination of liability, rate, or benefit 
 charges has become final.  No sale shall be made unless the 
 contribution or reimbursement remain unpaid for a period of more 
 than 30 days after the determination becomes final.  Seized 
 property may be sold at any time if:  

    (1) the employer consents in writing to the sale; or 

    (2) the commissioner determines that the property is 
 perishable or may become greatly reduced in price or value by 
 keeping, or that the property cannot be kept without great 
 expense.  

    (f) Where a levy has been made to collect contributions or 
 reimbursements pursuant to this subdivision and the property 
 seized is properly included in a formal proceeding commenced 
 under sections 524.3-401 to 524.3-505 and maintained under full 
 supervision of the court, the property shall not be sold until 
 the probate proceedings are completed or until the court so 
 orders.  

    (g) The property seized shall be returned by the 
 commissioner if the owner gives a surety bond equal to the 
 appraised value of the owner's interest in the property, as 
 determined by the commissioner, or deposits with the 
 commissioner security in a form and amount as the commissioner 
 deems necessary to insure payment of the liability, but not more 
 than twice the liability. 

    (h) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, if a 
 levy or sale pursuant to this section would irreparably injure 
 rights in property which the court determines to be superior to 
 rights of the state in the property, the district court may 
 grant an injunction to prohibit the enforcement of the levy or 
 to prohibit the sale. 

    (i) Any person who fails or refuses to surrender without 
 reasonable cause any property or rights to property subject to 
 levy upon demand by the commissioner shall be personally liable 
 to the department in an amount equal to the value of the 
 property or rights not so surrendered, but not exceeding the 
 amount of contribution or reimbursement for the collection of 
 which the levy has been made.  Any amount recovered under this 
 subdivision shall be credited against the contribution or 
 reimbursement liability for the collection of which the levy was 
 made.  The term "person" includes an officer or employee of a 
 corporation or a member or employee of a partnership who, as an 
 officer, employee, or member is under a duty to surrender the 
 property or rights to property or to discharge the obligation.  

    (j) Any action taken by the commissioner pursuant to this 
 subdivision shall not constitute an election by the department 
 to pursue a remedy to the exclusion of any other remedy.  

    (k) After the commissioner has seized the property of any 
 person, that person may, upon giving 48 hours notice to the 
 commissioner and to the court, bring a claim for equitable 
 relief before the district court for the release of the property 
 to the employer upon terms and conditions as the court may deem 
 equitable. 

    (l) Any person in possession of (or obligated with respect 
 to) property or rights to property subject to levy upon which a 
 levy has been made who, upon demand by the commissioner, 
 surrenders the property or rights to property or who pays a 
 liability under this subdivision shall be discharged from any 
 obligation or liability to the person liable for the payment of 
 the delinquent contribution or reimbursement with respect to the 
 property or rights to property so surrendered or paid.  

    (m) Notwithstanding any other provisions of law to the 
 contrary, the notice of any levy authorized by this section may 
 be served by mail or by delivery by an employee or agent of the 
 department of economic security. 

    (n) It shall be lawful for the commissioner to release the 
 levy upon all or part of the property or rights to property 
 levied upon if the commissioner determines that the release will 
 facilitate the collection of the liability, but the release 
 shall not operate to prevent any subsequent levy.  If the 
 commissioner determines that property has been wrongfully levied 
 upon, it shall be lawful for the commissioner to return:  

    (1) the specific property levied upon, at any time; or 

    (2) an amount of money equal to the amount of money levied 
 upon, at any time before the expiration of nine months from the 
 date of levy. 

    (o) Notwithstanding section 52.12, a levy by the 
 commissioner made pursuant to the provisions of this section 
 upon an employer's funds on deposit in a financial institution 
 located in this state, shall have priority over any unexercised 
 right of setoff of the financial institution to apply the levied 
 funds toward the balance of an outstanding loan or loans owed by 
 the employer to the financial institution.  A claim by the 
 financial institution that it exercised its right to setoff 
 prior to the levy by the commissioner must be substantiated by 
 evidence of the date of the setoff, and shall be verified by the 
 sworn statement of a responsible corporate officer of the 
 financial institution.  Furthermore, for purposes of determining 
 the priority of any levy made under this section, the levy shall 
 be treated as if it were an execution made pursuant to chapter 
 550.  

    Subd. 4.    Right of setoff.  Upon certification by the 
 commissioner to the commissioner of finance or to any state 
 agency which disburses its own funds, that an employer has an 
 uncontested delinquent contribution or reimbursement liability 
 owed to the department, and that the state has purchased 
 personal services, supplies, contract services, or property from 
 said employer, the commissioner of finance or the state agency 
 shall apply to the delinquent contribution or reimbursement 
 liability funds sufficient to satisfy the unpaid liability from 
 funds appropriated for payment of said obligation of the state 
 or any of its agencies that are due and owing the employer.  The 
 credit shall not be made against any funds exempt under section 
 550.37 or those funds owed an individual employer who receives 
 assistance under chapter 256. 

    All funds, whether general or dedicated, shall be subject 
 to setoff in the manner provided in this subdivision.  Transfer 
 of funds in payment of the obligations of the state or any of 
 its agencies to an employer and any actions for the funds shall 
 be had against the commissioner on the issue of the contribution 
 or reimbursement liability.  Nothing in this section shall be 
 construed to limit the previously existing right of the state or 
 any of its agencies to setoff.  

    Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, the commissioner 
 shall have first priority to setoff funds owed by the department 
 to a delinquent employer. 

    Subd. 5.    Collection by civil action.  (a) In addition 
 to all other collection methods authorized, if any employer is 
 delinquent on any payment of contributions or interest due 
 thereon or penalties for failure to file a contribution report 
 and other reports as required by this chapter or by any rule of 
 the commissioner, the amount due may be collected by civil 
 action in the name of the state of Minnesota, and any money 
 recovered shall be credited to the funds provided for under 
 those sections.  Any employer adjudged delinquent shall pay the 
 costs of the action.  Civil actions brought under this 
 subdivision shall be heard as provided under section 16D.14.  No 
 action for the collection of contributions, interest thereon, or 
 penalties shall be commenced more than six years after the 
 contributions have been reported by the employer or determined 
 by the commissioner to be due and payable.  In any action, 
 judgment shall be entered against any employer in default for 
 the relief demanded in the complaint without proof, together 
 with costs and disbursements, upon the filing of an affidavit of 
 default. 

    (b) Any employer that is not a resident of this state and 
 any resident employer removed from this state, shall be deemed 
 to appoint the secretary of state as its agent and attorney for 
 the acceptance of process in any civil action under this 
 subdivision.  In instituting an action against any employer, the 
 commissioner shall file process with the secretary of state, 
 together with a payment of a fee of $15 and that service shall 
 be considered sufficient service upon the employer, and shall 
 have the same force and validity as if served upon the employer 
 personally within this state.  The commissioner shall send 
 notice of the service of process, together with a copy of the 
 process, by certified mail, to the employer at its last known 
 address.  The commissioner's affidavit of compliance with the 
 provisions of this section, and a copy of the notice of service 
 shall be appended to the original of the process and filed in 
 the court.  

    (c) No court filing fees, docketing fees, or release of 
 judgment fees may be assessed against the state for actions 
 pursuant to this subdivision. 

    Subd. 6.    Injunction forbidden.  No suit shall lie to 
 enjoin the assessment or collection of any contribution or 
 reimbursement imposed by this chapter, or the interest and 
 penalties imposed thereby.  

    HIST: 1Sp1982 c 1 s 36; 1983 c 372 s 40-44; 1985 c 281 s 1; 
 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 75; 1986 c 444; 1Sp1986 c 3 art 1 s 82; 
 1987 c 385 s 31-34; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1; 1991 c 291 art 18 s 1; 
 1992 c 484 s 14; 1993 c 67 s 12; 1993 c 137 s 8; 1994 c 483 s 1; 
 1994 c 488 s 7; 1995 c 54 s 16,17; 1996 c 417 s 25,31; 1997 c 66 
 s 67,79 

     268.059 Garnishment for delinquent taxes and benefit 
  overpayments. 

    (a) The commissioner or a delegated representative may, 
 within six years after the date of assessment of the tax, or 
 payment in lieu of contribution, or determination of benefit 
 overpayment, or if a lien has been filed, within the statutory 
 period for enforcement of the lien, give notice to any employer 
 that an employee of that employer owes delinquent reemployment 
 insurance taxes or payments in lieu of contributions including 
 penalties, interest, and costs, or has an unpaid benefit 
 overpayment.  The commissioner can proceed under this section 
 only if the tax, payment in lieu of contributions, or benefit 
 overpayment is uncontested or if the time for any appeal has 
 expired.  The commissioner shall not proceed under this section 
 until the expiration of 30 calendar days after mailing to the 
 debtor employee, at the debtor's last known address, a written 
 notice of garnishment. The notice shall list: 

    (1) the amount of taxes, payments in lieu of contributions, 
 interest, penalties, costs, or benefit overpayment due from the 
 debtor; 

    (2) demand for immediate payment; and 

    (3) the commissioner's intention to serve a garnishment on 
 the debtor's employer pursuant to this section. 

    The effect of the notice shall expire 180 calendar days 
 after it has been mailed to the debtor provided that the notice 
 may be renewed by mailing a new notice which is in accordance 
 with this section.  The renewed notice shall have the effect of 
 reinstating the priority of the original claim.  The notice to 
 the debtor shall be in substantially the same form as that 
 provided in section 571.72.  The notice shall further inform the 
 debtor of the wage exemptions contained in section 550.37, 
 subdivision 14.  If no statement of exemption is received by the 
 commissioner within 30 calendar days from the mailing of the 
 notice, the commissioner may proceed under this section.  The 
 notice to the debtor's employer may be served by mail or by 
 delivery by an employee of the commissioner and shall be in 
 substantially the same form as provided in section 571.75.  Upon 
 receipt of the notice, the employer shall retain the earnings 
 due or to become due to the employee, the total amount shown by 
 the notice, subject to the provisions of section 571.922.  The 
 employer shall continue to retain each pay period until the 
 notice is released by the commissioner.  Upon receipt of notice 
 by the employer, the claim of the commissioner shall have 
 priority over any subsequent garnishments or wage assignments.  
 The commissioner may arrange between the employer and employee 
 for retaining a portion of the total amount due the employee 
 each pay period, until the total amount shown by the notice plus 
 accrued interest has been retained. 

    The "earnings due" any employee is defined in accordance 
 with section 571.921.  The maximum garnishment allowed under 
 this section for any one pay period shall be decreased by any 
 amounts payable pursuant to a garnishment action with respect to 
 which the employer was served prior to being served with the 
 notice of delinquency, and any amounts covered by any 
 irrevocable and previously effective assignment of wages; the 
 employer shall give notice to the commissioner of the amounts 
 and the facts relating to the assignment within ten days after 
 the service of the notice of delinquency on the form provided by 
 the commissioner as noted in this section. 

    (b) If the employee ceases to be employed by the employer 
 before the full amount set forth in a notice of garnishment plus 
 accrued interest has been retained, the employer shall 
 immediately notify the commissioner in writing of the 
 termination date of the employee and the total amount retained.  
 No employer may discharge or otherwise discipline any employee 
 by the reason of the fact that the commissioner has proceeded 
 under this section.  If an employer discharges an employee in 
 violation of this provision, the employee shall have the same 
 remedy as provided in section 571.927, subdivision 2. 

    (c) Within ten calendar days after the expiration of the 
 pay period, the employer shall remit to the commissioner, on a 
 form and in the manner prescribed by the commissioner, the 
 amount retained during each pay period under this section. 

    (d) Paragraphs (a) to (c), except provisions imposing a 
 liability on the employer for failure to retain or remit, shall 
 apply to cases in which the employer is the United States or any 
 instrumentality thereof or this state or any political 
 subdivision thereof. 

    (e) The commissioner shall refund to the employee excess 
 amounts retained from the employee under this section.  If any 
 excess results from payments by the employer because of willful 
 failure to retain or remit as prescribed in paragraph (c), the 
 excess attributable to the employer's payment shall be refunded 
 to the employer. 

    (f) Employers required to retain delinquent amounts under 
 this section shall not be required to compute any additional 
 interest, costs, or other charges to be retained. 

    (g) An employer that fails or refuses to comply with the 
 requirements of this section shall be liable as provided in 
 section 268.058, subdivision 3, paragraph (i). 

    HIST: 1996 c 417 s 28; 1997 c 66 s 70,79 

    268.06 Subdivision 1. Renumbered 268.051, subd 1 

    Subd. 2. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 3.  Repealed, 1969 c 854 s 14 

    Subd. 3. Repealed, 1969 c 854 s 14 

    Subd. 3a. Renumbered 268.051, subd 5 

    Subd. 4. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 5. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 6. Renumbered 268.051, subd 3 

    Subd. 7.  Repealed, 1949 c 605 s 15 

    Subd. 7. Repealed, 1949 c 605 s 15 

    Subd. 8. Renumbered 268.051, subd 2 

    Subd. 8a. Renumbered 268.051, subd 8 

    Subd. 9.  Repealed, 1949 c 605 s 15 

    Subd. 9. Repealed, 1949 c 605 s 15 

    Subd. 10.  Repealed, 1949 c 605 s 15 

    Subd. 10. Repealed, 1949 c 605 s 15 

    Subd. 11.  Repealed, 1953 c 97 s 7 

    Subd. 11. Repealed, 1953 c 97 s 7 

    Subd. 12.  Repealed, 1953 c 97 s 7 

    Subd. 12. Repealed, 1953 c 97 s 7 

    Subd. 13.  Repealed, 1953 c 97 s 7 

    Subd. 13. Repealed, 1953 c 97 s 7 

    Subd. 14.  Repealed, 1953 c 97 s 7 

    Subd. 14. Repealed, 1953 c 97 s 7 

    Subd. 15.  Repealed, 1953 c 97 s 7 

    Subd. 15. Repealed, 1953 c 97 s 7 

    Subd. 16.  Repealed, 1953 c 97 s 7 

    Subd. 16. Repealed, 1953 c 97 s 7 

    Subd. 17.  Repealed, 1949 c 605 s 15 

    Subd. 17. Repealed, 1949 c 605 s 15 

    Subd. 18. Renumbered 268.047, subd 5 

    Subd. 19. Renumbered 268.051, subd 6 

    Subd. 20. Renumbered 268.051, subd 6, paragraphs (c) and 
 (d) 

    Subd. 21. Renumbered 268.045 

    Subd. 22. Renumbered 268.051, subd 4 

    Subd. 23.  Repealed, 1955 c 380 s 5 

    Subd. 23. Repealed, 1955 c 380 s 5 

    Subd. 24. Renumbered 268.051, subd 7 

    Subd. 25. Renumbered 268.052, subd 1 

    Subd. 26. Renumbered 268.052, subd 3 

    Subd. 27. Renumbered 268.052, subd 4 

    Subd. 28. Renumbered 268.053 

    Subd. 29. Renumbered 268.045, paragraph (d) 

    Subd. 30. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 31. Renumbered 268.052, subd 2 

    Subd. 32. Repealed, 1983 c 372 s 48 

    Subd. 32. Repealed, 1983 c 372 s 48 

    Subd. 33. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 34. Renumbered 268.054 

  268.061 Repealed, 1988 c 689 art 2 s 269 

  268.062 Renumbered 268.068 

     268.0625 Unemployment tax clearances; issuances of 
  licenses. 

    Subdivision 1.    Unemployment clearance required.  The 
 state or a political subdivision of the state may not issue, 
 transfer, or renew, and must revoke a license for the conduct of 
 any profession, trade, or business, if the commissioner notifies 
 the licensing authority that the applicant owes the state 
 delinquent contributions, reimbursements, or benefit 
 overpayments.  The commissioner may not notify the licensing 
 authority unless the applicant owes $500 or more to the 
 reemployment insurance fund.  A licensing authority that has 
 received a notice from the commissioner may issue, transfer, 
 renew, or not revoke the applicant's license only if (a) the 
 commissioner issues an unemployment tax clearance certificate; 
 and (b) the commissioner or the applicant forwards a copy of the 
 clearance to the licensing authority. 

    Subd. 2.    Issuance of clearance.  The commissioner may 
 issue an unemployment tax clearance certificate only if (a) the 
 applicant does not owe the state any delinquent contributions, 
 reimbursements, or benefit overpayments; or (b) the applicant 
 has entered into a payment agreement to liquidate the delinquent 
 contributions, reimbursements, or benefit overpayments and is 
 current with all the terms of that payment agreement. 

    For the purposes of this section, "applicant" means:  (a) 
 an individual if the license is issued to or in the name of an 
 individual, or the corporation, limited liability company, or 
 partnership if the license is issued to or in the name of a 
 corporation, limited liability company, or partnership; or (b) 
 an officer of a corporation, manager of a limited liability 
 company, or a member of a partnership, or an individual who is 
 liable for the delinquent contributions, reimbursements, or 
 benefit overpayments, either for the entity for which the 
 license is at issue or for another entity for which the 
 liability was incurred, or personally as a licensee.  In the 
 case of a license transfer, "applicant" means both the 
 transferor and the transferee of the license.  "Applicant" also 
 means any holder of a license. 

    Subd. 3.    Notice and right to hearing.  At least 30 
 days before the commissioner notifies a licensing authority 
 pursuant to subdivision 1, a notice and demand for payment of 
 the amount due shall be given to the applicant.  If the 
 applicant disputes the amount due, the applicant must request a 
 hearing in writing within 30 days after the mailing of the 
 notice and demand for payment to the applicant's last known 
 address.  Proceedings on the appeal of the amount due shall be 
 conducted in accordance with section 268.105. 

    Subd. 4.    Licensing authority; duties.  Upon request 
 of the commissioner, the licensing authority must provide the 
 commissioner with a list of all applicants, including the name, 
 address, business name and address, social security number, and 
 business identification number of each applicant.  The 
 commissioner may request from a licensing authority a list of 
 the applicants no more than once each calendar year.  
 Notwithstanding section 268.19, the commissioner may release 
 information necessary to accomplish the purpose of this section. 

    Subd. 5.    Other remedies.  Any action taken by the 
 commissioner pursuant to this section is not an election by the 
 commissioner to pursue a remedy to the exclusion of any other 
 remedy.  

    HIST: 1987 c 385 s 37; 1994 c 488 s 8; 1995 c 54 s 20; 1996 c 
 417 s 26,27; 1997 c 66 s 79 

     268.063 Personal liability. 

    Any officer, director, or employee of a corporation or any 
 manager, governor, member, or employee of a limited liability 
 company which is an employer under sections 268.03 to 268.23, 
 who 

    (1) either individually or jointly with others, have or 
 should have had control of, supervision over, or responsibility 
 for the filing of the tax reports or the making of payments 
 under this chapter, and 

    (2) willfully fails to file the reports or to make payments 
 as required, shall be personally liable for contributions or 
 reimbursement, including interest, penalties, and costs in the 
 event the employer does not pay to the department those amounts 
 for which the employer is liable. 

    For purposes of this subdivision, "willfulness" means that 
 the facts demonstrate that the responsible party used or allowed 
 the use of corporate or company assets to pay other creditors 
 knowing that the payments required under this chapter were 
 unpaid.  An evil motive or intent to defraud is not necessary to 
 satisfy the willfulness requirement.  

    Any partner of a limited liability partnership, or 
 professional limited liability partnership, shall be jointly and 
 severally liable for contributions or reimbursement, including 
 interest, penalties, and costs in the event the employer does 
 not pay to the department those amounts for which the employer 
 is liable.  

    Any personal representative of the estate of a decedent or 
 fiduciary who voluntarily distributes the assets filed therein 
 without reserving a sufficient amount to pay the contributions, 
 interest, and penalties due pursuant to this chapter shall be 
 personally liable for the deficiency. 

    The personal liability of any person as provided herein 
 shall survive dissolution, reorganization, receivership, or 
 assignment for the benefit of creditors.  For the purposes of 
 this subdivision, all wages paid by the employer shall be 
 considered earned from the person determined to be personally 
 liable. 

    An official designated by the commissioner shall make an 
 initial determination as to the personal liability under this 
 section.  The determination shall be final unless the person 
 found to be personally liable shall within 30 days after mailing 
 of notice of determination to the person's last known address 
 file a written protest.  Upon receipt of the protest, the 
 official shall reexamine the personal liability determination 
 and either affirm or redetermine the assessment of personal 
 liability and a notice of the affirmation or redetermination 
 shall be mailed to the person's last known address.  The 
 affirmation or redetermination shall become final unless a 
 written appeal is filed within 30 days of the date of mailing.  
 Proceedings on the appeal shall be conducted in accordance with 
 section 268.105.  

    HIST: 1Sp1982 c 1 s 36; 1983 c 372 s 40-44; 1985 c 281 s 1; 
 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 75; 1986 c 444; 1Sp1986 c 3 art 1 s 82; 
 1987 c 385 s 31-34; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1; 1991 c 291 art 18 s 1; 
 1992 c 484 s 14; 1993 c 67 s 12; 1993 c 137 s 8; 1994 c 483 s 1; 
 1994 c 488 s 7; 1995 c 54 s 16,17; 1996 c 417 s 25,31; 1997 c 66 
 s 79 

     268.064 Liability of successor. 

    Subdivision 1.    Acquisition of organization, trade, or 
 business.  Any individual or organization, whether or not an 
 employing unit, which acquires all or part of the organization, 
 trade, or business or all or part of the assets thereof from an 
 employer, is jointly and severally liable, in an amount not to 
 exceed the reasonable value of that part of the organization, 
 trade, or business or assets acquired, for the contributions due 
 and unpaid by the employer, and the amount of liability shall, 
 in addition, be a lien against the property or assets so 
 acquired which shall be prior to all other unrecorded liens.  
 This subdivision does not apply to sales in the normal course of 
 the employer's business. 

    Subd. 2.    Reasonable value.  An official, designated 
 by the commissioner, upon the official's own motion or upon 
 application of the potential successor, shall determine the 
 reasonable value of the organization, trade, or business or 
 assets acquired by the successor based on available 
 information.  The determination shall be final unless the 
 successor, within 30 days after the mailing of notice of the 
 determination to the successor's last known address, files a 
 written appeal from it.  Proceedings on the appeal shall be 
 conducted in accordance with section 268.105. 

    Subd. 3.    Statement of amount due.  Prior to the date 
 of acquisition, the commissioner shall furnish the potential 
 successor with a written statement of the predecessor's 
 contributions due and unpaid, on record as of the date of 
 issuance, only upon the written request of the potential 
 successor and the written release of the predecessor.  No 
 release is required after the date of acquisition. 

    Subd. 4.    Additional remedy.  The remedy provided by 
 this section is in addition to all other existing remedies 
 against the employer or a successor and is not an election by 
 the department to pursue this remedy to the exclusion of any 
 other remedy. 

    HIST: 1987 c 385 s 35; 1989 c 65 s 13; 1995 c 54 s 18; 1997 c 
 66 s 79 

     268.065 Liability of third parties to assure payment of 
  amounts due from contractors, subcontractors, and employee 
  leasing firms. 

    Subdivision 1.    Contractors.  A contractor, who is or 
 becomes an employer under this chapter, who contracts with any 
 subcontractor, who is or becomes an employer under this chapter, 
 shall guarantee the payment of all the contributions, interest, 
 penalties, and collection costs which are due or become due from 
 the subcontractor with respect to wages paid for employment on 
 the contract by: 

    (a) withholding sufficient money on the contract; or 

    (b) requiring the subcontractor to provide a good and 
 sufficient bond guaranteeing the payment of all contributions, 
 interest, penalties, and collection costs which may become due.  

    The contractor may make a written request for verification 
 that the subcontractor has paid the contributions due 60 days 
 after the due date for filing the contribution report that 
 includes the final wages paid for services performed under the 
 contract.  If department records show that the subcontractor has 
 paid the contributions for the period covered by the contract, 
 the department may release the contractor from its liability 
 under this subdivision. 

    The words "contractor" and "subcontractor" include 
 individuals, partnerships, firms, or corporations, or other 
 association of persons engaged in the construction industry. 

    Subd. 2.    Employee leasing firms.  A person whose work 
 force consists of 50 percent or more of workers provided by 
 employee leasing firms, is directly liable for the payment of 
 all the contributions, penalties, interest, and collection costs 
 which are due or become due from wages paid for employment on 
 the contract, unless the contract requires the employee leasing 
 firm to provide a good and sufficient bond guaranteeing the 
 payment of all contributions, penalties, interest, and 
 collection costs which may become due.  "Employee leasing firm" 
 means an employing unit that provides its employees to other 
 firms, persons, and employing units without severing its 
 employer-employee relationship with the worker for the services 
 performed for the lessee. 

    Subd. 3.    Determination of liability.  An official 
 designated by the commissioner shall make an initial 
 determination as to the liability under this section.  The 
 determination shall be final unless the contractor or person 
 found to be liable files a written appeal within 30 days after 
 mailing of notice of determination to the person's last known 
 address.  Proceedings on the appeal shall be conducted in 
 accordance with section 268.105. 

    HIST: 1987 c 385 s 36; 1989 c 65 s 14; 1995 c 54 s 19; 1997 C 
 66 S 79 

     268.066 Cancellation of delinquent contributions. 

    The commissioner may cancel as uncollectible any 
 contributions, reimbursements, penalties, or the interest or 
 costs thereon, which remain unpaid six years after the amounts 
 have been determined by the commissioner to be due and payable.  
 This section does not prohibit the commissioner from collecting 
 any amounts secured by a notice of lien or a judgment which are 
 older than six years. 

    HIST: 1987 c 385 s 39; 1996 c 305 art 1 s 58; 1997 c 66 s 79 

     268.067 Compromise agreements. 

    (a) The commissioner, or an authorized representative, may 
 compromise in whole or in part any action, determination, or 
 decision which affects an employer and which has become final 
 during the preceding 24 months. 

    (b) The commissioner, or an authorized representative, may 
 at any time compromise delinquent employer contributions, 
 reimbursements, interest, penalties, and costs under this 
 section. 

    (c) Any compromise under paragraphs (a) and (b) shall be by 
 written agreement signed by the employing unit and the 
 commissioner or authorized representative. 

    The department shall enter into a compromise agreement only 
 if it is in the best interest of the state of Minnesota.  The 
 written agreement must set forth the reason and all the terms of 
 the agreement.  Any agreements under this section must be 
 approved by an attorney who is a regularly salaried employee of 
 the department and who has been designated by the commissioner 
 for that purpose. 

    HIST: Ex1936 c 2 s 14; 1941 c 554 s 13; 1943 c 650 s 9; 1945 c 
 376 s 13; 1949 c 605 s 12,13; 1951 c 55 s 1; 1953 c 97 s 17; 
 1969 c 9 s 65; 1969 c 567 s 3; 1969 c 854 s 13; 1973 c 254 s 3; 
 1973 c 720 s 73 subds 2,3; 1975 c 108 s 1; 1975 c 302 s 3,4; 
 1975 c 336 s 22,23; 1977 c 430 s 25 subd 1; 1978 c 618 s 2; 1978 
 c 674 s 60; 1980 c 508 s 11-13; 3Sp1981 c 2 art 1 s 33; 1Sp1982 
 c 1 s 34,35; 1983 c 372 s 39; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 
 9 s 75; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 362 s 26; 1987 c 385 s 28-30; 1989 c 
 65 s 12; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1; 1993 c 67 s 11; 1994 c 483 s 1; 
 1995 c 54 s 13-15; 1996 c 417 s 24,31; 1997 c 66 s 79 

     268.068 Notice to workers. 

    Each employer shall post and maintain printed statements of 
 an individual's right to apply for reemployment insurance 
 benefits in places readily accessible to individuals in the 
 employer's service.  Such printed statements must be supplied by 
 the commissioner at no cost to an employer. 

    HIST: 1996 c 417 s 8; 1997 c 66 s 79 

     268.069 Payment of benefits. 

    (a) The commissioner shall pay reemployment insurance 
 benefits from the Minnesota reemployment insurance fund to a 
 claimant who has met each of the following requirements: 

    (1) the claimant has established a reemployment insurance 
 account in accordance with section 268.07; 

    (2) the claimant is not subject to a disqualification from 
 benefits under section 268.09; 

    (3) the claimant has met all of the eligibility 
 requirements under section 268.08; and 

    (4) the claimant does not have an outstanding overpayment 
 of benefits under section 268.18. 

    (b) Benefits shall not be considered as paid by an employer.
 The commissioner shall determine a claimant's entitlement to 
 benefits based upon that information available and any agreement 
 between a claimant and an employer shall not be binding on the 
 commissioner in determining a claimant's entitlement.  Any 
 obligation on an employer as a result of benefits charged to the 
 employer is to the fund only. 

    HIST: 1997 c 66 s 28 

     268.07 Reemployment insurance account. 

    Subdivision 1.    Application; determination.  (a) An 
 application for reemployment insurance benefits may be made in 
 person, by mail, by telephone, or by electronic transmission as 
 the commissioner shall require.  The commissioner may by rule 
 adopt other requirements for an application. 

    (b) An official, designated by the commissioner, shall 
 promptly examine each application for benefits to determine the 
 base period, the benefit year, the weekly benefit amount 
 payable, if any, and the maximum benefit amount payable, if any. 
 The determination shall be known as the determination of 
 reemployment insurance account.  A written determination of 
 reemployment insurance account must be promptly mailed to the 
 claimant and all base period employers. 

    (c) If a base period employer failed to provide wage 
 information for the claimant as required in section 268.044, the 
 commissioner shall accept a claimant certification as to wage 
 credits, based upon the claimant's records, and issue a 
 determination of reemployment insurance account. 

    (d)(1) The commissioner may, at any time within 24 months 
 from the establishment of a reemployment insurance account, 
 reconsider any determination of reemployment insurance account 
 and make a redetermination if the commissioner finds that the 
 determination was incorrect for any reason.  A written 
 redetermination of reemployment insurance account shall be 
 promptly mailed to the claimant and all base period employers. 

    (2) If a redetermination of reemployment insurance account 
 reduces the weekly or maximum benefit amount payable, any 
 benefits paid greater than the claimant was entitled is an 
 overpayment of those benefits subject to section 268.18, except 
 when, in the absence of fraud, a redetermination is due to an 
 error or omission by an employer in providing wage information 
 as required in section 268.044. 

    Subd. 2.    Weekly benefit amount and duration.  (a) To 
 establish a reemployment insurance account, a claimant must have:

    (1) wage credits in two or more calendar quarters of the 
 claimant's base period; 

    (2) minimum total wage credits equal to or greater than the 
 high quarter wage credits multiplied by 1.25; 

    (3) high quarter wage credits of not less than $1,000.  

    (b) If the commissioner finds that a claimant has 
 established a reemployment insurance account, the weekly benefit 
 amount payable to the claimant during the claimant's benefit 
 year shall be equal to 1/26 of the claimant's high quarter wage 
 credits, rounded to the next lower whole dollar.  

    (c) Notwithstanding paragraph (b), the maximum weekly 
 benefit amount for any reemployment insurance account 
 established during the 12-month period subsequent to June 30 of 
 any year shall be determined on the basis of the reemployment 
 insurance fund balance on December 31 of the preceding year.  If 
 the fund balance is less than $70,000,000 on that date, the 
 maximum weekly benefit amount shall be 66-2/3 percent of the 
 state's average weekly wage; if the fund balance is more than 
 $70,000,000 but less than $100,000,000, the maximum weekly 
 benefit amount is 66 percent of the state's average weekly wage; 
 if the fund balance is more than $100,000,000 but less than 
 $150,000,000, the maximum weekly benefit amount is 65 percent of 
 the state's average weekly wage; if the fund balance is more 
 than $150,000,000 but less than $200,000,000, the maximum weekly 
 benefit amount is 64 percent of the state's average weekly wage; 
 if the fund balance is more than $200,000,000 but less than 
 $250,000,000, the maximum weekly benefit amount is 63 percent of 
 the state's average weekly wage; if the fund balance is more 
 than $250,000,000 but less than $300,000,000, the maximum weekly 
 benefit amount is 62 percent of the state's average weekly wage; 
 if the fund balance is more than $300,000,000 but less than 
 $350,000,000, the maximum weekly benefit amount is 61 percent of 
 the state's average weekly wage; if the fund balance is more 
 than $350,000,000, the maximum weekly benefit amount is 60 
 percent.  The maximum weekly benefit amount shall be computed to 
 the nearest whole dollar.  

    (d) The maximum benefit amount payable on any reemployment 
 insurance account shall equal one-third of the claimant's total 
 wage credits rounded to the next lower dollar, not to exceed 26 
 times the claimant's weekly benefit amount.  

    Subd. 2a. Repealed by amendment, 1996 c 417 s 9 

    Subd. 3.    Second account requirements.  To establish a 
 second reemployment insurance account following the expiration 
 of a benefit year on a preceding reemployment insurance account, 
 a claimant must have sufficient wage credits to establish a 
 reemployment insurance account under the provisions of 
 subdivision 2 and must have performed services in covered 
 employment after the establishment of the preceding reemployment 
 insurance account.  The wages paid for those services must equal 
 not less than eight times the weekly benefit amount of the 
 preceding reemployment insurance account.  A reemployment 
 insurance account established sufficiently in advance of 
 anticipated unemployment to make the limitations of this 
 paragraph ineffective shall not be allowed.  It is the purpose 
 of this provision to prevent a claimant from establishing more 
 than one reemployment insurance account as a result of one 
 separation from employment. 

    Subd. 3a.    Right of appeal.  (a) A determination or 
 redetermination of a reemployment insurance account shall be 
 final unless a claimant or base period employer within 15 
 calendar days after the mailing of the determination or 
 redetermination to the last known address files a written 
 appeal.  Every determination or redetermination of a 
 reemployment insurance account shall contain a prominent 
 statement indicating in clear language the method of appealing, 
 the time within which the appeal must be made, and the 
 consequences of not appealing.  Proceedings on the appeal shall 
 be conducted in accordance with section 268.105. 

    (b) Any claimant or base period employer may appeal from a 
 determination or redetermination of a reemployment insurance 
 account on the issue of whether an employing unit is an employer 
 within the meaning of this chapter or whether services performed 
 constitute employment within the meaning of this chapter.  
 Proceedings on the appeal shall be conducted in accordance with 
 section 268.105. 

    Subd. 3b.    Limitations.  (a) A reemployment insurance 
 account shall be established the Sunday of the calendar week in 
 which the application for reemployment insurance benefits was 
 made.  If an individual attempted to make an application for a 
 reemployment insurance account, but was prevented from making an 
 application by the department, the reemployment insurance 
 account shall be established the Sunday of the calendar week the 
 individual first attempted to make an application. 

    (b) A reemployment insurance account, once established, may 
 be withdrawn and a new account established only if the claimant 
 has not been credited with a waiting week under section 268.08, 
 subdivision 1, clause (3).  A determination or amended 
 determination pursuant to section 268.101, that was issued 
 before the withdrawal of the reemployment insurance account, 
 shall remain in effect and shall not be voided by the withdrawal 
 of the reemployment insurance account.  A determination of 
 disqualification requiring subsequent earnings to satisfy the 
 disqualification shall apply to the weekly benefit amount on the 
 new account. 

    (c) A reemployment insurance account shall not be 
 established prior to the Sunday following the expiration of the 
 benefit year on a preceding reemployment insurance account. 

    (d) All benefits shall be payable from the Minnesota 
 reemployment insurance fund only for weeks occurring during the 
 benefit year. 

    Subd. 4.  MS 1949 Repealed, 1951 c 442 s 3 

    Subd. 4.  MS 1980 Repealed, 1Sp1982 c 1 s 43 

    Subd. 5.  Repealed, 1975 c 336 s 25 

    Subd. 6.  Repealed, 1947 c 32 s 9 

    HIST: (4337-25) Ex1936 c 2 s 5; 1937 c 306 s 3; 1939 c 443 s 
 4; 1941 c 554 s 4; 1943 c 650 s 3; 1945 c 376 s 4; 1947 c 432 s 
 6; 1949 c 605 s 7,8; 1951 c 442 s 3; 1953 c 587 s 1; 1955 c 816 
 s 1; 1957 c 780 s 1; 1965 c 741 s 12,13; 1967 c 573 s 4; 1969 c 
 854 s 7; 1971 c 408 s 1; 1971 c 942 s 7,8; Ex1971 c 10 s 1; 1973 
 c 599 s 5; 1975 c 104 s 1; 1975 c 336 s 11; 1977 c 4 s 6; 1977 c 
 297 s 12; 1979 c 284 s 1; 1Sp1982 c 1 s 13-15; 1983 c 372 s 
 17,18; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 242 s 2; 1987 c 362 s 
 13-15; 1987 c 385 s 19; 1989 c 65 s 6,7; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1; 
 1990 c 516 s 3; 1992 c 484 s 8; 1996 c 417 s 9,31; 1997 c 66 s 
 29-32,79 

  268.071 Renumbered 268.115 

  268.072 Renumbered 268.155 

    268.073 Subdivision 1. Renumbered 268.125, subd 1 

    Subd. 2. Renumbered 268.125, subd 2 

    Subd. 3. Renumbered 268.125, subd 3 

    Subd. 4. Renumbered 268.125, subd 4 

    Subd. 5. Renumbered 268.125, subd 5 

    Subd. 6. Repealed, 1994 c 503 s 7 

    Subd. 6. Repealed, 1994 c 503 s 7 

    Subd. 7. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

  268.074 Renumbered 268.135 

  268.075 Renumbered 268.145 

     268.08 Persons eligible to receive benefits. 

    Subdivision 1.    Eligibility conditions.  A claimant 
 shall be eligible to receive benefits for any week in the 
 claimant's benefit year only if: 

    (1) the claimant has made a continued claim for benefits in 
 person, by mail, by telephone, or by electronic transmission as 
 the commissioner shall require.  The commissioner may by rule 
 adopt other requirements for a continued claim; 

    (2) the claimant was able to work and was available for 
 employment, and was actively seeking employment.  The claimant's 
 weekly benefit amount shall be reduced one-fifth for each day 
 the claimant is unable to work or is unavailable for employment. 

    Benefits shall not be denied by application of this clause 
 to a claimant who is in training with the approval of the 
 commissioner, is a dislocated worker as defined in section 
 268.975, subdivision 3, in training approved by the 
 commissioner, or in training approved pursuant to section 236 of 
 the Trade Act of 1974, as amended. 

    A claimant serving as a juror shall be considered as 
 available for employment and actively seeking employment on each 
 day the claimant is on jury duty; 

    (3) the claimant has been unemployed for a waiting period 
 of one week during which the claimant is otherwise entitled to 
 benefits; and 

    (4) the claimant has been participating in reemployment 
 services, such as job search assistance services, if the 
 claimant has been determined likely to exhaust benefits and in 
 need of reemployment services pursuant to a profiling system 
 established by the commissioner, unless there is justifiable 
 cause for the claimant's failure to participate. 

    Subd. 1a.    Benefits due deceased persons.  Upon the 
 death of any claimant for benefits, and in the event it is found 
 by the commissioner that benefits have accrued and are due and 
 payable to that claimant and remain wholly or partially unpaid 
 at the time of the claimant's death, or in the event there have 
 been issued and unpaid one or more benefit checks, those checks 
 may, upon application therefor, be paid to the duly qualified 
 administrator or executor of the estate of the deceased 
 claimant.  In the event that no administrator or executor is 
 appointed to administer the estate of the deceased, if any, the 
 benefits may, upon the order and direction of the commissioner 
 be paid to any person designated by the commissioner in the 
 following order:  (1) the surviving spouse, (2) the surviving 
 child or children, or (3) the surviving parent or parents. 

    A person seeking payment under this subdivision shall 
 complete an affidavit on a form prescribed by the department and 
 the payment of benefits to a person pursuant to an affidavit 
 under this subdivision shall discharge the obligations of the 
 department to the claimant to the extent of the payment, and no 
 other person shall claim or assert any right with respect 
 thereto. 

    Subd. 2.    Not eligible.  A claimant shall not be 
 eligible to receive benefits for any week: 

    (1) unless it occurs subsequent to the establishment of a 
 reemployment insurance account; 

    (2) which occurs in a period when the claimant is a 
 full-time student in attendance at, or on vacation from an 
 established school, college, or university unless a majority of 
 the claimant's wages paid during the 52 weeks preceding the 
 establishment of a reemployment insurance account were for 
 services performed during weeks that the claimant was attending 
 school as a full-time student; 

    (3) in which the claimant is incarcerated.  The claimant's 
 weekly benefit amount shall be reduced by one-fifth for each day 
 the claimant is incarcerated; 

    (4) in which the claimant is on a voluntary leave of 
 absence; 

    (5) in which the claimant is performing services on a 
 full-time basis, in covered employment, noncovered employment, 
 self-employment, or volunteer work regardless of the amount of 
 any earnings; or 

    (6) with respect to which the claimant is receiving, has 
 received, or has filed a claim for reemployment insurance 
 benefits under any law of any other state, or the federal 
 government, but not including any federal or state benefits that 
 are merely supplementary to those provided for under this 
 chapter; provided that if the appropriate agency finally 
 determines that the claimant is not entitled to the benefits, 
 this clause shall not apply. 

    Subd. 2a.    Suspension from employment.  (a) A claimant 
 who has been suspended from employment for 30 calendar days or 
 less, as a result of misconduct as defined under section 268.09, 
 subdivision 12, shall be ineligible for benefits commencing the 
 Sunday of the week in which the claimant was suspended and 
 continuing for the duration of the suspension. 

    (b) A suspension from employment for more than 30 calendar 
 days shall be considered a discharge from employment under 
 section 268.09, subdivision 11. 

    Subd. 3.    Deductible payments.  A claimant shall not 
 be eligible to receive benefits for any week with respect to 
 which the claimant is receiving, has received, or has filed a 
 claim for payment in an amount equal to or in excess of the 
 claimant's weekly benefit amount in the form of: 

    (1) termination, severance, or dismissal payment or wages 
 in lieu of notice whether legally required or not.  This clause 
 shall apply to the first four weeks of payment and to one-half 
 of the total number of any additional weeks of payment.  This 
 clause shall be applied to the period immediately following the 
 last day of employment.  The number of weeks of payment shall be 
 determined as follows: 

    (i) if the payments are made periodically, the total of the 
 payments to be received shall be divided by the claimant's last 
 level of regular weekly pay from the employer; or 

    (ii) if the payment is made in a lump sum, that sum shall 
 be divided by the claimant's last level of regular weekly pay 
 from the employer; 

    (2) vacation allowance paid directly by the employer for a 
 period of requested vacation, including vacation periods 
 assigned by the employer under a collective bargaining 
 agreement, or uniform vacation shutdown; or 

    (3) compensation for loss of wages under the workers' 
 compensation law of this state or any other state or under a 
 similar law of the United States, or under other insurance or 
 fund established and paid for by the employer; or 

    (4) 50 percent of the pension payments from any fund, 
 annuity or insurance maintained or contributed to by a base 
 period employer including the armed forces of the United States 
 if the claimant contributed to the fund, annuity or insurance 
 and all of the pension payments if the claimant did not 
 contribute to the fund, annuity or insurance; or 

    (5) 50 percent of a primary insurance benefit under title 
 II of the Social Security Act, as amended, or similar benefits 
 under any act of Congress or this state or any other state. 

    Provided, that if the payment is less than the claimant's 
 weekly benefit amount, the claimant shall be entitled to receive 
 for that week, if otherwise eligible, benefits reduced by the 
 amount of the payment; provided, further, that if the 
 appropriate agency of this state or any other state or the 
 federal government finally determines that the claimant is not 
 entitled to payments, this subdivision shall not apply.  If the 
 computation of reduced benefits is not a whole dollar, it shall 
 be rounded down to the next lower dollar. 

    Subd. 3a.    Deductible earnings.  (a) If the claimant 
 has earnings, including holiday pay, with respect to any week, 
 from covered employment, noncovered employment, self-employment, 
 or volunteer work, equal to or in excess of the claimant's 
 weekly benefit amount, the claimant shall be ineligible for 
 benefits for that week. 

    (b) If the claimant has earnings, including holiday pay, 
 with respect to any week, from covered employment, noncovered 
 employment, self-employment, or volunteer work, that is less 
 than the claimant's weekly benefit amount, the following shall 
 be deducted from the claimant's weekly benefit amount: 

    (1) that amount in excess of $50 if the claimant's earnings 
 were $200 or less, and that amount in excess of 25 percent of 
 the claimant's earnings if those earnings were more than $200; 
 and 

    (2) that amount in excess of $200 for earnings from service 
 in the National Guard or a United States military reserve unit. 

    The resulting benefit, if not a whole dollar, shall be 
 rounded to the next lower dollar. 

    (c) No deduction shall be made from a claimant's weekly 
 benefit amount for earnings from service as a volunteer 
 firefighter or volunteer ambulance service personnel.  No 
 deduction shall be made for jury duty pay. 

    Subd. 3b.    Receipt of back pay.  Back pay received by 
 a claimant with respect to any weeks occurring in the 104 weeks 
 immediately preceding the payment of the back pay shall be 
 deducted from benefits paid for those weeks.  

    The amount deducted shall not reduce the benefits that the 
 claimant is otherwise eligible for that week below zero.  If the 
 amount of benefits after the deduction of back pay is not a 
 whole dollar amount, it shall be rounded to the next lower 
 dollar.  

    If the back pay awarded the claimant is reduced by benefits 
 paid, the amounts withheld shall be:  (a) paid by the employer 
 into the fund within 30 days of the award and are subject to the 
 same collection procedures that apply to past due contributions 
 under this chapter; (b) applied to benefit overpayments 
 resulting from the payment of the back pay; (c) credited to the 
 claimant's maximum amount of benefits payable in a benefit year 
 that includes the weeks for which back pay was deducted.  
 Benefit charges for those weeks shall be removed from the 
 employer's account as of the calendar quarter in which the fund 
 receives payment.  

    Payments to the fund under this subdivision shall be 
 considered as made by the claimant.  

    Subd. 4.    Social security amount deducted from benefits. 
  Any claimant aged 62 or over who has not established a 
 reemployment insurance account based on employment subsequent to 
 the first receipt of primary insurance benefits under Title II 
 of the federal social security act, as amended, or similar old 
 age benefits under any act of Congress or this state or any 
 other state shall be required to state in writing at the time of 
 establishing a reemployment insurance account whether the 
 claimant intends to seek Title II social security benefits for 
 any week during which the claimant will receive unemployment 
 benefits, and if the claimant so intends there shall be withheld 
 from the claimant's weekly unemployment benefits an amount 
 sufficient to cover the weekly equivalent of the social security 
 benefit.  Any claimant disclaiming such intention but who 
 nevertheless receives such social security benefits for weeks 
 for which the claimant previously received unemployment benefits 
 shall be liable for repayment of such unemployment benefits and 
 otherwise subject to the provisions of section 268.18. 

    Subd. 5.  Repealed, 1977 c 297 s 22 

    Subd. 5a.    Self-employment.  (a) A claimant who is 
 determined to be likely to exhaust regular reemployment 
 insurance benefits and is enrolled in a dislocated worker 
 program shall be considered in approved training for purposes of 
 this chapter for each week the claimant is engaged on a 
 full-time basis in activities, including training, relating to 
 the establishment of a business and becoming self-employed.  A 
 claimant who meets the requirements of this subdivision shall be 
 considered unemployed for purposes of this chapter.  Income 
 earned from the self-employment activity shall not be considered 
 for purposes of subdivision 3a.  Under no circumstances shall 
 more than five percent of the number of claimants receiving 
 regular reemployment insurance benefits be actively enrolled in 
 this program at any time.  This subdivision shall not apply to 
 claimants claiming state or federal extended or additional 
 benefits. 

    (b) This subdivision shall apply to weeks beginning after 
 April 18, 1995, or weeks beginning after approval of this 
 subdivision by the United States Department of Labor whichever 
 date is later.  This subdivision shall have no force or effect 
 for any purpose as of the end of the week preceding the date 
 when federal law no longer authorizes the provisions of this 
 subdivision, unless such date is a Saturday in which case this 
 subdivision shall have no force and effect for any purpose as of 
 that date. 

    Subd. 6.    Services performed for state, municipalities, 
 or charitable corporation.  Benefits based on service in 
 employment defined in section 268.04, subdivision 12, clauses 
 (7), (8) and (9), are payable in the same amount, on the same 
 terms and subject to the same conditions as benefits payable on 
 the basis of other service subject to this chapter; except that: 

    (a) Benefits based upon service performed in an 
 instructional, research, or principal administrative capacity 
 for an educational institution, shall not be paid for any week 
 of unemployment commencing during the period between two 
 successive academic years or terms, or during a similar period 
 between two regular but not successive terms, or during a period 
 of paid sabbatical leave provided for in the claimant's 
 contract, to any claimant if the claimant performs the services 
 in the first of the academic years or terms and if there is a 
 contract or a reasonable assurance that the claimant will 
 perform services in any such capacity for an educational 
 institution in the second of the academic years or terms; 

    (b) With respect to employment in any capacity other than 
 those described in paragraph (a), including educational 
 assistants, benefits shall not be paid based upon wage credits 
 earned with any educational institution for any week which 
 commences during a period between two successive academic years 
 or terms if the claimant was employed in the first academic year 
 or term by any educational institution and there is reasonable 
 assurance that the claimant will be employed under similar terms 
 and conditions by any educational institution in the second 
 academic year or term.  A claimant who has an agreement for a 
 definite period of employment between academic years or terms 
 shall be eligible for any weeks within that period the 
 educational institution fails to provide employment.  If 
 benefits are denied to any claimant under this paragraph and the 
 claimant was not offered an opportunity to perform the 
 employment in the second of the academic years or term, the 
 claimant shall be entitled to a retroactive payment of benefits 
 for each week in which the claimant filed a timely continued 
 claim for benefits, but the continued claim was denied solely 
 because of this paragraph; 

    (c) With respect to services described in paragraph (a) or 
 (b), benefits payable on the basis of the services shall not be 
 paid to any claimant for any week which commences during an 
 established and customary vacation period or holiday recess if 
 the claimant performs the services in the period immediately 
 before the vacation period or holiday recess, and there is a 
 reasonable assurance that the claimant will perform the services 
 in the period immediately following the vacation period or 
 holiday recess; 

    (d) With respect to services described in paragraph (a) or 
 (b), benefits shall not be payable on the basis of services in 
 any capacity specified in paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) to any 
 claimant who performed those services in an educational 
 institution while in the employ of an educational service 
 agency.  For purposes of this paragraph, "educational service 
 agency" means a governmental agency or governmental entity which 
 is established and operated exclusively for the purpose of 
 providing services to one or more educational institutions; and 

    (e) With respect to services to state and local government, 
 or nonprofit organizations covered by section 501(c)(3) of the 
 Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended through December 31, 
 1992, if services are provided to or on behalf of an educational 
 institution, benefits must be denied under the same 
 circumstances as described in paragraphs (a) to (d). 

    Subd. 7.    Professional athletes.  Benefits shall not 
 be paid to a claimant on the basis of any service substantially 
 all of which consist of participating in sports or athletic 
 events or training or preparing to so participate for any week 
 which commences during the period between two successive sport 
 seasons (or similar periods) if the claimant performed such 
 service in the first of such seasons (or similar period) and 
 there is a reasonable assurance that the claimant will perform 
 such service in the later of such seasons (or similar periods). 

    Subd. 8.    Illegal aliens.  (a) Benefits shall not be 
 paid on the basis of services performed by an alien unless such 
 alien is a claimant who was lawfully admitted for permanent 
 residence at the time such services were performed, was lawfully 
 present for the purposes of performing such services, or was 
 permanently residing in the United States under color of law at 
 the time such services were performed (including an alien who 
 was lawfully present in the United States as a result of the 
 application of the provision of section 203(a)(7) or section 
 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act). 

    (b) Any data or information required of claimants applying 
 for benefits to determine whether benefits are not payable to 
 them because of their alien status shall be uniformly required 
 from all applicants for benefits. 

    (c) In the case of a claimant whose application for 
 benefits would otherwise be approved, no determination that 
 benefits to such claimant are not payable because of alien 
 status shall be made except upon a preponderance of the evidence.

    Subd. 9.    Services for certain contractors.  Benefits 
 based upon services performed for an employer are subject to 
 subdivision 6, paragraphs (b) and (c) if:  

    (a) the employment was provided pursuant to a contract 
 between the employer and a public or private school; 

    (b) the contract was for services which the public or 
 private school could have had performed by its employees; 

    (c) the employment was not as defined in section 268.04, 
 subdivision 12, clauses (7), (8), and (9); and 

    (d) the claimant was notified in writing of the provisions 
 of this subdivision while employed in 1983 or prior to or at the 
 time of commencing the employment.  

    Subd. 10.    Seasonal employment.  (a) If a claimant has 
 wage credits from seasonal employment, benefits shall be payable 
 only if the claimant can establish a reemployment insurance 
 account under section 268.07, subdivision 2, excluding the wage 
 credits from seasonal employment.  For purposes of this 
 subdivision, "seasonal employment" means employment with a 
 single employer in the recreation or tourist industry that is 
 available with the employer for 15 consecutive weeks or less 
 each calendar year. 

    (b) Wage credits from seasonal employment may not be used 
 for benefit purposes during weeks outside the normal season. 

    Subd. 11.    Business owners.  Wages paid by an 
 employing unit may not be used for benefit purposes by any 
 claimant who:  

    (1) individually, jointly, or in combination with the 
 claimant's spouse, parent, or child owns or controls directly or 
 indirectly 25 percent or more interest in the employing unit, or 
 is the spouse, parent, or minor child of any individual who owns 
 or controls directly or indirectly 25 percent or more interest 
 in the employing unit; and 

    (2) is not permanently separated from employment. 

    This subdivision is effective when the claimant has been 
 paid four times the claimant's weekly benefit amount in the 
 current benefit year. 

    HIST: (4337-26) Ex1936 c 2 s 6; 1937 c 43 s 2; 1937 c 306 s 4; 
 1939 c 443 s 5; 1941 c 554 s 5; 1943 c 650 s 4; 1945 c 376 s 5; 
 1949 c 605 s 9; 1953 c 97 s 9; 1953 c 699 s 10; 1965 c 741 s 
 14-16; 1969 c 6 s 34; 1971 c 942 s 9,10; 1973 c 599 s 6-8; 1975 
 c 104 s 2; 1975 c 336 s 13-15; 1975 c 359 s 23; 1976 c 163 s 59; 
 1976 c 271 s 78; 1977 c 4 s 7; 1977 c 297 s 15-18; 1978 c 612 s 
 1; 1979 c 24 s 1; 1979 c 181 s 9,10,19; 1980 c 508 s 8; 1Sp1982 
 c 1 s 23-25; 1983 c 290 s 168; 1983 c 372 s 20-24; 1985 c 248 s 
 44; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 362 s 18; 1987 c 384 art 1 s 55; 1987 c 
 385 s 20-22; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1; 1989 c 282 art 2 s 169; 1990 
 c 516 s 4; 1991 c 265 art 11 s 22; 1992 c 484 s 10; 1993 c 67 s 
 3,4; 1994 c 488 s 2,3,8; 1995 c 54 s 8,9; 1995 c 231 art 1 s 32; 
 1996 c 417 s 18,31; 1997 c 66 s 36-42 

  268.081 Repealed, 1993 c 4 s 34 

     268.09 Reemployment insurance; disqualified from 
  benefits. 

    Subdivision 1. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 1a.    Quit.  A claimant who quits employment 
 shall be disqualified from benefits: 

    (1) unless the claimant quit the employment because of a 
 good reason caused by the employer; 

    (2) unless the claimant quit the employment to accept other 
 covered employment that provided substantially higher wages or 
 substantially better conditions of employment or both, but the 
 claimant did not work long enough at the other employment to 
 have sufficient subsequent earnings to satisfy the 
 disqualification that would otherwise be imposed; 

    (3) unless the claimant quit the employment within 30 
 calendar days of commencing the employment because the 
 employment was unsuitable for the claimant; 

    (4) unless the employment was unsuitable for the claimant 
 and the claimant quit to enter approved training; 

    (5) unless the employment was part time and the claimant 
 had full-time employment in the base period, that the claimant 
 separated from because of nondisqualifying reasons, sufficient 
 to meet the minimum requirements to establish a reemployment 
 insurance account under section 268.07, subdivision 2; or 

    (6) unless the claimant quit the employment because of the 
 claimant's serious illness, provided that the claimant made 
 reasonable efforts to retain that employment in spite of the 
 serious illness. 

    A claimant who quit employment because of the claimant's 
 serious illness of chemical dependency, has not made reasonable 
 efforts to retain the employment if the claimant has previously 
 been professionally diagnosed as chemically dependent, or has 
 previously voluntarily submitted to treatment for chemical 
 dependency, and has failed to make consistent efforts to 
 maintain the treatment the claimant knows or has been 
 professionally advised is necessary to control the chemical 
 dependency. 

    Subd. 2. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 2a.    Quit defined.  A quit from employment 
 occurs when the decision to end the employment was, at the time 
 the employment ended, the employee's.  An employee who seeks to 
 withdraw a previously submitted notice of quitting shall be 
 considered to have quit the employment if the employer does not 
 agree that the notice may be withdrawn. 

    Subd. 3. Renumbered subd 18 

    Subd. 4. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 5. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 6. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 7. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 8. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 9.    Good reason caused by the employer defined.  
 (a) A good reason caused by the employer for quitting is a 
 reason:  

    (1) that is directly related to the employment and for 
 which the employer is responsible; and 

    (2) that is significant and would compel an average, 
 reasonable worker to quit. 

    (b) A claimant has a good reason caused by the employer for 
 quitting if it results from sexual harassment.  Sexual 
 harassment means unwelcome sexual advances, requests for sexual 
 favors, sexually motivated physical contact or other conduct or 
 communication of a sexual nature when:  

    (1) the claimant's submission to the conduct or 
 communication is made a term or condition of the employment; 

    (2) the claimant's submission to or rejection of the 
 conduct or communication is the basis for decisions affecting 
 employment; or 

    (3) the conduct or communication has the purpose or effect 
 of substantially interfering with a claimant's work performance 
 or creating an intimidating, hostile, or offensive working 
 environment and the employer knows or should know of the 
 existence of the harassment and fails to take timely and 
 appropriate action. 

    Subd. 10.    Discharge.  A claimant who is discharged 
 from employment by an employer shall not be disqualified from 
 benefits: 

    (1) unless the claimant was discharged because of 
 misconduct that interfered with and adversely affected that 
 employment.  This clause shall not apply if: 

    (i) the misconduct was a direct result of the claimant's 
 serious illness provided that the claimant made reasonable 
 efforts to retain the employment in spite of the serious 
 illness.  If the misconduct was a direct result of the 
 claimant's chemical dependency, the claimant has not made 
 reasonable efforts to retain employment if the claimant has 
 previously been professionally diagnosed chemically dependent or 
 the claimant has previously voluntarily submitted to treatment 
 for chemical dependency and has failed to make consistent 
 efforts to maintain the treatment the claimant knows or has been 
 professionally advised is necessary to control the chemical 
 dependency; or 

    (ii) the employment was part time and the claimant had 
 full-time employment in the base period, that the claimant 
 separated from because of nondisqualifying reasons, sufficient 
 to meet the minimum requirements to establish a reemployment 
 insurance account under section 268.07, subdivision 2; 

    (2) unless the claimant was discharged because of gross 
 misconduct that interfered with and adversely affected that 
 employment.  For the purpose of this clause, "gross misconduct" 
 means: 

    (i) the commission of any act that amounts to a gross 
 misdemeanor or felony; or 

    (ii) for an employee of a facility as defined in section 
 626.5572, gross misconduct includes an act of patient or 
 resident abuse, financial exploitation, or recurring or serious 
 neglect, as defined in section 626.5572 and applicable rules. 

    If a claimant is convicted of a gross misdemeanor or felony 
 for the same act or acts for which the claimant was discharged, 
 it is conclusively presumed to be gross misconduct; or 

    (3) if the claimant was discharged because the claimant 
 gave notice of intention to quit the employment within 30 
 calendar days.  This clause shall be effective only through the 
 end of the calendar week that includes the intended date of 
 quitting.  Thereafter the separation from employment shall be 
 considered a quit of employment by the claimant, and a 
 disqualification, if any, shall commence with the Sunday of the 
 week following the week that includes the intended date of 
 quitting. 

    Subd. 11.    Discharge defined.  A discharge from 
 employment occurs when any words or actions by an employer would 
 lead a reasonable employee to believe that the employee's 
 services are no longer desired by the employer.  A layoff due to 
 lack of work shall be considered a discharge.  A suspension from 
 employment of more than 30 calendar days shall be considered a 
 discharge. 

    Subd. 12.    Misconduct defined.  Misconduct is 
 intentional conduct showing a disregard of: 

    (1) the employer's interest; 

    (2) the standards of behavior that an employer has the 
 right to expect of the employee; or 

    (3) the employee's duties and obligations to the employer.  
 Misconduct also includes negligent conduct by an employee 
 demonstrating a substantial lack of concern for the employment.  
 Inefficiency, inadvertence, simple unsatisfactory conduct, or 
 poor performance as a result of inability or incapacity are not 
 misconduct. 

    Subd. 13.    Act or omissions after separation.  Except 
 as provided for under subdivision 14, a claimant shall not be 
 disqualified from benefits for any acts or omissions occurring 
 after the claimant's separation from employment with the 
 employer. 

    Subd. 14.    Offers of employment.  (a) A claimant shall 
 be disqualified from benefits if the claimant, without good 
 cause: 

    (1) failed to apply for available, suitable employment of 
 which the claimant was advised by the commissioner or an 
 employer; 

    (2) failed to accept suitable employment when offered; or 

    (3) avoided an offer of suitable employment. 

    (b) The claimant shall not be disqualified from benefits 
 under paragraph (a) if the claimant: 

    (1) was in approved training; or 

    (2) formerly worked for the employer and the claimant's 
 last separation from employment with the employer occurred prior 
 to the commencement of a strike or other labor dispute, was 
 permanent or for an indefinite period, and the claimant failed 
 to apply for or accept reemployment because a strike or other 
 labor dispute was in progress at the establishment where the 
 claimant was previously employed by that employer. 

    Subd. 15.    Suitable employment defined.  (a) Suitable 
 employment is employment in the claimant's labor market area 
 that is reasonably related to the claimant's qualifications.  In 
 determining whether any employment is suitable for a claimant, 
 the degree of risk involved to the health and safety, physical 
 fitness, prior training, experience, length of unemployment, 
 prospects for securing local employment in the claimant's 
 customary occupation, and the distance of the employment from 
 the claimant's residence shall be considered. 

    (b) No employment shall be considered suitable if: 

    (1) the position offered is vacant due directly to a 
 strike, lockout, or other labor dispute; 

    (2) the wages, hours, or other conditions of employment are 
 substantially less favorable than those prevailing for similar 
 employment in the locality; or 

    (3) as a condition of becoming employed, the claimant would 
 be required to join a company union or to resign from or refrain 
 from joining any bona fide labor organization. 

    Subd. 16.    Disqualification duration.  (a) A 
 disqualification from the payment of benefits under subdivisions 
 1a, 10, and 14 shall be for the duration of the claimant's 
 unemployment and until the end of the calendar week in which the 
 claimant had total earnings in subsequent covered employment of 
 eight times the claimant's weekly benefit amount. 

    (b) Any disqualification imposed under subdivisions 1a and 
 10 shall commence on the Sunday of the week in which the 
 claimant became separated from employment.  Any disqualification 
 imposed under subdivision 14 shall commence on the Sunday of the 
 week the claimant failed to apply for, accept, or avoided 
 employment. 

    (c) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), if the claimant was 
 discharged from employment because of gross misconduct that 
 interfered with and adversely affected that employment, the 
 disqualification shall be for the duration of the claimant's 
 unemployment and until the end of the calendar week in which the 
 claimant had total earnings in subsequent covered employment of 
 12 times the claimant's weekly benefit amount.  In addition, 
 wage credits from that employment shall be canceled and the 
 claimant's reemployment insurance account redetermined pursuant 
 to section 268.07, subdivision 1, paragraph (d). 

    Subd. 17.    Application.  This section shall apply to: 

    (1) all covered employment, full time or part time, 
 temporary or limited duration, permanent or indefinite duration, 
 that occurred during the base period, the period between the end 
 of the base period and the effective date of the reemployment 
 insurance account, or the benefit year, except as provided for 
 in subdivisions 1a, clause (5); and 10, clause (1)(ii); or 

    (2) all covered employment occurring in this state, any 
 other state, federal employment, or employment covered under the 
 Railroad Unemployment Compensation Act. 

    Subd. 18.    Labor dispute.  (a) A claimant who has left 
 or partially or totally lost employment with an employer because 
 of a strike or other labor dispute at the establishment where 
 the claimant is or was employed shall be disqualified from 
 benefits: 

    (1) until the end of the calendar week that the strike or 
 labor dispute was in active progress if the claimant is 
 participating in or directly interested in the strike or labor 
 dispute; or 

    (2) until the end of the calendar week that the strike or 
 labor dispute commenced if the claimant is not participating in 
 or directly interested in the strike or labor dispute.  

    Participation includes the failure or refusal by a claimant 
 to accept and perform available and customary work at the 
 establishment.  

    (b) A claimant who has left or partially or totally lost 
 employment with an employer because of a jurisdictional 
 controversy between two or more labor organizations at the 
 establishment where the claimant is or was employed shall be 
 disqualified for benefits until the end of the calendar week 
 that the jurisdictional controversy was in progress. 

    (c) A claimant shall not be disqualified from benefits 
 under this subdivision if: 

    (1) the claimant becomes unemployed because of a strike 
 caused by an employer's willful failure to observe the terms of 
 the safety and health section of a union contract or failure to 
 comply with an official citation for a violation of federal and 
 state laws involving occupational safety and health; 

    (2) the claimant becomes unemployed because of a lockout; 
 or 

    (3) the claimant is discharged during the period of 
 negotiation and prior to the commencement of a strike or other 
 labor dispute.  

    (d) A quit from employment by the claimant during the time 
 that the strike or other labor dispute is in active progress at 
 the establishment shall not be deemed to terminate the 
 claimant's participation in or direct interest in the strike or 
 other labor dispute for purposes of this subdivision. 

    (e) For the purpose of this subdivision, the term "labor 
 dispute" shall have the same definition as provided in section 
 179.01, subdivision 7. 

    HIST: (4337-27) Ex1936 c 2 s 7; 1937 c 401 s 1; 1939 c 443 s 
 6; 1941 c 554 s 6; 1943 c 650 s 5; 1945 c 376 s 6; 1947 c 432 s 
 7; 1965 c 741 s 17; 1967 c 342 s 1; 1967 c 573 s 5; 1969 c 42 s 
 1; 1971 c 942 s 11; 1973 c 23 s 1; 1973 c 599 s 9; 1974 c 477 s 
 1; 1975 c 336 s 16; 1977 c 4 s 8; 1977 c 242 s 1; 1977 c 297 s 
 19; 1978 c 618 s 1; 1979 c 181 s 11-13; 1980 c 508 s 9; 1982 c 
 619 s 1; 1Sp1982 c 1 s 26-28; 1983 c 372 s 26,27; 1986 c 444; 
 1987 c 362 s 19,20; 1987 c 385 s 23,24; 1989 c 65 s 8; 1989 c 
 209 art 2 s 1; 1992 c 484 s 11,12; 1993 c 67 s 5-7; 1994 c 488 s 
 4,8; 1995 c 229 art 3 s 15; 1996 c 417 s 19,20,31; 1997 c 66 s 
 43-54,79 

  268.10 Repealed, 1996 c 417 s 32 

     268.101 Determinations on disqualification and 
  eligibility. 

    Subdivision 1.    Notification.  (a) Upon application 
 for a reemployment insurance account, each claimant shall report 
 the names of all employers and the reasons for no longer working 
 for all employers during the claimant's last 30 days of 
 employment. 

    (b) Upon establishment of a reemployment insurance account, 
 the commissioner shall notify all employers the claimant was 
 employed by during the claimant's last 30 days of employment 
 prior to making an application and all base period employers and 
 determined successors to those employers under section 268.051, 
 subdivision 4.  An employer so notified shall have ten days 
 after the mailing of the notice to make a protest in a manner 
 prescribed by the commissioner raising any issue of 
 disqualification or any issue of eligibility.  An employer so 
 notified shall be informed of the effect that failure to timely 
 protest may have on the employer charges.  A protest made more 
 than ten days after mailing of the notice shall be considered 
 untimely. 

    (c) Each claimant shall report any employment, loss of 
 employment, and offers of employment received, for those weeks 
 the claimant made continued claims for benefits.  Each claimant 
 who stops making continued claims during the benefit year and 
 later commences making continued claims during that same benefit 
 year shall report the name of any employer the claimant worked 
 for during the period between the making of continued claims, up 
 to a period of the last 30 days of employment, and the reason 
 the claimant stopped working for the employer.  The claimant 
 shall report any offers of employment during the period between 
 the making of continued claims.  Those employers from which the 
 claimant has reported a loss of employment or an offer of 
 employment pursuant to this paragraph shall be notified.  An 
 employer so notified shall have ten days after the mailing of 
 the notice to make a protest in a manner prescribed by the 
 commissioner raising any issue of disqualification or any issue 
 of eligibility.  An employer so notified shall be informed of 
 the effect that failure to timely protest may have on the 
 employer charges.  A protest made more than ten days after 
 mailing of the notice shall be considered untimely. 

    Subd. 2.    Disqualification determination.  (a) The 
 commissioner shall promptly determine any issue of 
 disqualification raised by a timely protest made by an employer, 
 and mail to the claimant and that employer at the last known 
 address a determination of disqualification or a determination 
 of nondisqualification, as is appropriate.  The determination 
 shall set forth the effect on employer charges. 

    (b) The commissioner shall promptly determine any issue of 
 disqualification raised by information obtained from a claimant 
 pursuant to subdivision 1, paragraph (a) or (c), and mail to the 
 claimant and employer at the last known address a determination 
 of disqualification or a determination of nondisqualification, 
 as is appropriate. 

    (c) The commissioner shall promptly determine any issue of 
 disqualification raised by an untimely protest made by an 
 employer and mail to the claimant and that employer at the last 
 known address a determination of disqualification or a 
 determination of nondisqualification as is appropriate.  
 Notwithstanding section 268.09, any disqualification imposed as 
 a result of determination issued pursuant to this paragraph 
 shall commence the Sunday two weeks following the week in which 
 the untimely protest was made.  Notwithstanding any provisions 
 to the contrary, any relief of employer charges as a result of a 
 determination issued pursuant to this paragraph shall commence 
 the Sunday two weeks following the week in which the untimely 
 protest was made. 

    (d) If any time within 24 months from the establishment of 
 a reemployment insurance account the commissioner finds that a 
 claimant failed to report any employment, loss of employment, or 
 offers of employment that were required to be provided by the 
 claimant under this section, the commissioner shall promptly 
 determine any issue of disqualification on that loss of 
 employment or offer of employment and mail to the claimant and 
 involved employer at the last known address a determination of 
 disqualification or a determination of nondisqualification, as 
 is appropriate.  The determination shall set forth the effect on 
 employer charges. 

    This paragraph shall not apply if the involved employer was 
 notified and given the opportunity to protest pursuant to 
 subdivision 1, paragraph (b) or (c). 

    (e) A determination of disqualification or a determination 
 of nondisqualification shall be final unless an appeal is filed 
 by the claimant or notified employer within 15 calendar days 
 after mailing of the determination to the last known address.  
 The determination shall contain a prominent statement indicating 
 in clear language the method of appealing, the time within which 
 an appeal must be made, and the consequences of not appealing.  
 Proceedings on the appeal shall be conducted in accordance with 
 section 268.105. 

    (f) An issue of disqualification for purposes of this 
 section shall include any question of denial of benefits under 
 section 268.09, any question of an exception to disqualification 
 under section 268.09, any question of benefit charge to an 
 employer, and any question of an otherwise imposed 
 disqualification for which a claimant has had subsequent 
 earnings sufficient to satisfy the disqualification.  

    (g) Notwithstanding the requirements of this subdivision, 
 the commissioner is not required to mail to a claimant a 
 determination of nondisqualification where the claimant has had 
 subsequent earnings sufficient to satisfy any otherwise 
 potential disqualification.  

    Subd. 3.    Eligibility determination.  (a) The 
 commissioner shall promptly determine any issue of eligibility 
 raised by a timely protest made by an employer and mail to the 
 claimant and that employer at the last known address a 
 determination of eligibility or a determination of 
 ineligibility, as is appropriate. 

    (b) The commissioner shall promptly determine any issue of 
 eligibility raised by information obtained from a claimant and 
 mail to the claimant and any involved employer at the last known 
 address a determination of eligibility or a determination of 
 ineligibility, as is appropriate. 

    (c) The commissioner shall promptly determine any issue of 
 eligibility raised by an untimely protest made by an employer 
 and mail to the claimant and that employer at the last known 
 address a determination of eligibility or a determination of 
 ineligibility, as is appropriate.  Any denial of benefits 
 imposed as a result of determination issued pursuant to this 
 paragraph shall commence the Sunday two weeks following the week 
 in which the untimely protest was made. 

    (d) If any time within 24 months from the establishment of 
 a reemployment insurance account the commissioner finds the 
 claimant failed to provide requested information regarding the 
 claimant's eligibility for benefits, the commissioner shall 
 determine the issue of eligibility and mail to the claimant and 
 any involved employer at the last known address a determination 
 of eligibility or a determination of ineligibility, as is 
 appropriate. 

    This paragraph shall not apply if the involved employer was 
 notified, was aware, or should have been aware of the issue of 
 eligibility at the time of notification, and was given the 
 opportunity to protest pursuant to subdivision 1, paragraph (b) 
 or (c). 

    (e) A determination of eligibility or determination of 
 ineligibility shall be final unless an appeal is filed by the 
 claimant or notified employer within 15 calendar days after 
 mailing of the determination to the last known address.  The 
 determination shall contain a prominent statement indicating in 
 clear language the method of appealing, the time within which an 
 appeal must be made, and the consequences of not appealing.  
 Proceedings on the appeal shall be conducted in accordance with 
 section 268.105. 

    (f) An issue of eligibility for purposes of this section 
 shall include any question of denial of benefits under sections 
 268.08, 268.115, 268.125, 268.135, and 268.155. 

    Subd. 3a.    Direct hearing.  Notwithstanding 
 subdivision 2 or 3, the commissioner may refer any issue of 
 disqualification or any issue of eligibility directly for 
 hearing in accordance with section 268.105, subdivision 1.  The 
 status of the issue shall be the same as if a determination had 
 been made and an appeal filed. 

    Subd. 4.    Amended determination.  Unless an appeal has 
 been filed, the commissioner, on the commissioner's own motion, 
 upon finding that an error has occurred in the issuing of a 
 determination of disqualification or nondisqualification or a 
 determination of eligibility or ineligibility, may issue an 
 amended determination.  Any amended determination shall be 
 mailed to the claimant and any involved employer at the last 
 known address.  Any amended determination shall be final unless 
 an appeal is filed by the claimant or notified employer within 
 15 calendar days after mailing of the amended determination to 
 the last known address.  Proceedings on the appeal shall be 
 conducted in accordance with section 268.105. 

    Subd. 5.    Prompt payment.  If a determination or 
 amended determination awards benefits, the benefits shall be 
 promptly paid regardless of any appeal period or any appeal 
 having been filed. 

    Subd. 6.    Overpayment.  A determination or amended 
 determination which holds a claimant disqualified or ineligible 
 for benefits for periods a claimant has been paid benefits is an 
 overpayment of those benefits subject to section 268.18. 

    HIST: 1996 c 417 s 21; 1997 c 66 s 55-58,79 

     268.103 Appeals by telephone; electronic transmission. 

    Subdivision 1.    In commissioner's discretion.  (a) 
 Unless the statutory provision providing for an appeal requires 
 that the appeal be in writing, the commissioner shall have the 
 discretion to allow an appeal to be made by telephone or by 
 electronic transmission.  If the commissioner allows an appeal 
 to be made by telephone or by electronic transmission, that 
 shall be clearly set out on the determination or decision 
 subject to appeal. 

    (b) The commissioner may restrict the conditions under 
 which an appeal by telephone or electronic transmission may be 
 made.  Any restrictions as to days, hours, telephone number, 
 electronic transmission address, or other conditions, shall be 
 clearly set out on the determination or decision subject to 
 appeal. 

    (c) All information requested by the commissioner when an 
 appeal is made by telephone or by electronic transmission must 
 be supplied or the communication will not constitute an appeal. 

    Subd. 2.    Appeal in writing.  An appeal may be made in 
 writing even if an appeal by telephone or by electronic 
 transmission is allowed. 

    Subd. 3.    Exclusive means of appeal.  A written 
 appeal, or if allowed an appeal by telephone or electronic 
 transmission, shall be the only manner of appeal. 

    HIST: 1997 c 66 s 59 

     268.105 Reemployment insurance hearings; appeals. 

    Subdivision 1.    Hearing.  (a) Upon appeal the 
 department shall set a time and place for a de novo hearing and 
 give any involved claimant and any involved employer written 
 notice, by mail, not less than ten calendar days prior to the 
 date of the hearing.  

    (b) The commissioner shall by rule adopt a procedure by 
 which reemployment insurance judges hear and decide appeals, 
 subject to further appeal to the commissioner.  The rules need 
 not conform to common law or statutory rules of evidence and 
 other technical rules of procedure.  The written report of any 
 employee of the department, except a determination, made in the 
 regular course of the performance of the employee's duties, 
 shall be competent evidence of the facts contained in it. 

    (c) After the conclusion of the hearing, upon the evidence 
 presented, the reemployment insurance judge shall mail findings 
 of fact and decision to all involved parties.  The reemployment 
 insurance judge's decision is final unless a further appeal is 
 filed pursuant to subdivision 3. 

    Subd. 2.    Reemployment insurance judges.  The 
 commissioner shall designate regular salaried employees of the 
 department as impartial reemployment insurance judges to conduct 
 hearings on appeals.  The commissioner or authorized 
 representative may personally hear or transfer to another 
 reemployment insurance judge any proceedings pending before a 
 reemployment insurance judge.  Any proceedings removed to the 
 commissioner or authorized representative shall be heard in 
 accordance with subdivision 1. 

    Subd. 3.    Commissioner review.  (a) Within 30 calendar 
 days after mailing of the reemployment insurance judge's 
 decision, any involved party may appeal and obtain a review by 
 the commissioner or an authorized representative.  The 
 commissioner within the same period of time may on the 
 commissioner's own motion order a review of a decision.  

    (b) Upon review, the commissioner shall, on the basis of 
 the evidence submitted at the hearing before the reemployment 
 insurance judge, make findings of fact and decision, or remand 
 the matter back to a reemployment insurance judge for the taking 
 of additional evidence and new findings and decision based on 
 all the evidence.  The commissioner may disregard the findings 
 of fact of the reemployment insurance judge and examine the 
 evidence and make any findings of fact as the evidence may, in 
 the judgment of the commissioner require, and make any decision 
 as the facts found by the commissioner require.  

    (c) The commissioner shall mail to any involved party the 
 findings of fact and decision.  The decision of the commissioner 
 is final unless judicial review is sought as provided by 
 subdivision 7. 

    Subd. 3a.    Decisions.  (a) If a reemployment insurance 
 judge's decision or the commissioner's decision awards benefits, 
 the benefits shall be promptly paid regardless of any appeal 
 period or any appeal having been filed. 

    (b) If a reemployment insurance judge's decision modifies 
 or reverses a determination awarding benefits, any benefits paid 
 pursuant to the determination is an overpayment of those 
 benefits subject to section 268.18. 

    (c) Except as provided in paragraph (d), if a 
 commissioner's decision modifies or reverses a reemployment 
 insurance judge's decision awarding benefits, any benefits paid 
 pursuant to the reemployment insurance judge's decision is an 
 overpayment of those benefits subject to section 268.18. 

    (d) If a reemployment insurance judge's decision affirms a 
 determination on an issue of disqualification awarding benefits 
 or the commissioner affirms a reemployment insurance judge's 
 decision on an issue of disqualification awarding benefits, the 
 decision, if finally reversed, shall result in a 
 disqualification from benefits only for weeks following the week 
 in which the decision reversing the award of benefits was issued 
 and benefits paid for that week and previous weeks shall not be 
 deemed overpaid and the benefits paid shall not be charged to a 
 contributing employer's account. 

    (e) If the commissioner, pursuant to subdivision 3, remands 
 a matter to a reemployment insurance judge for the taking of 
 additional evidence, the prior reemployment insurance judge's 
 decision shall continue to be enforced until new findings of 
 fact and decision are made by a reemployment insurance judge. 

    Subd. 4.    Testimonial powers.  In the discharge of the 
 duties imposed by this section, the reemployment insurance 
 judge, the commissioner, or authorized representative, may 
 administer oaths and affirmations, take depositions, certify to 
 official acts, and issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of 
 witnesses and the production of books, papers, correspondence, 
 memoranda, and other records deemed necessary as evidence in 
 connection with the subject matter of the hearing.  The 
 subpoenas shall be enforceable through the district court in the 
 district in which the subpoena is issued.  Witnesses, other than 
 an involved claimant or involved employer or officers and 
 employees of an involved employer, subpoenaed pursuant to this 
 section shall be allowed fees the same as witness fees in a 
 civil action in district court.  These fees shall be deemed a 
 part of the expense of administering this chapter. 

    Subd. 5.    Use of information.  (a) All testimony at 
 any hearing conducted pursuant to subdivision 1 shall be 
 recorded.  A copy of any recorded testimony and exhibits 
 received into evidence at the hearing shall, upon request, or 
 upon directive of the commissioner, be furnished to a party at 
 no cost.  If requested, the representative of a commissioner 
 shall make available a device for listening to the recording. 

    (b) Testimony obtained under subdivision 1, may not be used 
 or considered in any civil, administrative, or contractual 
 proceeding, except by a local, state, or federal human rights 
 agency with enforcement powers, unless the proceeding is 
 initiated by the department. 

    (c) No findings of fact or decision issued by a 
 reemployment insurance judge or the commissioner may be held 
 conclusive or binding or used as evidence in any separate or 
 subsequent action in any other forum, except proceedings 
 provided for under this chapter, regardless of whether the 
 action involves the same or related parties or involves the same 
 facts. 

    Subd. 6.    Representation; fees.  In any proceeding 
 under these sections, a party may be represented by any agent.  
 Except for services provided by an attorney-at-law, a claimant 
 shall not be charged fees or costs of any kind in a proceeding 
 before a reemployment insurance judge, the commissioner, or by 
 any court or any of its officers. 

    Subd. 7.    Court of appeals; attorney for commissioner. 
  (a) The court of appeals may, by writ of certiorari to the 
 commissioner, review any decision of the commissioner provided a 
 petition for the writ is filed and served upon the commissioner 
 and any other involved party within 30 calendar days of the 
 mailing of the commissioner's decision.  

    (b) Any involved employer, upon the service of the writ 
 shall furnish a cost bond to the commissioner in accordance with 
 the rules of civil appellate procedure.  Upon review before the 
 court of appeals, the commissioner shall, if requested, furnish 
 to the claimant at no cost a written transcript of the testimony 
 received at the hearing conducted pursuant to subdivision 1.  

    (c) The commissioner shall be deemed to be a party to any 
 judicial action involving any decision and shall be represented 
 by any qualified attorney who is a regular salaried employee of 
 the department and has been designated by the commissioner for 
 that purpose or, at the commissioner's request, by the attorney 
 general. 

    HIST: 1995 c 54 s 11; 1996 c 417 s 22,31; 1997 c 66 s 60 

  268.11 Renumbered 268.042 

   268.115 Extended benefits. 

    Subdivision 1.    Definitions.  As used in this section, 
 unless the context clearly requires otherwise: 

    (1)    Extended benefit period.  "Extended benefit 
 period" means a period which 

    (a) Begins with the third week after a week for which there 
 is a state "on" indicator; and 

    (b) Ends with either of the following weeks, whichever 
 occurs later:  The third week after the first week for which 
 there is a state "off" indicator; or the 13th consecutive week 
 of the period; 

    Provided, that no extended benefit period may begin before 
 the 14th week following the end of a prior extended benefit 
 period which was in effect with respect to this state. 

    (2)    State "on" indicator.  There is a "state 'on' 
 indicator" for this state for a week if the commissioner 
 determines, in accordance with the regulations of the United 
 States Secretary of Labor, that for the period consisting of 
 such week and the immediately preceding 12 weeks, the rate of 
 insured unemployment (not seasonally adjusted) under this law 

    (a) equaled or exceeded 120 percent of the average of such 
 rates for the corresponding 13-week period ending in each of the 
 preceding two calendar years, and 

    (b) equaled or exceeded five percent. 

    The determination of whether there has been a state "on" 
 indicator beginning any extended benefit period may be made as 
 provided in clauses (a) and (b) above or a "state 'on' 
 indicator" shall exist if the rate described in clause (b) 
 equaled or exceeded six percent irrespective of whether the 
 percentage requirement provided by clause (a) is met or exceeded.

    (3)    State "off" indicator.  There is a "state 'off' 
 indicator" for this state for a week if, for the period 
 consisting of such week and the immediately preceding 12 weeks, 
 the rate of insured unemployment is less than six percent and 
 the requirements for a "state 'on' indicator" under clause (2) 
 are not satisfied. 

    (4)    Rate of insured unemployment.  "Rate of insured 
 unemployment," for purposes of clauses (2) and (3), means the 
 percentage derived by dividing the average weekly number of 
 individuals filing claims for regular benefits in this state for 
 weeks of unemployment with respect to the most recent 13 
 consecutive week period, as determined by the commissioner on 
 the basis of the commissioner's reports to the United States 
 Secretary of Labor, by the average monthly employment covered 
 under this law for the first four of the most recent six 
 completed calendar quarters ending before the end of such 
 13-week period. 

    (5)    Regular benefits.  "Regular benefits" means 
 benefits payable to an individual under this law or under any 
 other state law (including benefits payable to federal civilian 
 employees and to ex-servicemen pursuant to United States Code, 
 title 5, chapter 85) other than extended benefits and additional 
 benefits. 

    (6)    Extended benefits.  "Extended benefits" means 
 benefits (including benefits payable to federal civilian 
 employees and to ex-servicemen pursuant to United States Code, 
 title 5, chapter 85) payable to an individual under the 
 provisions of this section for weeks of unemployment in the 
 individual's eligibility period. 

    (7)    Additional benefits.  "Additional benefits" means 
 benefits payable to exhaustees by reason of conditions of high 
 unemployment or by reason of other special factors under the 
 provisions of any state law. 

    (8)    Eligibility period.  "Eligibility period" of an 
 individual means the period consisting of the weeks in the 
 individual's benefit year which begin in an extended benefit 
 period and, if the benefit year ends within such extended 
 benefit period, any weeks thereafter which begin in such period. 

    (9)    Exhaustee.  "Exhaustee" means an individual who, 
 with respect to any week of unemployment in the individual's 
 eligibility period: 

    (a) Has received, prior to such week, all of the regular 
 benefits that were available under this law or any other state 
 law (including dependents' allowances and benefits payable to 
 federal civilian employees and ex-servicemen under United States 
 Code, title 5, chapter 85) in the individual's current benefit 
 year that includes such week; 

    Provided, that, for the purposes of this paragraph, an 
 individual shall be deemed to have received all of the regular 
 benefits that were available to the individual although as a 
 result of a pending appeal with respect to wage credits that 
 were not considered in the original monetary determination in 
 the individual's benefit year, the individual may subsequently 
 be determined to be entitled to added regular benefits; or 

    (b) The individual's benefit year having expired prior to 
 such week, has no, or insufficient, wages and/or employment on 
 the basis of which the individual could establish a new benefit 
 year that would include such week or having established a 
 benefit year that includes such week, the individual is 
 precluded from receiving regular compensation by reason of:  (i) 
 a state law provision which meets the requirements of section 
 3304 (a) (7) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, or (ii) a 
 disqualification determination which canceled wage credits or 
 totally reduced benefit rights, or (iii) benefits are not 
 payable by reason of a seasonal limitation in a state 
 unemployment insurance law; and 

    (c) Has no right to unemployment benefits or allowances, as 
 the case may be, under the Railroad Unemployment Insurance Act, 
 the Trade Expansion Act of 1962, the Automotive Products Act of 
 1965 and such other federal laws as are specified in regulations 
 issued by the United States Secretary of Labor; and has not 
 received and is not seeking unemployment benefits under the 
 unemployment compensation law of Canada; but if the individual 
 is seeking such benefits and the appropriate agency finally 
 determines that the individual is not entitled to benefits under 
 such law the individual is considered an exhaustee. 

    (10)    State law.  "State law" means the unemployment 
 insurance law of any state, approved by the United States 
 Secretary of Labor under section 3304 of the Internal Revenue 
 Code of 1954. 

    Subd. 2.    Effect of state law provisions relating to 
 regular benefits on claims for, and the payment of, extended 
 benefits.  Except when the result would be inconsistent with 
 the other provisions of this section, as provided in the rules 
 of the commissioner, the provisions of this chapter which apply 
 to claims for, or the payment of, regular benefits shall apply 
 to claims for, and the payment of, extended benefits. 

    Subd. 3.    Eligibility requirements for extended 
 benefits.  A claimant shall be eligible to receive extended 
 benefits with respect to any week in the claimant's eligibility 
 period only if with respect to that week the claimant: 

    (1) is an "exhaustee" as defined in subdivision 1, 
 paragraph (9); 

    (2) has satisfied the requirements of this law for the 
 receipt of regular benefits that are applicable to claimants 
 claiming extended benefits, including not being subject to a 
 disqualification for the receipt of benefits; and 

    (3) has, during the claimant's base period earned wage 
 credits available for benefit purposes of not less than 40 times 
 the claimant's weekly benefit amount as determined pursuant to 
 section 268.07, subdivision 2. 

    Subd. 4.    Weekly extended benefit amount.  The weekly 
 extended benefit amount payable to an individual for a week of 
 total unemployment in the individual's eligibility period shall 
 be an amount equal to the weekly benefit amount payable during 
 the individual's applicable benefit year. 

    Subd. 5.    Total extended benefit amount.  The total 
 extended benefit amount payable to any eligible individual with 
 respect to the individual's applicable benefit year shall be 50 
 percent of the total amount of regular benefits which were 
 payable under this law in the applicable benefit year, provided 
 that at the expiration of the benefit year, the individual's 
 remaining balance of extended benefits shall be reduced, but not 
 below zero, by the product arrived at by multiplying the 
 individual's weekly extended benefit amount by the number of 
 weeks in the individual's expired benefit year for which any 
 trade readjustment allowance was paid pursuant to sections 231 
 to 234 of the trade act of 1974, as amended.  

    Subd. 6.    Beginning and termination of extended benefit 
 period.  (a) Whenever an extended benefit period is to become 
 effective in this state as a result of a state "on" indicator, 
 or an extended benefit period is to be terminated in this state 
 as a result of a state "off" indicator the commissioner shall 
 make an appropriate public announcement. 

    (b) Computations required by the provisions of subdivision 
 1, paragraph (4), shall be made by the commissioner, in 
 accordance with regulations prescribed by the United States 
 Secretary of Labor. 

    Subd. 7.    Effect of federal law.  If the Federal-State 
 Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 is amended so as 
 to authorize this state to pay benefits for an extended benefit 
 period in a manner other than that currently provided by this 
 section, then, and in such case, all the terms and conditions 
 contained in the amended provisions of such federal law shall 
 become a part of this section to the extent necessary to 
 authorize the payment of benefits to eligible individuals as 
 permitted under such amended provision, provided that the 
 federal share continues to be at least 50 percent of the 
 extended benefits paid to individuals under the extended benefit 
 program.  The commissioner shall also pay benefits at the 
 earliest possible date in the manner allowed by the 
 Federal-State Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970, as amended 
 through January 1, 1975, the provisions of which shall become a 
 part of this section to the extent necessary to authorize the 
 payment of benefits to eligible individuals. 

    Subd. 8.    Interstate claims.  An individual shall not 
 be eligible for extended benefits for any week if:  

    (a) Extended benefits are payable for that week pursuant to 
 an interstate claim filed in any state under the interstate 
 benefit payment plan; and 

    (b) No extended benefit period is in effect for the week in 
 that state.  This subdivision shall not apply to the first two 
 weeks for which extended benefits are payable pursuant to an 
 interstate claim filed under the interstate benefit payment plan 
 to the individual from the extended benefit account established 
 for the individual with respect to the benefit year.  

    Subd. 9.    Eligibility requirements.  Notwithstanding 
 the provisions of subdivision 2, a claimant shall be ineligible 
 for the payment of extended benefits for any week in the 
 claimant's eligibility period if during that week the claimant 
 failed to accept any offer of suitable employment, failed to 
 apply for any suitable employment to which referred by the 
 commissioner or failed to actively seek employment.  

    Any claimant who has been found ineligible for extended 
 benefits for any week by reason of this subdivision shall also 
 be denied benefits until the claimant has been employed in each 
 of four subsequent weeks, whether or not consecutive, and has 
 earned remuneration of not less than four times the claimant's 
 extended weekly benefit amount. 

    For the purpose of this subdivision "suitable employment" 
 means any employment which is within the claimant's capabilities 
 and which has a gross average weekly remuneration payable which 
 exceeds the sum of the claimant's weekly benefit amount as 
 determined under subdivision 4 plus the amount, if any, of 
 supplemental reemployment insurance benefits, as defined in 
 section 501(c) (17) (D) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as 
 amended, payable to the claimant for that week.  The employment 
 must pay wages not less than the higher of the federal minimum 
 wage without regard to any exemption, or the applicable state 
 minimum wage.  

    No claimant shall be denied extended benefits for failure 
 to accept an offer of or apply for any suitable employment if:  

    (a) the position was not offered to the claimant in writing 
 or was not listed with employment service; 

    (b) the failure could not result in a denial of benefits 
 under the definition of suitable employment for regular benefit 
 claimants in section 268.09 to the extent that the criteria of 
 suitability is not inconsistent with this subdivision; or 

    (c) the claimant furnishes satisfactory evidence to the 
 commissioner that prospects for obtaining employment in the 
 claimant's customary occupation within a reasonably short period 
 are good.  

 If the evidence furnished is found to be satisfactory for this 
 purpose, the determination of whether any employment is suitable 
 for the claimant shall be made in accordance with the definition 
 of suitable employment in section 268.09, subdivision 15, 
 paragraph (a), without regard to the definition or special 
 disqualification specified in this subdivision.  

    No employment shall be found to be suitable employment for 
 a claimant which would not be suitable employment under section 
 268.09, subdivision 15, paragraph (b).  

    For the purpose of this subdivision a claimant is "actively 
 seeking employment" during any week if the claimant has engaged 
 in a systematic and sustained effort to obtain employment during 
 the week, and the claimant furnishes tangible evidence of 
 engaging in that effort during the week.  

    The employment service shall refer any claimant entitled to 
 extended benefits under this section to any employment which is 
 suitable employment for that claimant under this subdivision. 

    HIST: 1971 c 61 s 1; 1974 c 355 s 58; 1975 c 1 s 1; 1975 c 336 
 s 12; 1977 c 297 s 13,14; 1Sp1982 c 1 s 16-21; 1983 c 372 s 19; 
 1985 c 248 s 70; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 362 s 16; 1992 c 484 s 9; 
 1993 c 13 art 1 s 33; 1997 c 66 s 33-35,79 

    268.12 Subdivision 1. Repealed, 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 
 78 subd 1 

    Subd. 1a. Repealed, 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 78 subd 1 

    Subd. 2. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 3. Repealed, 1983 c 268 s 2 

    Subd. 4. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 5. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 6. Repealed, 1989 c 343 s 7 

    Subd. 7. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 8. Renumbered 268.186 

    Subd. 9. Repealed, 1995 c 54 s 29 

    Subd. 9a. Renumbered 268.188 

    Subd. 10. Repealed, 1995 c 54 s 29 

    Subd. 11. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 12. Renumbered 268.19 

    Subd. 13. Repealed, 1995 c 54 s 29 

    Subd. 14.  Repealed, 1949 c 605 s 15 

  268.121 Renumbered 268.044 

     268.125 Additional reemployment insurance benefits. 

    Subdivision 1.    Additional benefits; when available.  
 Additional reemployment insurance benefits are authorized under 
 this section only if the commissioner determines that: 

    (1) an employer has reduced operations at a facility 
 employing 100 or more individuals for at least six months during 
 the preceding year resulting in the reduction of at least 50 
 percent of the employer's work force and the layoff of at least 
 50 employees at that facility, including reductions caused as a 
 result of a major natural disaster declared by the President; 

    (2) the employer has no expressed plan to resume operations 
 which would lead to the reemployment of those employees at any 
 time in the immediate future; and 

    (3) the unemployment rate for the county in which the 
 facility is located was ten percent during the month of the 
 reduction or any of the three months preceding or succeeding the 
 reduction. 

    Subd. 2.    Payment of benefits.  All benefits payable 
 under this section are payable from the fund.  

    Subd. 3.    Eligibility conditions.  A claimant is 
 eligible to receive additional benefits under this section for 
 any week during the claimant's benefit year if the commissioner 
 finds that: 

    (1) the claimant's unemployment is the result of a 
 reduction in operations as provided under subdivision 1; 

    (2) the claimant is unemployed and meets the eligibility 
 requirements for the receipt of unemployment benefits under 
 section 268.08; 

    (3) the claimant is not subject to a disqualification for 
 benefits under section 268.09; for the purpose of this 
 subdivision, the disqualifying conditions set forth in section 
 268.09, and the requalifying requirements thereunder, apply to 
 the receipt of additional benefits under this section; 

    (4) the claimant has exhausted all rights to regular 
 benefits payable under section 268.07, is not entitled to 
 receive extended benefits under section 268.115, and is not 
 entitled to receive reemployment insurance benefits under any 
 other state or federal law for the week in which the claimant is 
 claiming additional benefits; 

    (5) the claimant has made a claim for additional benefits 
 with respect to any week the claimant is claiming benefits in 
 accordance with the regulations as the commissioner may 
 prescribe with respect to claims for regular benefits; and 

    (6) a majority of the claimant's wage credits were earned 
 with an employer for whom the commissioner has determined there 
 was a reduction in operations under subdivision 1. 

    Subd. 4.    Weekly benefit amount.  A claimant's weekly 
 benefit amount under this section shall be the same as the 
 individual's weekly benefit amount payable during the 
 individual's current benefit year under section 268.07. 

    Subd. 5.    Maximum benefits payable.  A claimant's 
 maximum amount of additional benefits payable in the 
 individual's benefit year shall be 13 times the individual's 
 weekly benefit amount.  Reemployment insurance benefits paid to 
 an individual under any state or federal law other than regular 
 benefits payable under section 268.07 shall be deducted from 
 that individual's maximum amount of additional benefits. 

    HIST: 1987 c 362 s 17; 1994 c 488 s 8; 1994 c 503 s 1-3; 1996 
 c 417 s 13-15; 1997 c 66 s 79; 2Sp1997 c 2 s 18,19 

     268.13 Reciprocal benefit arrangements. 

    Subdivision 1.    Authorization.  The commissioner is 
 hereby authorized to enter into reciprocal arrangements with the 
 appropriate and duly authorized agencies of other states and of 
 the federal government, or both, whereby: 

    (1) Service performed by an individual or individuals for a 
 single employing unit for which service is customarily performed 
 in more than one state shall be deemed to be service performed 
 entirely within any one of the states: 

    (a) in which any part of any such individual's service is 
 performed, or 

    (b) in which any such individual has a residence, or 

    (c) in which the employing unit maintains a place of 
 business; provided, there is in effect, as to such service, an 
 election, approved by the agency charged with the administration 
 of such state's employment security law, pursuant to which all 
 the service performed by such individual or individuals for such 
 employing unit is deemed to be performed entirely within such 
 state; 

    (2) The commissioner shall participate in any arrangements 
 for the payment of compensation on the basis of combining an 
 individual's wages and employment covered under this law with 
 wages and employment covered under the unemployment compensation 
 laws of other states which are approved by the United States 
 Secretary of Labor in consultation with the state unemployment 
 compensation agencies as reasonably calculated to assure the 
 prompt and full payment of compensation in such situations and 
 which include provisions for applying the base period of a 
 single state law to a claim involving the combining of an 
 individual's wages and employment covered under two or more 
 state unemployment compensation laws, and avoiding the duplicate 
 use of wages and employment by reason of such combining; 

    (3) Wages or services, upon the basis of which an 
 individual may become entitled to benefits under an employment 
 security law of another state or of the federal government, 
 shall be deemed to be wages for insured work for the purpose of 
 determining the individual's rights to benefits under sections 
 268.03 to 268.23, and wages for insured work, on the basis of 
 which an individual may become entitled to benefits thereunder 
 shall be deemed to be wages or services on the basis of which 
 unemployment compensation under such law of another state or of 
 the federal government is payable, but no such arrangement shall 
 be entered into unless it contains provisions for reimbursements 
 to the fund for such of the benefits paid thereunder upon the 
 basis of such wages or service, and provisions for 
 reimbursements from the fund for such of the compensation paid 
 under such other law upon the basis of wages for insured work; 

    (4) Contributions due thereunder with respect to wages for 
 insured work shall for the purpose of section 268.057 be deemed 
 to have been paid to the fund as of the date payment was made as 
 contributions therefor under another state or federal employment 
 security law, but no such arrangement shall be entered into 
 unless it contains provisions for such reimbursement to the fund 
 of such contributions and the actual earnings thereon.  

    Subd. 2.    Reimbursements.  Reimbursements paid from 
 the fund pursuant to subdivision 1 shall be deemed to be 
 benefits for the purposes of sections 268.045 to 268.194.  The 
 commissioner is authorized to make to other state or federal 
 agencies and to receive from such other state or federal 
 agencies, reimbursements from or to the fund, in accordance with 
 arrangements entered into pursuant to subdivision 1. 

    Subd. 3.    Cooperation.  The administration of 
 sections 268.03 to 268.23 and of other state and federal 
 employment security and public employment service laws will be 
 promoted by cooperation between this state and such other states 
 and the appropriate federal agencies in exchanging services, and 
 making available facilities and information.  The commissioner 
 is therefore authorized to make such investigation and audits, 
 secure and transmit such information, make available such 
 services and facilities and exercise such of the other powers 
 provided herein with respect to the administration of these 
 sections as the commissioner deems necessary or appropriate to 
 facilitate the administration of any such employment security or 
 public employment service law, and in like manner, to accept and 
 utilize information, services and facilities made available to 
 this state by the agency charged with the administration of any 
 such other employment security or public employment service law. 

    If after entering into an arrangement under subdivision 1, 
 clause (2) or (3), the commissioner finds that the unemployment 
 compensation law of any state or of the federal government 
 participating in such arrangement has been changed in a material 
 respect, the commissioner may make new findings and a 
 determination as to whether such arrangement shall be continued 
 with such state or states or with the federal government.  

    Subd. 4.    Utilization of federal benefits.  To the 
 extent permissible under the laws and Constitution of the United 
 States, the commissioner is authorized to enter into or 
 cooperate in arrangements whereby facilities and services 
 provided under sections 268.03 to 268.23 and facilities and 
 services provided under the employment security law of any 
 foreign government, may be utilized for the taking of claims and 
 the payment of benefits under the employment security law of 
 this state or under a similar law of such government.  

    Subd. 5.    Cooperate with other states.  The 
 commissioner shall fully cooperate with the agencies of other 
 states, and shall make every proper effort within the 
 commissioner's means to oppose and prevent any further action 
 which would in the commissioner's judgment tend to effect 
 complete or substantial federalization of state unemployment 
 compensation funds or state employment security programs.  

    HIST: (4337-31) Ex1936 c 2 s 11; 1937 c 306 s 8; 1939 c 443 s 
 9; 1941 c 554 s 10; 1943 c 650 s 8; 1945 c 376 s 10; 1947 c 432 
 s 8-10; 1965 c 45 s 45; 1969 c 9 s 64; 1971 c 942 s 13; 1979 c 
 181 s 16; 1986 c 444; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1; 1996 c 417 s 31; 
 1997 c 66 s 79 

     268.135 Shared work plan. 

    Subdivision 1.    Shared work plan; definitions.  For 
 purposes of this section, the following terms have the meanings 
 given: 

    (a) "Affected employee" means an individual who was 
 continuously employed as a member of the affected group, by the 
 shared work employer, for at least six months prior to 
 application, on a full-time basis. 

    (b) "Affected group" means five or more employees 
 designated by the employer to participate in a shared work plan. 

    (c) "Shared work employer" means an employer with a shared 
 work plan in effect. 

    (d) "Shared work plan" or "plan" means an employer's 
 voluntary, written plan for reducing unemployment, under which a 
 specified group of employees shares the work remaining after 
 their normal weekly hours of work are reduced. 

    (e) "Approved shared work plan" or "approved plan" means an 
 employer's shared work plan which meets the requirement of this 
 section. 

    (f) "Normal weekly hours of work" means the number of hours 
 in a week that the employee normally would work for the shared 
 work employer or 40 hours, whichever is less. 

    Subd. 2.    Participation.  (a) An employer wishing to 
 participate in the shared work unemployment benefit program 
 shall submit a signed, written shared work plan to the 
 commissioner for approval.  The commissioner may give written 
 approval of a shared work plan only if it: 

    (1) specifies the employees in the affected group; 

    (2) applies to only one affected group; 

    (3) includes a certified statement by the employer that 
 each individual specified in the affected group is an affected 
 employee; 

    (4) includes a certified statement by the employer that for 
 the duration of the plan the reduction in normal weekly hours of 
 work of the employees in the affected group is instead of 
 layoffs which otherwise would result in at least at large a 
 reduction in the total normal weekly hours of work; 

    (5) specifies an expiration date which is no more than one 
 year from the date the employer submits the plan for approval; 

    (6) specifies that fringe benefits, such as health and 
 retirement, available to the employees in the affected group are 
 not reduced beyond the percentage of reduction in hours of work; 
 and 

    (7) is approved in writing by the collective bargaining 
 agent for each collective bargaining agreement which covers any 
 employee in the affected group. 

    (b) The commissioner shall establish the beginning and 
 ending dates of an approved shared work plan. 

    (c) The commissioner shall approve or disapprove the plan 
 within 15 days of its receipt.  The commissioner shall notify 
 the employer of the reasons for disapproval of a shared work 
 plan within ten days of the determination.  Determinations of 
 the commissioner are final. 

    (d) Disapproval of a plan may be reconsidered upon 
 application of the employer or at the discretion of the 
 commissioner.  Approval of a shared work plan may be revoked by 
 the commissioner when it is established that the approval was 
 based, in whole or in part, upon information in the plan which 
 is either false or substantially misleading. 

    Subd. 3.    Eligibility.  (a) Notwithstanding any other 
 provision of this chapter, an individual is unemployed and 
 eligible to receive shared work benefits with respect to any 
 week if the commissioner finds that: 

    (1) during the week the individual is employed as a member 
 of an affected group in an approved plan which was approved 
 prior to the week and is in effect for the week; and 

    (2) during the week the individual's normal weekly hours of 
 work were reduced, in accordance with an approved plan, at least 
 20 percent but not more than 40 percent, with a corresponding 
 reduction in wages. 

    (b) Shared work benefits shall not be paid to an eligible 
 individual beyond one benefit year under an approved plan or 
 modification of an approved plan. 

    (c) The total amount of regular benefits and shared work 
 benefits paid to an individual in a benefit year shall not 
 exceed the maximum benefit amount established. 

    (d) An otherwise eligible individual shall not be denied 
 benefits under this section because of the application of any 
 provision of this chapter relating to availability for work, 
 active search for work, or refusal to apply for or accept work 
 from other than the individual's shared work employer. 

    Subd. 4.    Weekly benefit amount.  (a) An individual 
 who is eligible for shared work benefits under this section 
 shall be paid, with respect to any week of unemployment, a 
 weekly shared work unemployment insurance benefit amount.  The 
 amount shall be equal to the individual's regular weekly benefit 
 amount multiplied by the nearest full percentage of reduction of 
 the individual's regular weekly hours of work as set forth in 
 the employer's plan.  The benefit payment, if not a multiple of 
 $1 shall be rounded to the next lower dollar. 

    (b) The provisions of section 268.08, subdivision 3a, shall 
 not apply to earnings from the shared work employer of an 
 individual eligible for payments under this section unless the 
 resulting payment would be less than the regular benefit payment 
 for which the individual would otherwise be eligible without 
 regard to shared work unemployment insurance benefits. 

    (c) An individual shall not be eligible for benefits 
 payable under this section for any week in which paid work is 
 performed for the shared work employer in excess of the reduced 
 hours set forth in the approved plan. 

    HIST: 1994 c 503 s 4; 1996 c 417 s 16; 1997 c 66 s 79 

    268.14 Subdivision 1. Renumbered 268.198, subd 1 

    Subd. 2. Renumbered 268.198, subd 2 

    Subd. 3. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 4. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 5. Renumbered 268.198, subd 3 

    Subd. 6.  MS 1980 Expired 

    Subd. 6. Expired 

     268.145 Income tax withholding. 

    Subdivision 1.    Notification.  (a) Upon application 
 for a reemployment insurance account, the claimant shall be 
 informed that: 

    (1) reemployment insurance benefits are subject to federal 
 and state income tax; 

    (2) there are requirements for filing estimated tax 
 payments; 

    (3) the claimant may elect to have federal income tax 
 withheld from benefits; 

    (4) if the claimant elects to have federal income tax 
 withheld, the claimant may, in addition, elect to have Minnesota 
 state income tax withheld; and 

    (5) at any time during the benefit year the claimant may 
 change a prior election. 

    (b) If a claimant elects to have federal income tax 
 withheld, the commissioner shall deduct that percentage required 
 by the Internal Revenue Code.  If a claimant, in addition to 
 federal income tax withholding, elects to have Minnesota state 
 income tax withheld, the commissioner shall make an additional 
 five percent deduction for Minnesota state income tax.  Any 
 amounts deducted pursuant to sections 268.155, 268.165, 268.18, 
 268.182, and 268.184 have priority over any amounts deducted 
 under this section.  Federal income tax withholding has priority 
 over Minnesota state income tax withholding. 

    (c) An election to have federal income tax, or federal and 
 Minnesota state income tax, withheld shall not be retroactive 
 and shall only apply to benefits paid after the election. 

    Subd. 2.    Transfer of funds.  The amount of any 
 benefits deducted under this section shall remain in the 
 Minnesota reemployment insurance fund until transferred to the 
 federal Internal Revenue Service, or the Minnesota department of 
 revenue, as an income tax payment on behalf of the claimant. 

    Subd. 3.    Correction of errors.  Any error which 
 resulted in underwithholding under this section shall not be 
 corrected retroactively. 

    Subd. 4.    Federal requirement.  The commissioner shall 
 follow all federal requirements for the deduction and 
 withholding of federal and Minnesota state income tax from 
 reemployment insurance benefits. 

    Subd. 5.    Application.  This section applies to any 
 payments under federal or state law as compensation, assistance, 
 or allowance with respect to unemployment. 

    HIST: 1996 c 417 s 17; 1997 c 66 s 79 

    268.15 Subdivision 1. MS 1996 Renumbered 268.196, 
 subd 1 

    Subd. 2. MS 1996 Renumbered 268.196, subd 2 

    Subd. 3. MS 1996 Renumbered 268.196, subd 3 

    Subd. 4. MS 1980 Repealed, 2Sp1981 c 1 s 8 

     268.155 Child support intercept of unemployment benefits.

    Subdivision 1.    Definitions.  As used in this section 
 unless the context clearly requires otherwise:  

    (a) "Reemployment insurance" means any compensation payable 
 under this chapter including amounts payable by the commissioner 
 pursuant to an agreement under any federal law providing for 
 compensation, assistance, or allowance with respect to 
 unemployment; 

    (b) "Child support obligations" means obligations which are 
 being enforced by the public agency responsible for child 
 support enforcement pursuant to a plan described in section 454 
 of the Social Security Act which has been approved by the 
 secretary of health and human services under part D of title IV 
 of the Social Security Act; 

    (c) "Child support agency" means the public agency 
 responsible for child support enforcement pursuant to a plan 
 described in section 454 of the Social Security Act.  

    Subd. 2.    Notice of claim.  Upon application for a 
 reemployment insurance account, the claimant shall disclose 
 whether or not the claimant owes child support obligations.  If 
 the claimant discloses that the claimant owes child support 
 obligations, and establishes a reemployment insurance account, 
 the commissioner shall notify the child support agency that the 
 claimant has established a reemployment insurance account. 

    Subd. 3.    Withholding of benefits.  The commissioner 
 shall deduct and withhold from any reemployment insurance 
 payable to a claimant that owes child support obligations: 

    (a) The amount specified by the claimant to the 
 commissioner to be deducted and withheld under this section, if 
 neither clause (b) or (c) is applicable; or 

    (b) The amount determined pursuant to an agreement 
 submitted to the commissioner under section 454 (20) (B) (i) of 
 the Social Security Act by the child support agency, unless (c) 
 is applicable; or 

    (c) Any amount otherwise required to be so deducted and 
 withheld from the unemployment compensation pursuant to "legal 
 process" as defined in section 462(e) of the Social Security 
 Act, properly served upon the commissioner.  

    Subd. 4.    Payment by the commissioner.  Any amount 
 deducted and withheld under subdivision 3 shall be paid by the 
 commissioner to the public agency responsible for child support 
 enforcement.  

    Subd. 5.    Effect of payments.  Any amount deducted and 
 withheld under subdivision 3 shall for all purposes be treated 
 as if it were paid to the claimant as reemployment insurance and 
 paid by the claimant to the public agency responsible for child 
 support enforcement in satisfaction of the claimant's child 
 support obligations.  

    Subd. 6.    Reimbursement of costs.  Appropriate 
 arrangements shall be made for reimbursement by the child 
 support agency for the administrative costs incurred by the 
 commissioner under this subdivision and sections 518.551 and 
 518.6111 which are attributable to child support obligations 
 being enforced by the public agency responsible for child 
 support enforcement. 

    HIST: 1Sp1982 c 1 s 22; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 384 art 2 s 67; 
 1994 c 488 s 8; 1996 c 417 s 10-12; 1997 c 66 s 79; 1997 c 203 
 art 6 s 92 

    268.16 Subdivision 1. Renumbered 268.057, subd 5 

    Subd. 1a. Renumbered 268.057, subd 6 

    Subd. 2. Renumbered 268.057, subd 1 

    Subd. 3. Repealed, 1Sp1982 c 1 s 43 

    Subd. 3a. Renumbered 268.057, subd 4 

    Subd. 4. Renumbered 268.067 

    Subd. 5. Renumbered 268.057, subd 10 

    Subd. 6. Renumbered 268.057, subd 7 

    Subd. 7. Renumbered 268.057, subd 8 

    Subd. 8. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 9. Renumbered 268.057, subd 9 
 1978 c 674 s 60; 1980 c 508 s 11-13; 3Sp1981 c 2 art 1 s 33; 
 1Sp1982 c 1 s 34,35; 1983 c 372 s 39; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1Sp1985 c 
 14 art 9 s 75; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 362 s 26; 1987 c 385 s 28-30; 
 1989 c 65 s 12; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1; 1993 c 67 s 11; 1994 c 483 
 s 1; 1995 c 54 s 13-15; 1996 c 417 s 24,31 

    268.161 Subdivision 1. Renumbered 268.058, subd 1 

    Subd. 1a. Renumbered 268.058, subd 2 

    Subd. 2. Renumbered 268.058 subd 6 

    Subd. 3. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 4. Renumbered 268.058, subd 5 

    Subd. 5. Renumbered 268.058, subd 4 

    Subd. 6. Renumbered 268.507, subd 2 

    Subd. 7. Renumbered 268.057, subd 3 

    Subd. 8. Renumbered 268.058, subd 3 

    Subd. 9. Renumbered 268.063 

  268.162 Renumbered 268.064 

  268.163 Renumbered 268.065 

  268.164 Renumbered 268.0625 

  268.165 Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

  268.166 Renumbered 268.066 

  268.167 Renumbered 268.059 

  268.17 Renumbered 268.192 

     268.18 Return of benefits; offenses. 

    Subdivision 1.    Erroneous payments.  (a) Any claimant 
 who, by reason of the claimant's own mistake or through the 
 error of any individual engaged in the administration of this 
 chapter or because of a determination, redetermination, or 
 amended determination issued pursuant to section 268.07 or 
 268.101, has received any benefits that the claimant was not 
 entitled to, shall promptly repay the benefits to the 
 department.  If the claimant fails to repay the benefits, the 
 department shall, as soon as the erroneous payment is 
 discovered, determine the amount due and notify the claimant in 
 writing to repay the benefits. 

    (b) Unless the claimant files an appeal within 15 calendar 
 days after the mailing of the determination of overpayment to 
 the claimant's last known address, the determination shall 
 become final.  Proceedings on the appeal shall be conducted in 
 accordance with section 268.105.  A claimant may not 
 collaterally attack, by way of an appeal to an overpayment 
 determination, any prior determination issued pursuant to 
 section 268.07 or 268.101, or decision issued pursuant to 
 section 268.105, that has become final. 

    (c) If the claimant fails to repay the benefits, the 
 commissioner may deduct from any future benefits payable to the 
 claimant in either the current or any subsequent benefit year an 
 amount equivalent to the overpayment determined, except that no 
 single deduction under this subdivision shall exceed 50 percent 
 of the amount of the payment from which the deduction is made, 
 or the overpayment may be collected the same as delinquent 
 contributions.  A determination of overpayment shall state the 
 methods of collection the commissioner will use to recover the 
 overpayment.  If a claimant has been overpaid benefits under the 
 law of another state because of an error and that state 
 certifies to the department that the claimant is liable under 
 its law to repay the benefits and requests the department to 
 recover the overpayment, the commissioner may deduct from future 
 benefits payable to the claimant in either the current or any 
 subsequent benefit year an amount equivalent to the amount of 
 overpayment determined by that state, except that no single 
 deduction under this subdivision shall exceed 50 percent of the 
 amount of the payment from which the deduction is made.  

    (d) Benefits paid for weeks more than three years prior to 
 the discovery of error are not erroneous payments. 

    (e) Notwithstanding paragraph (a), the commissioner shall 
 waive recovery of an overpayment if the commissioner's 
 authorized representative under section 268.105, subdivision 3, 
 determines the overpayment resulted from an administrative 
 failure to identify that a claimant's wage credits were not 
 earned in covered employment.  This paragraph shall not apply to 
 misidentification of an employee-employer relationship. 

    Subd. 2.    Fraud.  (a) Any claimant who receives 
 benefits by knowingly and willfully misrepresenting, misstating, 
 or failing to disclose any material fact that would have made 
 the claimant not entitled to those benefits has committed fraud.
 After the discovery of facts indicating fraud, the commissioner 
 shall make a written determination that the claimant was not 
 entitled to benefits that were obtained by fraud and that the 
 claimant must promptly repay the benefits to the department.  In 
 addition, the commissioner may deny benefits to a claimant for 
 one to 52 weeks for which the claimant is otherwise entitled to 
 benefits following the week in which the fraud was determined.  
 A denial imposed for fraud shall not apply to any week more than 
 104 weeks after the week in which the fraud was determined.  

    (b) Unless the claimant files an appeal within 15 calendar 
 days after the mailing of the determination of overpayment by 
 fraud to the claimant's last known address, the determination 
 shall become final.  Proceedings on the appeal shall be 
 conducted in accordance with section 268.105.  

    (c) If the claimant fails to repay the benefits, the 
 commissioner may deduct from future benefits payable to the 
 claimant in either the current or any subsequent benefit year an 
 amount equivalent to the amount of overpayment determined or the 
 overpayment may be collected the same as delinquent 
 contributions.  A determination of overpayment by fraud shall 
 state the methods of collection the commissioner may use to 
 recover the overpayment.  If a claimant has been overpaid 
 benefits under the law of another state because of fraud and 
 that state certifies to the department that the claimant is 
 liable to repay the benefits and requests the department to 
 recover the overpayment, the commissioner may deduct from future 
 benefits payable to the claimant in either the current or any 
 subsequent benefit year an amount equivalent to the amount of 
 overpayment determined by that state.  

    (d) A determination of fraud may be made at any time.  

    Subd. 2a.    Offset of state and federal unemployment 
 benefits.  To the extent permissible under the laws and 
 constitution of the United States, the commissioner is 
 authorized to enter into or cooperate in arrangements or 
 reciprocal agreements with the United States Secretary of Labor, 
 whereby, overpayments of unemployment benefits as determined 
 under applicable federal law, with respect to benefits or 
 allowances for unemployment provided under a federal program 
 administered by this state under an agreement with the United 
 States Secretary of Labor, may be recovered by offset from 
 unemployment benefits otherwise payable under this chapter or 
 any such federal program.  As provided by reciprocal agreement, 
 benefit overpayments as determined under subdivisions 1 and 2 
 may be recovered by offset from benefits or allowances for 
 unemployment otherwise payable under a federal program 
 administered by this state. 

    Subd. 2b.    Interest.  (a) On any benefits fraudulently 
 obtained, as determined under subdivision 2, the commissioner 
 shall have the discretion to assess interest at the rate of 
 1-1/2 percent per month on any overpaid amount which remains 
 unpaid 30 calendar days after the date of the determination of 
 overpayment by fraud.  A determination of overpayment by fraud 
 shall state that interest may be assessed. 

    (b) Any money received in repayment of fraudulently 
 obtained benefits and interest thereon shall be first applied to 
 the overpayment balance. 

    (c) Unpaid interest may be collected the same as delinquent 
 contributions. 

    Subd. 3. Renumbered 268.182 

    Subd. 4.    Cancellation of benefits paid through error or 
 fraud.  (a) If benefits paid through error are not repaid or 
 deducted from subsequent benefit amounts as provided for in 
 subdivision 1 within six years after the date of the 
 determination of overpayment, the commissioner shall cancel the 
 overpayment balance, and no administrative or legal proceedings 
 shall be used to enforce collection of those amounts.  

    (b) If benefits paid as a result of fraud are not repaid or 
 deducted from subsequent benefits as provided for in subdivision 
 2 within ten years after the date of the determination of 
 overpayment by fraud, the commissioner shall cancel the 
 overpayment balance and any interest due, and no administrative 
 or legal proceeding shall be used to enforce collection of those 
 amounts. 

    (c) The commissioner may cancel at any time benefits paid 
 through error or fraud that the commissioner determines are 
 uncollectible due to death or bankruptcy. 

    Subd. 5. Repealed, 1997 c 66 s 81 

    Subd. 6. Renumbered 268.184 

    HIST: (4337-36) Ex1936 c 2 s 16; 1941 c 554 s 15; 1951 c 442 s 
 11; 1953 c 97 s 18; 1969 c 567 s 3; 1973 c 254 s 3; 1975 c 336 s 
 24; 1977 c 4 s 10; 1977 c 430 s 25 subd 1; 1979 c 181 s 17,18; 
 1Sp1982 c 1 s 37-40; 1983 c 216 art 1 s 42,87; 1983 c 372 s 
 45,46; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 75; 1986 c 444; 
 1987 c 385 s 40-45; 1988 c 712 s 3; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1; 1990 c 
 566 s 8; 1992 c 484 s 15; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1995 c 54 s 21-24; 
 1996 c 417 s 29,31; 1997 c 66 s 71-73,79 

     268.182 False representations; concealment of facts; 
  penalty. 

    (a) Whoever obtains, or attempts to obtain, or aids or 
 abets any person to obtain by means of an intentional false 
 statement or representation, by intentional concealment of a 
 material fact, or by impersonation or other fraudulent means, 
 benefits that the person is not entitled or benefits greater 
 than the person is entitled under this chapter, or under the law 
 of any state or of the federal government, either personally or 
 for any other person, is guilty of theft and shall be sentenced 
 pursuant to section 609.52.  The amount of the benefits 
 incorrectly paid shall be the difference between the amount of 
 benefits paid and the amount that the claimant would have been 
 entitled under state and federal law had the department been 
 informed of all material facts. 

    (b) Any employing unit or any officer or agent of an 
 employing unit or any other person who makes a false statement 
 or representation knowing it to be false, or who knowingly fails 
 to disclose a material fact, to prevent or reduce the payment of 
 benefits to any claimant, is guilty of a gross misdemeanor 
 unless the benefit underpayment exceeds $500, in that case the 
 person is guilty of a felony.  

    HIST: Ex1936 c 2 s 16; 1941 c 554 s 15; 1951 c 442 s 11; 1953 
 c 97 s 18; 1969 c 567 s 3; 1973 c 254 s 3; 1975 c 336 s 24; 1977 
 c 4 s 10; 1977 c 430 s 25 subd 1; 1979 c 181 s 17,18; 1Sp1982 c 
 1 s 37-40; 1983 c 216 art 1 s 42,87; 1983 c 372 s 45,46; 1985 c 
 248 s 70; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 75; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 385 s 
 40-45; 1988 c 712 s 3; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1; 1990 c 566 s 8; 
 1992 c 484 s 15; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1995 c 54 s 21-24; 1996 c 417 s 
 29,31; 1997 c 66 s 74,79 

     268.184 Employer misconduct; penalty. 

    If the commissioner finds that any employing unit or any 
 employee, officer, or agent of any employing unit, is in 
 collusion with any claimant for the purpose of assisting the 
 claimant to receive benefits illegally, the employing unit shall 
 be penalized $500 or an amount equal to the amount of benefits 
 determined to be overpaid, whichever is greater. 

    Penalties assessed under this section shall be in addition 
 to any other penalties provided for and be subject to the same 
 collection procedures that apply to past due contributions under 
 this chapter.  Penalties under this section shall be paid to the 
 department and credited to the contingent fund. 

    The assessment of the penalty shall be final unless the 
 employing unit files a written appeal within 30 calendar days 
 after the mailing of the notice of penalty to the employer's 
 last known address.  Proceedings on the appeal shall be 
 conducted in accordance with section 268.105. 

    HIST: Ex1936 c 2 s 16; 1941 c 554 s 15; 1951 c 442 s 11; 1953 
 c 97 s 18; 1969 c 567 s 3; 1973 c 254 s 3; 1975 c 336 s 24; 1977 
 c 4 s 10; 1977 c 430 s 25 subd 1; 1979 c 181 s 17,18; 1Sp1982 c 
 1 s 37-40; 1983 c 216 art 1 s 42,87; 1983 c 372 s 45,46; 1985 c 
 248 s 70; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 75; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 385 s 
 40-45; 1988 c 712 s 3; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1; 1990 c 566 s 8; 
 1992 c 484 s 15; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1995 c 54 s 21-24; 1996 c 417 s 
 29,31; 1997 c 66 s 76,79 

     268.186 Records. 

    (a) Each employing unit shall keep true and accurate 
 records for the periods of time and containing the information 
 the commissioner may require.  For the purpose of determining 
 compliance with this chapter, or for the purpose of collection 
 of any amounts due under this chapter, the commissioner or any 
 delegated representative has the power to examine, or cause to 
 be examined or copied, any books, correspondence, papers, 
 records, or memoranda which are relevant to making these 
 determinations, whether the books, correspondence, papers, 
 records, or memoranda are the property of or in the possession 
 of the employing unit or any other person or corporation at any 
 reasonable time and as often as may be necessary. 

    (b) The commissioner or any delegated representative may 
 make summaries, compilations, photographs, duplications, or 
 reproductions of any records, or reports that the commissioner 
 considers advisable for the effective and economical 
 preservation of the information contained therein, and any 
 summaries, compilations, photographs, duplications, or 
 reproductions shall be admissible in any proceeding under this 
 chapter, if the original record or records would have been 
 admissible.  Notwithstanding any restrictions contained in 
 section 16B.50, the commissioner is hereby authorized to 
 duplicate records, reports, summaries, compilations, 
 instructions, determinations, or any other written matter 
 pertaining to the administration of the Minnesota economic 
 security law. 

    (c) Notwithstanding any inconsistent provisions elsewhere, 
 the commissioner may provide for the destruction or disposition 
 of any records, reports, or reproductions thereof, or other 
 papers in the commissioner's custody, that are more than two 
 years old, the preservation of which is no longer necessary for 
 determining employer liability or a claimant's benefit rights or 
 for any purpose necessary to the proper administration of this 
 chapter, including any required audit, provided that the 
 commissioner may provide for the destruction or disposition of 
 any record, report, or other paper in the commissioner's custody 
 which has been photographed, duplicated, or reproduced. 

    HIST: Ex1936 c 2 s 10; 1937 c 306 s 7; 1939 c 441 s 42; 1939 c 
 443 s 8,10; 1941 c 554 s 9; 1943 c 650 s 7; 1945 c 376 s 9; 1947 
 c 600 s 3-6; 1949 c 605 s 15; 1949 c 739 s 8; 1951 c 442 s 6-10; 
 1951 c 713 s 29; 1953 c 97 s 15; 1953 c 603 s 1; 1953 c 612 s 1; 
 1955 c 847 s 22; 1957 c 883 s 7; 1965 c 45 s 42-44; 1965 c 741 s 
 18; 1967 c 770 s 1; 1969 c 9 s 63; 1969 c 310 s 2; 1969 c 567 s 
 1,3; 1969 c 854 s 11,12; 1969 c 1129 art 8 s 7; 1971 c 942 s 12; 
 1973 c 254 s 1,3; 1973 c 492 s 14; 1974 c 241 s 1; 1975 c 315 s 
 19; 1975 c 336 s 20,21; 1977 c 172 s 2; 1977 c 237 s 1; 1977 c 
 297 s 20; 1977 c 305 s 31; 1977 c 430 s 25 subd 1; 1978 c 674 s 
 60; 1979 c 181 s 15; 1980 c 615 s 37; 1981 c 311 s 39; 1982 c 
 424 s 130; 1982 c 545 s 23,24; 1Sp1982 c 1 s 31,32; 1983 c 216 
 art 1 s 87; 1983 c 247 s 114; 1983 c 260 s 58; 1983 c 312 art 8 
 s 2; 1983 c 372 s 37,38; 1984 c 544 s 89; 1985 c 248 s 70; 
 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 75; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 165 s 1; 1987 c 312 
 art 1 s 26 subd 2; 1987 c 362 s 23; 1987 c 385 s 25; 1989 c 65 s 
 11; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1; 1990 c 516 s 6,7; 1991 c 202 s 16; 
 1993 c 67 s 10; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1994 c 488 s 8; 1995 c 54 s 12; 
 1996 c 417 s 23,31; 1996 c 440 art 1 s 47; 1997 c 66 s 62,79 

     268.188 Subpoenas; oaths. 

    (a) In the discharge of the duties imposed by sections 
 268.03 to 268.23, the commissioner or any delegated 
 representative, shall have power to administer oaths and 
 affirmations, take depositions, certify to official acts, and 
 issue subpoenas to compel the attendance of persons and the 
 production of books, papers, correspondence, memoranda, and 
 other records necessary in connection with the administration of 
 these sections. 

    (b) Persons, other than claimants or officers and employees 
 of an employing unit that is the subject of the inquiry, 
 subpoenaed pursuant to this subdivision, shall be allowed fees 
 the same as witness fees in civil actions in district court.  
 The fees need not be paid in advance. 

    (c) The subpoena shall be enforceable through the district 
 court in the district in which the subpoena is issued. 

    HIST: Ex1936 c 2 s 10; 1937 c 306 s 7; 1939 c 441 s 42; 1939 c 
 443 s 8,10; 1941 c 554 s 9; 1943 c 650 s 7; 1945 c 376 s 9; 1947 
 c 600 s 3-6; 1949 c 605 s 15; 1949 c 739 s 8; 1951 c 442 s 6-10; 
 1951 c 713 s 29; 1953 c 97 s 15; 1953 c 603 s 1; 1953 c 612 s 1; 
 1955 c 847 s 22; 1957 c 883 s 7; 1965 c 45 s 42-44; 1965 c 741 s 
 18; 1967 c 770 s 1; 1969 c 9 s 63; 1969 c 310 s 2; 1969 c 567 s 
 1,3; 1969 c 854 s 11,12; 1969 c 1129 art 8 s 7; 1971 c 942 s 12; 
 1973 c 254 s 1,3; 1973 c 492 s 14; 1974 c 241 s 1; 1975 c 315 s 
 19; 1975 c 336 s 20,21; 1977 c 172 s 2; 1977 c 237 s 1; 1977 c 
 297 s 20; 1977 c 305 s 31; 1977 c 430 s 25 subd 1; 1978 c 674 s 
 60; 1979 c 181 s 15; 1980 c 615 s 37; 1981 c 311 s 39; 1982 c 
 424 s 130; 1982 c 545 s 23,24; 1Sp1982 c 1 s 31,32; 1983 c 216 
 art 1 s 87; 1983 c 247 s 114; 1983 c 260 s 58; 1983 c 312 art 8 
 s 2; 1983 c 372 s 37,38; 1984 c 544 s 89; 1985 c 248 s 70; 
 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 75; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 165 s 1; 1987 c 312 
 art 1 s 26 subd 2; 1987 c 362 s 23; 1987 c 385 s 25; 1989 c 65 s 
 11; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1; 1990 c 516 s 6,7; 1991 c 202 s 16; 
 1993 c 67 s 10; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1994 c 488 s 8; 1995 c 54 s 12; 
 1996 c 417 s 23,31; 1996 c 440 art 1 s 47; 1997 c 66 s 63,79 

     268.19 Information. 

    Except as hereinafter otherwise provided, data gathered 
 from any employing unit or individual pursuant to the 
 administration of sections 268.03 to 268.23, and from any 
 determination as to the benefit rights of any individual are 
 private data on individuals or nonpublic data not on individuals 
 as defined in section 13.02, subdivisions 9 and 12, and may not 
 be disclosed except pursuant to a court order or section 13.05.  
 These data may be disseminated to and used by the following 
 agencies without the consent of the subject of the data:  

    (a) state and federal agencies specifically authorized 
 access to the data by state or federal law; 

    (b) any agency of this or any other state; or any federal 
 agency charged with the administration of an employment security 
 law or the maintenance of a system of public employment offices; 

    (c) local human rights groups within the state which have 
 enforcement powers; 

    (d) the department of revenue shall have access to 
 department of economic security private data on individuals and 
 nonpublic data not on individuals only to the extent necessary 
 for enforcement of Minnesota tax laws; 

    (e) public and private agencies responsible for 
 administering publicly financed assistance programs for the 
 purpose of monitoring the eligibility of the program's 
 recipients; 

    (f) the department of labor and industry on an 
 interchangeable basis with the department of economic security 
 subject to the following limitations and notwithstanding any law 
 to the contrary:  

    (1) the department of economic security shall have access 
 to private data on individuals and nonpublic data not on 
 individuals for uses consistent with the administration of its 
 duties under sections 268.03 to 268.23; and 

    (2) the department of labor and industry shall have access 
 to private data on individuals and nonpublic data not on 
 individuals for uses consistent with the administration of its 
 duties under state law; 

    (g) the department of trade and economic development may 
 have access to private data on individual employing units and 
 nonpublic data not on individual employing units for its 
 internal use only; when received by the department of trade and 
 economic development, the data remain private data on 
 individuals or nonpublic data; 

    (h) local and state welfare agencies for monitoring the 
 eligibility of the data subject for assistance programs, or for 
 any employment or training program administered by those 
 agencies, whether alone, in combination with another welfare 
 agency, or in conjunction with the department of economic 
 security; 

    (i) local, state, and federal law enforcement agencies for 
 the sole purpose of ascertaining the last known address and 
 employment location of the data subject, provided the data 
 subject is the subject of a criminal investigation; and 

    (j) the department of health may have access to private 
 data on individuals and nonpublic data not on individuals solely 
 for the purposes of epidemiologic investigations.  

    Data on individuals and employing units which are 
 collected, maintained, or used by the department in an 
 investigation pursuant to section 268.182 are confidential as to 
 data on individuals and protected nonpublic data not on 
 individuals as defined in section 13.02, subdivisions 3 and 13, 
 and shall not be disclosed except pursuant to statute or court 
 order or to a party named in a criminal proceeding, 
 administrative or judicial, for preparation of a defense.  

    Tape recordings and transcripts of recordings of 
 proceedings conducted in accordance with section 268.105 and 
 exhibits received into evidence at those proceedings are private 
 data on individuals and nonpublic data not on individuals and 
 shall be disclosed only pursuant to the administration of 
 section 268.105, or pursuant to a court order.  

    Aggregate data about employers compiled from individual job 
 orders placed with the department of economic security are 
 private data on individuals and nonpublic data not on 
 individuals as defined in section 13.02, subdivisions 9 and 12, 
 if the commissioner determines that divulging the data would 
 result in disclosure of the identity of the employer.  The 
 general aptitude test battery and the nonverbal aptitude test 
 battery as administered by the department are also classified as 
 private data on individuals or nonpublic data.  

    Data on individuals collected, maintained, or created 
 because an individual applies for benefits or services provided 
 by the energy assistance and weatherization programs 
 administered by the department of economic security is private 
 data on individuals and shall not be disseminated except 
 pursuant to section 13.05, subdivisions 3 and 4.  

    Data gathered by the department pursuant to the 
 administration of sections 268.03 to 268.23 shall not be made 
 the subject or the basis for any suit in any civil proceedings, 
 administrative or judicial, unless the action is initiated by 
 the department. 

    HIST: Ex1936 c 2 s 10; 1937 c 306 s 7; 1939 c 441 s 42; 1939 c 
 443 s 8,10; 1941 c 554 s 9; 1943 c 650 s 7; 1945 c 376 s 9; 1947 
 c 600 s 3-6; 1949 c 605 s 15; 1949 c 739 s 8; 1951 c 442 s 6-10; 
 1951 c 713 s 29; 1953 c 97 s 15; 1953 c 603 s 1; 1953 c 612 s 1; 
 1955 c 847 s 22; 1957 c 883 s 7; 1965 c 45 s 42-44; 1965 c 741 s 
 18; 1967 c 770 s 1; 1969 c 9 s 63; 1969 c 310 s 2; 1969 c 567 s 
 1,3; 1969 c 854 s 11,12; 1969 c 1129 art 8 s 7; 1971 c 942 s 12; 
 1973 c 254 s 1,3; 1973 c 492 s 14; 1974 c 241 s 1; 1975 c 315 s 
 19; 1975 c 336 s 20,21; 1977 c 172 s 2; 1977 c 237 s 1; 1977 c 
 297 s 20; 1977 c 305 s 31; 1977 c 430 s 25 subd 1; 1978 c 674 s 
 60; 1979 c 181 s 15; 1980 c 615 s 37; 1981 c 311 s 39; 1982 c 
 424 s 130; 1982 c 545 s 23,24; 1Sp1982 c 1 s 31,32; 1983 c 216 
 art 1 s 87; 1983 c 247 s 114; 1983 c 260 s 58; 1983 c 312 art 8 
 s 2; 1983 c 372 s 37,38; 1984 c 544 s 89; 1985 c 248 s 70; 
 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 75; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 165 s 1; 1987 c 312 
 art 1 s 26 subd 2; 1987 c 362 s 23; 1987 c 385 s 25; 1989 c 65 s 
 11; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1; 1990 c 516 s 6,7; 1991 c 202 s 16; 
 1993 c 67 s 10; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1994 c 488 s 8; 1995 c 54 s 12; 
 1996 c 417 s 23,31; 1996 c 440 art 1 s 47; 1997 c 66 s 79 

     268.192 Protection of rights and benefits. 

    Subdivision 1.    Waiver of rights void.  Any agreement 
 by an individual to waive, release, or commute rights to 
 benefits or any other rights under sections 268.03 to 268.23 
 shall be void.  Any agreement by any individual in the employ of 
 any person or concern to pay all or any portion of an employer's 
 contributions, required under these sections from such employer, 
 shall be void.  No employer shall directly or indirectly make or 
 require or accept any deduction from wages to finance the 
 employer's contributions, require or accept any waiver of any 
 right hereunder by any employed individual or in any manner 
 obstruct or impede the filing of claims for benefits.  Any 
 employer or officer or agent of any employer who violates any 
 provision of this subdivision shall, for each offense, be guilty 
 of a misdemeanor.  

    Subd. 2.    No assignment of benefits; exemptions.  Any 
 assignment, pledge, or encumbrance of any right to benefits 
 which are or may become due or payable under sections 268.03 to 
 268.23 shall be void; and such rights to benefits shall be 
 exempt from levy, execution, attachment, or any other remedy 
 provided for the collection of debt; and benefits received by 
 any individual so long as they are not mingled with other funds 
 of the recipient shall be exempt from any remedy for the 
 collection of all debts, except debts incurred for necessaries 
 furnished to such individual or a spouse or dependents during 
 the time when such individual was unemployed.  Any waiver of any 
 exemption provided for in this subdivision shall be void. 

    HIST: Ex1936 c 2 s 15; 1941 c 554 s 14; 1986 c 444; 1989 c 209 
 art 2 s 1; 1996 c 417 s 31; 1997 c 66 s 79 

     268.194 Reemployment insurance fund. 

    Subdivision 1.    Establishment; how constituted.  There 
 is hereby established as a special fund, separate and apart from 
 all public moneys or funds of this state, a reemployment 
 insurance fund, which shall be administered by the commissioner 
 exclusively for the purpose of sections 268.03 to 268.23.  This 
 fund shall consist of: 

    (1) All contributions collected under those sections; 

    (2) Interest earned upon any moneys in the fund; 

    (3) Any property or securities acquired through the use of 
 moneys belonging to the fund; 

    (4) All earnings of such property or securities; 

    (5) Any moneys received from the Federal Unemployment 
 Account in the unemployment trust fund in accordance with Title 
 XII of the Social Security Act, as amended, and any other moneys 
 made available to the fund and received pursuant to an 
 agreement, between this state and any agency of the federal 
 government or any other state, for the payment of unemployment 
 benefits; 

    (6) All money recovered on losses sustained by the fund; 

    (7) All money credited to the account of this state in the 
 unemployment trust fund pursuant to section 903 of the Social 
 Security Act, as amended; and 

    (8) All money received for the fund from any other source.  

    All moneys in the fund shall be mingled and undivided.  

    Subd. 2.    Commissioner of finance to be custodian; 
 separate accounts; bonds.  The commissioner of finance shall 
 be ex officio the treasurer and custodian of the fund, 
 administer the fund in accordance with the directions of the 
 commissioner, and issue warrants upon it in accordance with such 
 rules as the commissioner shall prescribe.  The commissioner of 
 finance shall maintain within the fund three separate accounts: 

    (1) a clearing account; 

    (2) an unemployment trust fund account; and 

    (3) a benefit account.  

    All money payable to the fund, upon receipt thereof by the 
 commissioner, shall be forwarded to the commissioner of finance 
 who shall immediately deposit them in the clearing account.  All 
 money in the clearing account, after clearance thereof, shall, 
 except as herein otherwise provided, be immediately deposited 
 with the secretary of the treasury of the United States to the 
 credit of the account of this state in the unemployment trust 
 fund established and maintained pursuant to section 904 of the 
 Social Security Act, as amended, any provisions of law in this 
 state relating to the deposit, administration, release, or 
 disbursement of money in the possession or custody of this state 
 to the contrary notwithstanding.  Refunds payable pursuant to 
 sections 268.04, subdivision 12, clause (8) (f), and 268.057, 
 subdivision 7, may be paid from the clearing account or the 
 benefit account.  The benefit account shall consist of all money 
 requisitioned from this state's account in the unemployment 
 trust fund in the United States Treasury for the payment of 
 benefits.  Except as herein otherwise provided, money in the 
 clearing and benefit accounts may be deposited by the 
 commissioner of finance, under the direction of the 
 commissioner, in any depository bank in which general funds of 
 the state may be deposited, but no public deposit insurance 
 charge or premium shall be paid out of the fund.  Money in the 
 clearing and benefit accounts shall not be commingled with other 
 state funds, but shall be maintained in separate accounts on the 
 books of the depository bank.  Such money shall be secured by 
 the depository bank to the same extent and in the same manner as 
 required by the general depository law of this state; and 
 collateral pledged for this purpose shall be kept separate and 
 distinct from any collateral pledged to secure other funds of 
 the state.  All sums recovered for losses sustained by the fund 
 shall be deposited therein.  

    Subd. 3.    Withdrawals.  (1) Moneys requisitioned from 
 this state's account in the unemployment trust fund shall be 
 used exclusively for the payment of benefits and for refunds 
 pursuant to sections 268.04, subdivision 12, clause (8) (f), and 
 268.057, subdivision 7, except that money credited to this 
 state's account pursuant to section 903 of the Social Security 
 Act, as amended, shall be used exclusively as provided in 
 subdivision 5 of this section.  The commissioner or a duly 
 authorized agent for that purpose, shall from time to time 
 requisition from the unemployment trust fund such amounts, not 
 exceeding the amount standing to this state's account therein, 
 as the commissioner deems necessary for the payment of such 
 benefits and refunds for a reasonable future period.  Upon 
 receipt thereof the treasurer shall deposit such moneys in the 
 benefit account and issue warrants for the payment of benefits 
 solely from such benefit account.  Expenditures of such moneys 
 in the benefit account and refunds from the clearing account 
 shall not be subject to any provisions of law requiring specific 
 appropriations or other formal release by state officers of 
 money in their custody.  All warrants issued by the treasurer 
 for the payment of benefits and refunds shall bear the signature 
 of the treasurer and the counter signature of the commissioner 
 or a duly authorized agent for that purpose.  

    (2) Any balance of moneys requisitioned from the 
 unemployment trust fund which remains unclaimed or unpaid in the 
 benefit account after the expiration of the period for which 
 such sums were requisitioned shall either be deducted from 
 estimates for, and may be utilized for the payment of, benefits 
 and refunds during succeeding periods or, in the discretion of 
 the commissioner, shall be redeposited with the secretary of the 
 treasury of the United States, to the credit of this state's 
 account in the unemployment trust fund, as provided in 
 subdivision 2.  

    Subd. 4.    Disposal of certain moneys.  Any moneys made 
 available to the reemployment insurance fund and received 
 pursuant to an agreement between this state and any agency of 
 the federal government or any other state for the payment of 
 unemployment benefits shall be placed directly in the benefit 
 account of the unemployment trust fund.  

    Subd. 5.    Payment of expenses of administration.  (1) 
 Money credited to the account of this state in the unemployment 
 trust fund by the secretary of the treasury of the United States 
 of America pursuant to section 903 of the Social Security Act, 
 as amended, may be requisitioned and used for the payment of 
 expenses incurred for the administration of Laws 1957, chapter 
 883 pursuant to a specific appropriation by the legislature, 
 provided that the expenses are incurred and the money is 
 requisitioned after the enactment of an appropriation law which: 

    (a) Specifies the purposes for which such money is 
 appropriated and the amounts appropriated therefor.  

    (b) Limits the period within which such money may be 
 obligated to a period ending not more than two years after the 
 date of the enactment of the appropriation law, and 

    (c) Limits the amount which may be obligated during any 
 12-month period beginning on July 1 and ending on the next June 
 30 to an amount which does not exceed the amount by which (i) 
 the aggregate of the amounts credited to the account of this 
 state pursuant to section 903 of the Social Security Act, as 
 amended, during the same 12-month period and the 34 preceding 
 12-month periods, exceeds (ii) the aggregate of the amounts used 
 pursuant to this subdivision and charged against the amounts 
 credited to the account of this state during any of such 35 
 12-month periods.  For the purposes of this subdivision, amounts 
 used during any such 12-month period shall be charged against 
 equivalent amounts which were first credited and which are not 
 already so charged; except that no amount obligated for 
 administration during any such 12-month period may be charged 
 against any amount credited during such a 12-month period 
 earlier than the 24th preceding such period.  

    (2) Money credited to the account of this state pursuant to 
 section 903 of the Social Security Act, as amended, may not be 
 withdrawn or used except for the payment of benefits and for the 
 payment of expenses for the administration of Laws 1957, chapter 
 883 and of public employment offices pursuant to this 
 subdivision.  Any moneys used for the payment of benefits may be 
 restored for appropriation and use for administrative expenses 
 upon request of the governor, under section 903(c) of the Social 
 Security Act.  

    (3) Money requisitioned for the payment of expenses of 
 administration pursuant to this subdivision shall be deposited 
 in the economic security administration fund, but, until 
 expended, shall remain a part of the unemployment fund.  The 
 commissioner shall maintain a separate record of the deposit, 
 obligation, expenditure, and return of funds so deposited.  If 
 any money so deposited is, for any reason, not to be expended 
 for the purpose for which it was appropriated, or, if it remains 
 unexpended at the end of the period specified by the law 
 appropriating such money, it shall be withdrawn and returned to 
 the secretary of the treasury of the United States for credit to 
 this state's account in the unemployment trust fund.  

    Subd. 6.    Advance on federal funds.  (1) The governor 
 is hereby authorized to make application as may be necessary to 
 secure any advance of funds by the secretary of the treasury of 
 the United States in accordance with the authority extended 
 under section 1201 of the Social Security Act, as amended. 

    (2) Any amount transferred to the Minnesota reemployment 
 insurance fund by the secretary of the treasury of the United 
 States under the terms of any application made pursuant to this 
 subdivision shall be repayable in the manner provided in 
 sections 901(d) 1, 903(b) 2 and 1202 of the Social Security Act, 
 as amended. 

    HIST: Ex1936 c 2 s 3; 1937 c 452 s 1; 1939 c 443 s 2; 1941 c 
 554 s 2; 1945 c 376 s 2; 1949 c 605 s 2; 1953 c 97 s 3,4; 1957 c 
 883 s 2-5; 1961 c 517 s 1; 1969 c 310 s 1; 1969 c 567 s 3; 1975 
 c 302 s 1; 1Sp1982 c 1 s 4; 1983 c 216 art 1 s 87; 1983 c 372 s 
 8; 1985 c 248 s 70; 1Sp1985 c 13 s 300; 1986 c 444; 1989 c 209 
 art 2 s 1; 1994 c 488 s 8; 1996 c 417 s 31; 1997 c 66 s 79 

     268.196 Economic security administration fund. 

    Subdivision 1.    Administration fund.  There is hereby 
 created in the state treasury a special fund to be known as the 
 economic security administration fund.  All moneys which are 
 deposited or paid into this fund shall be continuously available 
 to the commissioner for expenditure in accordance with the 
 provisions of sections 268.03 to 268.23, and shall not lapse at 
 any time.  The fund shall consist of all moneys received from 
 the United States or any agency thereof, including the United 
 States department of labor, and include any moneys received from 
 any agency of the United States or any other state as 
 compensation for services or facilities supplied to such agency, 
 any amounts received pursuant to any surety bond or insurance 
 policy or from other sources for losses sustained by the 
 economic security administration fund or by reason of damage to 
 equipment or supplies purchased from moneys in such fund, and 
 any proceeds realized from the sale or disposition of any such 
 equipment or supplies which may no longer be necessary for the 
 proper administration of those sections.  Notwithstanding any 
 provision of this section, all money requisitioned and deposited 
 in this fund pursuant to section 268.194, subdivision 5, shall 
 remain part of the unemployment fund and shall be used only in 
 accordance with the conditions specified in section 268.194, 
 subdivision 5.  All moneys in this fund shall be deposited, 
 administered, and disbursed in the same manner and under the 
 same conditions and requirements as are provided by law for the 
 other special funds in the state treasury.  The state treasurer 
 shall be liable on the treasurer's official bond for the 
 faithful performance of duties in connection with the economic 
 security administration fund provided for under these sections.  
 Such liability on the official bond shall be effective 
 immediately upon the enactment of this provision, and such 
 liability shall exist in addition to any liability upon any 
 separate bond existent on April 29, 1941, or which may be given 
 in the future.  All sums recovered on any surety bond for losses 
 sustained by the economic security administration fund shall be 
 deposited in this fund.  All money in this fund, except money 
 received pursuant to section 268.194, subdivision 5, clause (3), 
 shall be expended solely for the purposes and in the amounts 
 found necessary by the secretary of labor for the proper and 
 efficient administration of the economic security program.  

    Subd. 2.    State to replace moneys wrongfully used.  If 
 any moneys received after June 30, 1941, under Title III of the 
 Federal Social Security Act, or any unencumbered balances in the 
 economic security administration fund as of that date, or any 
 moneys granted after that date to the state pursuant to the 
 provisions of the Wagner-Peyser Act, are found by the secretary 
 of labor, because of any action or contingency, to have been 
 lost or been expended for purposes other than, or in amounts in 
 excess of, those found necessary by the secretary of labor for 
 the proper administration of these sections, the commissioner 
 may, with the approval of the commissioner of administration, 
 replace such moneys from the economic security contingent fund 
 hereinafter established.  If such moneys are not thus replaced, 
 it is the policy of this state that such moneys shall be 
 replaced by moneys appropriated for such purpose from the 
 general funds of this state to the economic security 
 administration fund for expenditure as provided in subdivision 
 1.  Upon receipt of notice of such a finding by the secretary of 
 labor, the commissioner shall promptly report the amount 
 required for such replacement to the governor and the governor 
 shall, at the earliest opportunity, submit to the legislature a 
 request for the appropriation of such amount.  This subdivision 
 shall not be construed to relieve this state of its obligation 
 with respect to funds received prior to July 1, 1941, pursuant 
 to the provisions of Title III of the Social Security Act.  

    Subd. 3.    Contingent account.  There is hereby created 
 in the state treasury a special account, to be known as the 
 economic security contingent account, which shall not lapse nor 
 revert to any other fund.  Such account shall consist of all 
 money appropriated therefor by the legislature, all money in the 
 form of interest and penalties collected pursuant to sections 
 268.057 and 268.18, and all money received in the form of 
 voluntary contributions to this account and interest thereon.  
 All money in such account shall be supplemental to all federal 
 money that would be available to the commissioner but for the 
 existence of this account.  Moneys in this account are hereby 
 appropriated to the commissioner and shall be available to the 
 commissioner for such expenditures as the commissioner may deem 
 necessary in connection with the administration of sections 
 268.04 to 268.23.  Whenever the commissioner expends money from 
 said contingent account for the proper and efficient 
 administration of the Minnesota economic security law for which 
 funds have not yet been made available by the federal 
 government, such money so withdrawn from the contingent account 
 shall be replaced as hereinafter provided.  Upon the deposit in 
 the economic security administration fund of moneys which are 
 received in reimbursement of payments made as above provided for 
 said contingent account, the commissioner shall certify to the 
 state treasurer the amount of such reimbursement and thereupon 
 the state treasurer shall transfer such amount from the economic 
 security administration fund to said contingent account.  All 
 money in this account shall be deposited, administered, and 
 disbursed in the same manner and under the same conditions and 
 requirements as is provided by law for the other special 
 accounts in the state treasury.  The state treasurer shall be 
 liable on the treasurer's official bond for the faithful 
 performance of duties in connection with the economic security 
 contingent account provided for herein.  Notwithstanding 
 anything to the contrary contained herein, on June 30 of each 
 year, except 1982, all amounts in excess of $300,000 in this 
 account shall be paid over to the reemployment insurance fund 
 established under section 268.194 and administered in accordance 
 with the provisions set forth therein. 

    HIST: Ex1936 c 2 s 13; 1941 c 554 s 12; 1945 c 376 s 12; 1953 
 c 97 s 16; 1957 c 883 s 8-10; 1963 c 721 s 1; 1965 c 45 s 46; 
 1969 c 399 s 1; 1969 c 567 s 3; 1973 c 254 s 3; 1973 c 492 s 14; 
 1973 c 720 s 73 subd 1; 1974 c 497 s 1; 1975 c 302 s 2; 1Sp1982 
 c 1 s 33; 1983 c 216 art 1 s 87; 1986 c 444; 1987 c 362 s 25; 
 1987 c 385 s 27; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1; 1994 c 488 s 8; 1996 c 
 417 s 31; 1997 c 7 art 1 s 106; 1997 c 66 s 79 

     268.198 Free employment offices. 

    Subdivision 1.    Acceptance of federal act.  A state 
 employment service is hereby established in the department.  The 
 commissioner shall establish and maintain free public employment 
 offices, in that number and in those places as may be necessary 
 for the purpose of performing the functions within the purview 
 of the Wagner-Peyser Act, United States Code, title 29, chapter 
 4B. 

    Subd. 2.    Financing.  All moneys received by this 
 state under such act of Congress referred to in subdivision 1 
 shall be paid into the economic security administration fund, 
 and expended solely for the maintenance of state public 
 employment offices.  For the purpose of establishing and 
 maintaining free public employment offices and promoting the use 
 of their facilities, the commissioner is authorized to enter 
 into agreements with the railroad retirement board or any other 
 agency of the United States or of this or any other state 
 charged with the administration of any law whose purposes are 
 reasonably related to the purposes of sections 268.03 to 268.23. 

    Subd. 3.    Veterans representatives.  As may be 
 determined by the commissioner, based on a demonstrated need for 
 the service, there shall be assigned by the commissioner to the 
 staff of each full functioning employment service office a 
 veterans employment representative whose activities shall be 
 devoted to discharging the duties prescribed of a veterans 
 employment representative.  The position of veterans employment 
 representative shall be filled by one or more employees of the 
 department of economic security who are veterans as defined in 
 section 197.447. 

    HIST: Ex1936 c 2 s 12; 1937 c 306 s 9; 1939 c 443 s 11; 1941 c 
 554 s 11; 1945 c 376 s 11; 1949 c 605 s 11; 1969 c 567 s 3; 1973 
 c 254 s 3; 1977 c 151 s 1; 1977 c 430 s 25 subd 1; 1980 c 350 s 
 1; 1983 c 216 art 1 s 87; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 75; 1989 c 209 
 art 2 s 1; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1996 c 417 s 31; 1997 c 66 s 65,79 

     268.20 Representation in court.  

    In any civil action to enforce the provisions of sections 
 268.03 to 268.23, the commissioner shall be represented by the 
 attorney general.  

    HIST: (4337-37) Ex1936 c 2 s 17; 1941 c 554 s 16; 1989 c 209 
 art 2 s 1; 1996 c 417 s 31 

     268.21 Nonliability of state. 

    (a) Benefits shall be deemed to be due and payable only to 
 the extent provided in this chapter and to the extent that money 
 is available in the reemployment insurance fund and neither the 
 state nor the commissioner shall be liable for any amount in 
 excess of such sums.  

    (b) No person shall make any demand, bring any suit, or 
 other proceeding to recover from the state any sum alleged to be 
 due on a reemployment insurance account after the expiration of 
 two years from the effective date of the reemployment insurance 
 account. 

    HIST: (4337-38) Ex1936 c 2 s 18; 1941 c 554 s 17; 1989 c 209 
 art 2 s 1; 1994 c 488 s 8; 1996 c 417 s 31; 1997 c 66 s 77 

     268.22 Saving clause.  

    The legislature reserves the right to amend or repeal all 
 or any part of sections 268.03 to 268.23 at any time; and there 
 shall be no vested private right of any kind against such 
 amendment or repeal.  All the rights, privileges, or immunities 
 conferred thereby, or by acts done pursuant thereto, shall exist 
 subject to the power of the legislature to amend or repeal these 
 sections at any time.  

    HIST: (4337-39) Ex1936 c 2 s 19; 1941 c 554 s 18; 1991 c 199 
 art 2 s 1; 1996 c 417 s 31 

     268.23 Severable. 

    In the event that the United States Department of Labor 
 shall determine that any provision of sections 268.03 to 
 268.23, or any other provision of Minnesota Statutes relating 
 to reemployment insurance, is not in conformity with various 
 provisions of the Federal Internal Revenue Code or the Social 
 Security Act then such provision shall have no force or effect 
 for any purpose but if any such provision, or the application 
 thereof to any person or circumstances, is held invalid, the 
 remainder of said sections and the application of such provision 
 to other persons or circumstances shall not be affected thereby. 

    HIST: (4337-40) Ex1936 c 2 s 20; 1941 c 554 s 19; 1949 c 605 s 
 14; 1965 c 45 s 47; 1991 c 199 art 2 s 1; 1996 c 417 s 30,31 

  268.231 Repealed, 1996 c 417 s 32 

  268.24 Repealed, 1987 c 385 s 50 

     268.25 Effective dates.  

    Laws 1945, chapter 376, shall take effect and be in force 
 from and after its passage, unless otherwise specifically 
 provided therein, except that sections 268.04, 268.06, 268.07, 
 268.08, 268.09, and 268.16, Minnesota Statutes 1941, as amended 
 by Laws 1943, chapter 650, and as amended by Laws 1945, chapter 
 376, shall take effect and be in force from and after July 1, 
 1945; provided that sections 268.04, 268.07 and 268.08, 
 Minnesota Statutes 1941, as amended by Laws 1943, chapter 650, 
 and as amended by Laws 1945, chapter 376, shall not affect the 
 determination of or rights to claims filed prior to July 1, 1945.

    HIST: 1945 c 376 s 15 

     268.29 Juvenile justice program. 

    The governor shall designate the department of economic 
 security as the sole agency responsible for supervising the 
 preparation and administration of the state plan for juvenile 
 justice required by the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency 
 Prevention Act of 1974, as amended. 

    The governor shall designate the juvenile justice advisory 
 committee as the supervisory board for the department of 
 economic security with respect to preparation and administration 
 of the state plan and award of grants.  

    The governor shall appoint members to the juvenile justice 
 advisory committee in accordance with the membership 
 requirements of the Juvenile Justice and Delinquency Prevention 
 Act of 1974, as amended. 

    HIST: 1987 c 312 art 1 s 22; 1994 c 483 s 1 

     268.30 Grants-in-aid to youth intervention programs. 

    Subdivision 1.    Grants.  The commissioner may make 
 grants to nonprofit agencies administering youth intervention 
 programs in communities where the programs are or may be 
 established. 

    "Youth intervention program" means a nonresidential 
 community-based program providing advocacy, education, 
 counseling, and referral services to youth and their families 
 experiencing personal, familial, school, legal, or chemical 
 problems with the goal of resolving the present problems and 
 preventing the occurrence of the problems in the future. 

    Subd. 2.    Applications.  Applications for a 
 grant-in-aid shall be made by the administering agency to the 
 commissioner.  The grant-in-aid is contingent upon the agency 
 having obtained from the community in which the youth 
 intervention program is established local matching money two 
 times the amount of the grant that is sought. 

    The commissioner shall provide by rule the application 
 form, procedures for making application form, criteria for 
 review of the application, and kinds of contributions in 
 addition to cash that qualify as local matching money.  No grant 
 to any agency may exceed $50,000. 

    HIST: 1987 c 312 art 1 s 23; 1996 c 408 art 2 s 2 

  268.31 Repealed, 1994 c 632 art 4 s 84 

  268.315 Repealed, 1994 c 632 art 4 s 84 

  268.32 Repealed, 1994 c 632 art 4 s 84 

  268.33 Repealed, 1994 c 632 art 4 s 84 

  268.34 Repealed, 1994 c 632 art 4 s 84 

  268.35 Repealed, 1994 c 632 art 4 s 84 

  268.36 Repealed, 1994 c 632 art 4 s 84 

     268.361 Definitions. 

    Subdivision 1.    Terms.  For the purposes of sections 
 268.361 to 268.366, the following terms have the meanings given 
 them. 

    Subd. 2.    Advisory committee.  "Advisory committee" 
 means the committee established in section 268.363.  

    Subd. 3.    Commissioner.  "Commissioner" means the 
 commissioner of economic security. 

    Subd. 4.    Eligible organization.  "Eligible 
 organization" means a public agency or a nonprofit organization 
 that can demonstrate an ability to implement a program for 
 education and training services provided to targeted youth.  
 Eligible organizations may include local jurisdictions, public 
 school districts, private nonsectarian schools, post-secondary 
 educational institutes, alternative schools, community groups, 
 and labor organizations. 

    Subd. 4a.    Program.  "Program" means the services and 
 activities performed or contracted for by an eligible 
 organization for which a grant has been received or for which a 
 grant application has been submitted to the commissioner. 

    Subd. 5.    Homeless individual.  "Homeless individual" 
 or "homeless person" means: 

    (1) an individual who lacks a fixed, regular, and adequate 
 nighttime residence; and 

    (2) an individual who has a primary nighttime residence 
 that is: 

    (i) a supervised publicly or privately operated shelter or 
 dwelling designed to provide temporary living accommodations; 

    (ii) an institution that provides a temporary residence for 
 individuals intended to be institutionalized; or 

    (iii) a public or private place not designed for, or 
 ordinarily used as, a regular sleeping accommodation for humans. 

    The term "homeless individual" does not include any 
 individual imprisoned or otherwise detained under federal or 
 state law. 

    Subd. 6.    Targeted youth.  "Targeted youth" means 
 at-risk persons who are at least 16 years of age but not older 
 than 24 years of age, are eligible for the high school 
 graduation incentive program under section 126.22, subdivisions 
 2 and 2a, or are economically disadvantaged as defined in United 
 States Code, title 29, section 1503, and are part of one of the 
 following groups: 

    (1) persons who are not attending any school and have not 
 received a secondary school diploma or its equivalent; or 

    (2) persons currently enrolled in a traditional or 
 alternative school setting or a GED program and who, in the 
 opinion of an official of the school, are in danger of dropping 
 out of the school. 

    Subd. 7.    Very low income.  "Very low income" means 
 incomes that are at or less than 50 percent of the area median 
 income, adjusted for family size, as estimated by the department 
 of housing and urban development. 

    HIST: 1988 c 686 art 3 s 1; 1989 c 328 art 7 s 1,2; 1991 c 345 
 art 2 s 47; 1993 c 369 s 80,81; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1997 c 7 art 1 s 
 107 

     268.362 Grants. 

    Subdivision 1.    Generally.  (a) The commissioner shall 
 make grants to eligible organizations for programs to provide 
 education and training services to targeted youth.  The purpose 
 of these programs is to provide specialized training and work 
 experience for targeted youth who have not been served 
 effectively by the current educational system.  The programs are 
 to include a work experience component with work projects that 
 result in the rehabilitation, improvement, or construction of 
 (1) residential units for the homeless, or (2) education, social 
 service, or health facilities which are owned by a public agency 
 or a private nonprofit organization.  

    (b) Eligible facilities must principally provide services 
 to homeless or very low income individuals and families, and 
 include the following: 

    (1) Head Start or day care centers; 

    (2) homeless, battered women, or other shelters; 

    (3) transitional housing; 

    (4) youth or senior citizen centers; and 

    (5) community health centers. 

    Two or more eligible organizations may jointly apply for a 
 grant.  The commissioner shall administer the grant program. 

    Subd. 2.    Grant applications; awards.  Interested 
 eligible organizations must apply to the commissioner for the 
 grants.  The advisory committee must review the applications and 
 provide to the commissioner a list of recommended eligible 
 organizations that the advisory committee determines meet the 
 requirements for receiving a grant.  The total grant award for 
 any program may not exceed $80,000 per year.  In awarding 
 grants, the advisory committee and the commissioner must give 
 priority to: 

    (1) continuing and expanding effective programs by 
 providing grant money to organizations that are operating or 
 have operated a successful program that meets the program 
 purposes under section 268.364; and 

    (2) distributing programs throughout the state through 
 start-up grants for programs in areas that are not served by an 
 existing program. 

    To receive a grant under this section, the eligible 
 organization must match the grant money with at least an equal 
 amount of nonstate money.  The commissioner must verify that the 
 eligible organization has matched the grant money.  Nothing in 
 this subdivision shall prevent an eligible organization from 
 applying for and receiving grants for more than one program.  A 
 grant received by an eligible organization from the federal 
 Youthbuild Project under United States Code, title 42, section 
 5091, is nonstate money and may be used to meet the state match 
 requirement.  State grant money awarded under this section may 
 be used by grantee organizations for match requirements of a 
 federal Youthbuild Project. 

    HIST: 1988 c 686 art 3 s 2; 1989 c 328 art 7 s 3; 1992 c 376 
 art 5 s 1; 1993 c 369 s 82 

     268.3625 Administrative costs. 

    The commissioner may use up to five percent of the biennial 
 appropriation for Youthbuild from the general fund to pay costs 
 incurred by the department in administering Youthbuild during 
 the biennium. 

    HIST: 1997 c 200 art 1 s 65 

     268.363 Advisory committee. 

    A 13-member advisory committee is established as provided 
 under section 15.059 to assist the commissioner in selecting 
 eligible organizations to receive program grants and evaluating 
 the final reports of each organization.  Notwithstanding section 
 15.059, the advisory committee shall not expire before June 30, 
 1995.  Members of the committee may be reimbursed for expenses 
 but may not receive any other compensation for service on the 
 committee.  The advisory committee consists of representatives 
 of the commissioners of children, families, and learning, human 
 services, and economic security; a representative of the 
 chancellor of the Minnesota state colleges and universities; a 
 representative of the commissioner of the housing finance 
 agency; the director of the office of jobs policy; and seven 
 public members appointed by the governor.  Each of the following 
 groups must be represented by a public member experienced in 
 working with targeted youth:  labor organizations, local 
 educators, community groups, consumers, local housing 
 developers, youth between the ages of 16 and 24 who have a 
 period of homelessness, and other homeless persons.  At least 
 three of the public members must be from outside of the 
 metropolitan area as defined in section 473.121, subdivision 2.  
 The commissioner may provide staff to the advisory committee to 
 assist it in carrying out its purpose. 

    HIST: 1988 c 686 art 3 s 3; 1990 c 375 s 3; 1993 c 132 s 5; 
 1993 c 369 s 83; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 16 s 13; 1996 c 
 339 s 6; 1996 c 395 s 18 

     268.364 Program purpose and design. 

    Subdivision 1.    Program purpose.  The grants awarded 
 under section 268.362 are for a youth employment and training 
 program directed at targeted youth who are likely to be at risk 
 of not completing their high school education.  Each program 
 must include education, work experience, job skills, and 
 leadership training and peer support components.  Each 
 participant must be offered counseling and other services to 
 identify and overcome problems that might interfere with 
 successfully completing the program. 

    Subd. 2.    Education component.  A program must contain 
 an education component that requires program participants to 
 complete their secondary education in a traditional public or 
 private secondary school, a suitable alternative school setting, 
 or a GED program.  Program participants must be working toward 
 the completion of their secondary education or literacy 
 advancement. 

    Subd. 3.    Work experience component.  A work 
 experience component must be included in each program.  The work 
 experience component must provide vocational skills training in 
 an industry where there is a viable expectation of job 
 opportunities.  A training subsidy, living allowance, or 
 stipend, not to exceed an amount equal to 100 percent of the 
 poverty line for a family of two as defined in United States 
 Code, title 42, section 673, paragraph (2), may be provided to 
 program participants.  The wage or stipend must be provided to 
 participants who are recipients of public assistance in a manner 
 or amount which will not reduce public assistance benefits.  The 
 work experience component must be designed so that work projects 
 result in (1) the expansion or improvement of residential units 
 for homeless persons and very low income families, or (2) 
 rehabilitation, improvement, or construction of eligible 
 education, social service, or health facilities that principally 
 serve homeless or very low income individuals and families.  Any 
 work project must include direct supervision by individuals 
 skilled in each specific vocation.  Program participants may 
 earn credits toward the completion of their secondary education 
 from their participation in the work experience component. 

    Subd. 4.    Job readiness skills component.  A job 
 readiness skills component must comprise at least 20 percent of 
 each program.  The component must provide program participants 
 with job search skills, placement assistance, and other job 
 readiness skills to ensure that participants will have an 
 understanding of the building trades, unions, self-employment, 
 and other employment opportunities and be able to compete in the 
 employment market. 

    Subd 5. Repealed by amendment, 1989 c 328 art 7 s 4 

    Subd. 6.    Leadership training and peer support 
 component.  Each program must provide participants with 
 meaningful opportunities to develop leadership skills such as 
 decision making, problem solving, and negotiating.  The program 
 must encourage participants to develop strong peer group ties 
 that support their mutual pursuit of skills and values. 

    HIST: 1988 c 686 art 3 s 4; 1989 c 328 art 7 s 4; 1992 c 376 
 art 5 s 2; 1993 c 369 s 84-86 

     268.365 Housing for homeless. 

    Subd. 1. Repealed, 1993 c 369 s 146 

    Subd. 2.    Priority for housing.  Any residential or 
 transitional housing units that become available through a work 
 project that is part of the program described in section 268.364 
 must be allocated in the following order: 

    (1) homeless targeted youth who have participated in 
 constructing, rehabilitating, or improving the unit; 

    (2) homeless families with at least one dependent; 

    (3) other homeless individuals; 

    (4) other very low income families and individuals; and 

    (5) families or individuals that receive public assistance 
 and that do not qualify in any other priority group. 

    Subd. 3.    Acquisition of housing units.  The eligible 
 organization receiving a grant under section 268.362 shall 
 acquire property or buildings for the construction or 
 rehabilitation of residential units at the lowest possible 
 cost.  Possible sources of property and funding include the 
 federal Department of Housing and Urban Development, Farmers 
 Home Administration, Minnesota housing finance agency, and the 
 local housing authority. 

    Subd. 4.    Management of residential units.  The 
 program must address how to manage these residential units, 
 including the source of financing for the maintenance costs of 
 the buildings.  Any management plan must include the 
 participation of the residents and local established 
 neighborhood groups. 

    HIST: 1988 c 686 art 3 s 5; 1989 c 328 art 7 s 5; 1992 c 376 
 art 5 s 3; 1993 c 369 s 87 

     268.366 Requirements of organizations receiving grants. 

    An organization that is awarded a grant shall prepare and 
 submit an annual report to the commissioner by September 1 of 
 each year.  The report must include a discussion of the 
 following: 

    (1) the process used for encouraging the participation of 
 the targeted youth in the geographic area surrounding the 
 organization receiving the grant; 

    (2) the support services and social services that targeted 
 youth received under the program.  Services may include client 
 needs assessment, preemployment skills such as basic job skills 
 and behavior, and intermediate needs such as education and 
 chemical dependency treatment; 

    (3) the type and degree of work experience that program 
 participants received, including real work experience in both 
 vocational and nonvocational settings; 

    (4) the amount of training subsidy or stipend that each 
 participant received while participating in the work experience 
 component.  The subsidy or stipend must reflect prevailing wage 
 and benefits standards appropriate for preapprenticeship 
 training unless a participant's receipt of public assistance is 
 affected.  The subsidy or stipend should be structured to 
 include incentives for progress toward increasing job skills and 
 completing secondary education; 

    (5) the means of providing the necessary job readiness 
 skills to program participants who have completed the work 
 experience and educational components of the program so they 
 have the ability to compete in the job market.  These job search 
 skills may include skills assessment, job search and selection, 
 application preparation and assistance in preparing for job 
 interviews; 

    (6) the methods used to assist in placing program 
 participants in suitable employment.  The methods should include 
 means of involving state government, businesses, labor 
 organizations, community groups, and local jurisdictions in 
 assisting in the placement; 

    (7) the process used for evaluating the program, including 
 the necessary data elements collected from program participants 
 after they have completed the program for monitoring the success 
 of the program; 

    (8) the method used to maximize parental involvement in the 
 program; 

    (9) the existing public and private programs that were 
 utilized by the program to avoid duplication of services; 

    (10) the regional characteristics that affected the 
 operation of the program in the specific region where the 
 organization is located; 

    (11) the means of addressing the special needs of priority 
 groups of targeted youth, including: 

    (i) persons who are responsible for at least one dependent; 

    (ii) persons who are pregnant; 

    (iii) persons who are or have been subject to any stage of 
 the criminal justice system and who may benefit from receiving 
 employment and training services in overcoming barriers to 
 employment resulting from a record of arrest or conviction; 

    (iv) persons receiving income maintenance services and 
 social services, including chemical dependency treatment, 
 vocational rehabilitation services, and protection services; 

    (v) persons who reside on a farm who personally derive or 
 whose family derives a substantial portion of their income from 
 farming, lack nonfarm work skills, or have limited access to 
 vocational education or work experience opportunities; 

    (vi) homeless youth; and 

    (vii) minors who that are not financially dependent on a 
 parent or a guardian; 

    (12) costs for each of the components of the program; and 

    (13) the identification of the funding sources other than 
 state appropriations that were used to support the program. 

    HIST: 1988 c 686 art 3 s 6; 1989 c 328 art 7 s 6 

  268.367 Repealed, 1996 c 339 s 10 

     268.37 Coordination of federal and state residential 
  weatherization programs. 

    Subdivision 1.    Agency designation.  The department of 
 economic security is the state agency to apply for, receive, and 
 disburse money made available to the state by federal law for 
 the purpose of weatherizing the residences of low-income 
 persons.  The commissioner of economic security shall coordinate 
 available federal money with state money appropriated for this 
 purpose. 

    Subd. 2.    Grants.  The commissioner shall make grants 
 of federal and state money to community action agencies and 
 other public or private nonprofit agencies for the purpose of 
 weatherizing the residences of low-income persons.  Grant 
 applications shall be submitted in accordance with rules 
 promulgated by the commissioner. 

    Subd. 2a.    Benefits of weatherization.  In the case of 
 any grant made to an owner of a rental dwelling unit for 
 weatherization, the commissioner shall require that (1) the 
 benefits of weatherization assistance in connection with the 
 dwelling unit accrue primarily to the low-income family that 
 resides in the unit; (2) the rents on the dwelling unit will not 
 be raised because of any increase in value due solely to the 
 weatherization assistance; and (3) no undue or excessive 
 enhancement will occur to the value of the dwelling unit. 

    Subd. 3.    Rules.  The commissioner shall promulgate 
 rules by July 1, 1980.  The rules shall describe:  (a) 
 procedures for the administration of grants, (b) data to be 
 reported by grant recipients, and (c) other matters the 
 commissioner finds necessary for the proper administration of 
 the grant program including compliance with relevant federal 
 regulations.  The commissioner must require that a rental unit 
 weatherized under this section be rented to a household meeting 
 the income limits of the program for 24 of the 36 months after 
 weatherization is complete.  In applying this restriction to 
 multiunit buildings weatherized under this section, the 
 commissioner shall require that occupancy continue to reflect 
 the proportion of eligible households in the building at the 
 time of weatherization.  

    Subd. 4.    Grant allocation.  The commissioner shall 
 distribute supplementary state grants in a manner consistent 
 with the goal of producing the maximum number of weatherized 
 units.  Supplementary state grants are provided primarily for 
 the payment of additional labor costs for the federal 
 weatherization program, and as an incentive for the increased 
 production of weatherized units. 

    Criteria for the allocation of state grants to local 
 agencies include:  (a) existing local agency production levels, 
 (b) emergency needs, and (c) the potential for maintaining or 
 increasing acceptable levels of production in the area.  

    An eligible local agency may receive advance funding for 90 
 days' production, but thereafter shall receive grants solely on 
 the basis of program criteria.  

    Subd. 5. Repealed, 1996 c 339 s 10 

    Subd. 6.    Eligibility criteria.  To the extent allowed 
 by federal regulations, the commissioner shall ensure that the 
 same income eligibility criteria apply to both the 
 weatherization program and the energy assistance program. 

    HIST: Ex1979 c 2 s 37; 1980 c 579 s 19; 1983 c 339 s 3-5; 1984 
 c 640 s 32; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 75; 1987 c 403 art 2 s 132; 
 1989 c 282 art 1 s 18; 1989 c 338 s 7; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1996 c 
 305 art 2 s 55 

     268.371 Emergency energy assistance; fuel funds. 

    Subdivision 1.    Definitions.  The definitions in this 
 section apply to this section. 

    (a) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of the department 
 of economic security. 

    (b) "Energy provider" means a person who provides heating 
 fuel, including natural gas, electricity, fuel oil, propane, 
 wood, or other form of heating fuel, to residences at retail. 

    (c) "Fuel fund" means a fund established by an energy 
 provider, the state, or any other entity that collects and 
 distributes money for low-income emergency energy assistance and 
 meets the minimum criteria, including income eligibility 
 criteria, for receiving money from the federal Low-Income Home 
 Energy Assistance Program and the program's Incentive Fund for 
 Leveraging Non-Federal Resources. 

    Subd. 2.    Energy providers; requirement.  Each energy 
 provider may solicit contributions from its energy customers for 
 deposit in a fuel fund established by the energy provider, a 
 fuel fund established by another energy provider or other 
 entity, or the statewide fuel account established in subdivision 
 3, for the purpose of providing emergency energy assistance to 
 low-income households that qualify under the federal eligibility 
 criteria of the federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance 
 Program.  Solicitation of contributions from customers may be 
 made at least annually and may provide each customer an 
 opportunity to contribute as part of payment of bills for 
 provision of service or provide an alternate, convenient way for 
 customers to contribute. 

    Subd. 3.    Statewide fuel account; appropriation.  The 
 commissioner shall establish a statewide fuel account.  The 
 commissioner may develop and implement a program to solicit 
 contributions, manage the receipts, and distribute emergency 
 energy assistance to low-income households, as defined in the 
 federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance Program, on a 
 statewide basis.  All money remitted to the commissioner for 
 deposit in the statewide fuel account is appropriated to the 
 commissioner for the purpose of developing and implementing the 
 program.  No more than ten percent of the money received in the 
 first two years of the program may be used for the 
 administrative expenses of the commissioner to implement the 
 program and no more than five percent of the money received in 
 any subsequent year may be used for administration of the 
 program. 

    Subd. 4.    Emergency energy assistance advisory council. 
  The commissioner shall appoint an advisory council to advise 
 the commissioner on implementation of this section.  At least 
 one-third of the advisory council must be composed of persons 
 from households that are eligible for emergency energy 
 assistance under the federal Low-Income Home Energy Assistance 
 Program.  The remaining two-thirds of the advisory council must 
 be composed of persons representing energy providers, customers, 
 local energy assistance providers, existing fuel fund delivery 
 agencies, and community action agencies.  Members of the 
 advisory council may receive expenses, but no other 
 compensation, as provided in section 15.059, subdivision 3.  
 Appointment and removal of members is governed by section 15.059.

    HIST: 1992 c 597 s 13; 1994 c 483 s 1 

     268.38 Transitional housing programs. 

    Subdivision 1.    Definitions.  For the purpose of this 
 section the following terms have the meanings given:  

    (a) "Transitional housing" means housing designed for 
 independent living and provided to a homeless person or family 
 at a rental rate of at least 25 percent of the family income for 
 a period of up to 24 months.  If a transitional housing program 
 is associated with a licensed facility or shelter, it must be 
 located in a separate facility or a specified section of the 
 main facility where residents can be responsible for their own 
 meals and other daily needs.  

    (b) "Support services" means an assessment service that 
 identifies the needs of individuals for independent living and 
 arranges or provides for the appropriate educational, social, 
 legal, advocacy, child care, employment, financial, health care, 
 or information and referral services to meet these needs.  

    (c) "Commissioner" means the commissioner of economic 
 security. 

    Subd. 2.    Establishment and administration.  A 
 transitional housing program is established to be administered 
 by the commissioner.  The commissioner may make grants to 
 eligible recipients or enter into agreements with community 
 action agencies or other public or private nonprofit agencies to 
 make grants to eligible recipients to initiate, maintain, or 
 expand programs to provide transitional housing and support 
 services for persons in need of transitional housing, which may 
 include up to six months of follow-up support services for 
 persons who complete transitional housing as they stabilize in 
 permanent housing.  The commissioner shall ensure that money 
 appropriated to implement this section is distributed as soon as 
 practicable.  The commissioner may make grants directly to 
 eligible recipients. 

    Subd. 3.    Eligible recipients.  A housing and 
 redevelopment authority established under section 469.003 or a 
 community action agency recognized under section 268.53 is 
 eligible for assistance under the program.  In addition, a 
 partnership, joint venture, corporation, or association that 
 meets the following requirements is also eligible:  

    (1) it is established for a purpose not involving pecuniary 
 gain to its members, partners, or shareholders; 

    (2) it does not pay dividends or other pecuniary 
 remuneration, directly or indirectly, to its members, partners, 
 or shareholders; and 

    (3) in the case of a private, nonprofit corporation, it is 
 established under and in compliance with chapter 317A.  

    Subd. 4.    Applications.  An eligible recipient may 
 apply to the commissioner, or to a nonprofit agency designated 
 by the commissioner, for a grant to initiate, maintain, or 
 expand a program providing transitional housing and support 
 services for persons in need of transitional housing.  The 
 application must include:  

    (1) a proposal for the provision of transitional housing 
 and support services, including program objectives, availability 
 of adequate funding, appropriateness of the proposed program for 
 the population to be served, and how the program will help 
 individuals to move into permanent housing; 

    (2) a proposed budget; 

    (3) a plan for collection of required data and the method 
 to be used for program evaluation; and 

    (4) evidence of the participation in the development of the 
 application of any agency or governmental body that will provide 
 essential services or assistance to the program. 

    Subd. 5.    Criteria for grant awards.  Criteria for the 
 award of grants must include:  

    (1) evidence that the application meets all program 
 requirements; 

    (2) evidence of the need of the applicant for state 
 assistance and of the need for the particular program; 

    (3) indication of long-range plans for future funding if 
 the need continues to exist for the service; and 

    (4) assurance that grants are awarded to as wide a variety 
 of programs as possible, with emphasis on programs that 
 concentrate on long-term solutions to individual housing 
 problems.  

    Subd. 6.    Programs designated.  At least two programs 
 funded must be located in the seven-county metropolitan area and 
 at least one program must be located outside of the metropolitan 
 area.  The commissioner may fund programs designed primarily to 
 serve families with children, single persons, and persons 
 leaving a shelter for family abuse. 

    Subd. 7.    Funding coordination.  Grant recipients 
 shall combine funds awarded under this section with other funds 
 from public and private sources.  

    Subd. 8.    Program information.  In order to collect 
 uniform data to better measure the nature and extent of the need 
 for transitional housing, grant recipients shall collect and 
 make available to the commissioner the following information:  

    (1) number of requests received for transitional housing, 
 including the number of persons requiring assistance; 

    (2) number of persons for whom services are provided, 
 listed by age; 

    (3) reasons for seeking assistance; 

    (4) length of stay; 

    (5) reasons for leaving the housing program; 

    (6) demand for support services; 

    (7) follow-up information on status of persons assisted, 
 including source of income and whether living independently, 
 employed, or in treatment, unless the information is not 
 available; and 

    (8) source of income on entering the program, prior 
 residence, race, and sex of persons assisted. 

    Subd. 9.    Private data.  Personal history information 
 and other information collected, used, or maintained by a grant 
 recipient from which the identity of any individual receiving 
 services may be determined is private data on individuals, as 
 defined in section 13.02, subdivision 12, and the grant 
 recipient shall maintain the data in accordance with the 
 provisions of chapter 13.  

    Subd. 10.  Deleted, 1995 c 233 art 2 s 56 

    Subd. 11. Repealed, 1996 c 339 s 10 

    Subd. 12.    Licensing requirements not applicable.  The 
 requirements of sections 245A.01 to 245A.16 do not apply to 
 transitional housing and support services funded under this 
 section unless the commissioner of human services determines 
 that the program is primarily a residential program within the 
 meaning of section 245A.02, subdivision 14.  

    HIST: 1984 c 640 s 32; 1984 c 654 art 5 s 42,58; 1Sp1985 c 13 
 s 301-305; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 75; 1987 c 291 s 204; 1989 c 47 
 s 1-6; 1989 c 209 art 2 s 1; 1989 c 304 s 137; 1991 c 199 art 2 
 s 18; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1995 c 14 s 1; 1997 c 200 art 4 s 2 

  268.39 Repealed, 1997 c 200 art 4 s 23 

  268.40 MS 1980 Expired 

  268.41 MS 1980 Expired 

  268.42 MS 1980 Expired 

  268.43 MS 1980 Expired 

     268.52 Financial assistance for community action 
  agencies. 

    Subdivision 1.    Authorization.  The commissioner of 
 economic security may provide financial assistance for community 
 action agencies, Indian reservations and the statewide migrant 
 seasonal farmworker organization known as the Minnesota migrant 
 council to carry out community action programs as described in 
 section 268.54 in accordance with the omnibus reconciliation act 
 of 1981, Public Law Number 97-35, as amended in 1984, Public Law 
 Number 98-558, state law, and federal law and regulation. 

    Subd. 2.    Allocation of money.  (a) State money 
 appropriated and community service block grant money allotted to 
 the state and all money transferred to the community service 
 block grant from other block grants shall be allocated annually 
 to community action agencies and Indian reservation governments 
 under clauses (b) and (c), and to the Minnesota migrant council 
 under clause (d). 

    (b) The available annual money will provide base funding to 
 all community action agencies and the Indian reservations.  Base 
 funding amounts per agency are as follows:  for agencies with 
 low income populations up to 3,999, $25,000; 4,000 to 23,999, 
 $50,000; and 24,000 or more, $100,000. 

    (c) All remaining money of the annual money available after 
 the base funding has been determined must be allocated to each 
 agency and reservation in proportion to the size of the poverty 
 level population in the agency's service area compared to the 
 size of the poverty level population in the state.  

    (d) Allocation of money to the Minnesota migrant council 
 must not exceed three percent of the total annual money 
 available.  Base funding allocations must be made for all 
 community action agencies and Indian reservations that received 
 money under this subdivision, in fiscal year 1984, and for 
 community action agencies designated under this section with a 
 service area population of 35,000 or greater. 

    Subd. 3.    Reports.  Each community action agency 
 receiving funds under this section shall report annually to the 
 commissioner concerning the use of the funds.  

    Subd. 4.    Definition.  For the purposes of sections 
 268.52 to 268.54, "poverty level population" means the number of 
 people whose household income is at or below the poverty line 
 established by the United States Office of Management and Budget 
 in accordance with the most recent state population figures 
 established by the United States Department of Commerce, Bureau 
 of the Census. 

    HIST: 1981 c 367 s 2; 1982 c 571 s 1-3; 1983 c 339 s 6; 1985 c 
 282 s 1,2; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 75; 1994 c 483 s 1 

     268.53 Community action agencies. 

    Subdivision 1.    In general.  A community action agency 
 is a political subdivision of the state, a combination of 
 political subdivisions, a public agency, or a private nonprofit 
 agency which has the authority under its applicable charter or 
 laws to receive funds under section 268.52 to support community 
 action programs as described in section 268.54 and which was 
 designated as an eligible entity under the Community Services 
 Block Grant Act, Public Law Number 97-35, section 673(1), 95 
 Stat. 357, 512 (1981), as amended by, Act of October 30, 1984, 
 Public Law Number 98-558, section 202, 98 Stat. 2878, 2884 
 (1984).  For purposes of this subdivision, "eligible entity" 
 also means any community action agency which qualified under all 
 federal and state regulations applicable during the period from 
 1981 to September 30, 1984.  

    Subd. 1a.    Designation and recognition.  To obtain 
 recognition by the governor a community action agency must be 
 designated by a political subdivision having jurisdiction over 
 the entire area to be served by the agency.  To designate a 
 community action agency, the political subdivision must hold a 
 public hearing, pass a resolution to designate, and file a 
 "notice of intent to designate" and eligibility documents with 
 the state office of economic opportunity for final review and 
 authorization for a new community action agency.  

    Subd. 2.    Administering board.  Each community action 
 agency shall administer its community action programs through a 
 community action board consisting of 15 to 51 members. 

    (a) One-third of the members of the board shall be elected 
 public officials, currently holding office, or their 
 representatives. 

    (b) At least one-third of the members shall be persons 
 chosen in accordance with democratic selection procedures 
 adequate to assure that they are representative of the poor in 
 the area served. 

    (c) The other members shall be officials or members of 
 business, industry, labor, religious, welfare, education, or 
 other major groups and interests in the community.  Each member 
 of the board selected to represent a specific geographic area 
 within a community must reside in the area represented. 

    (d) The public community action agency shall have an 
 administering board which meets the requirements of this 
 subdivision.  

    (e) The statewide migrant seasonal farmworker organization 
 known as the Minnesota migrant council and Indian reservations 
 carrying out community action programs are exempt from the board 
 composition requirements of this subdivision. 

    Subd. 3.    Delegation of powers.  If a community action 
 agency places responsibility for major policy determinations 
 with respect to the character, funding, extent, and 
 administration of and budgeting for programs to be carried on in 
 a particular geographic area within the community in a 
 subsidiary board, council, or similar agency, that board, 
 council, or agency shall be broadly representative of the area.  

    Subd. 4.    Local participation.  Each community action 
 agency shall consult neighborhood based organizations composed 
 of residents of the area or members of the groups served to 
 assist the agency in the planning, conduct, and evaluation of 
 components of the community action program.  

    Subd. 5.    Functions; powers.  A community action 
 agency shall:  

    (a) Plan systematically for an effective community action 
 program; develop information as to the problems and causes of 
 poverty in the community; determine how much and how effectively 
 assistance is being provided to deal with those problems and 
 causes; and establish priorities among projects, activities and 
 areas as needed for the best and most efficient use of 
 resources; 

    (b) Encourage agencies engaged in activities related to the 
 community action program to plan for, secure, and administer 
 assistance available under section 268.52 or from other sources 
 on a common or cooperative basis; provide planning or technical 
 assistance to those agencies; and generally, in cooperation with 
 community agencies and officials, undertake actions to improve 
 existing efforts to reduce poverty, such as improving day-to-day 
 communications, closing service gaps, focusing resources on the 
 most needy, and providing additional opportunities to low-income 
 individuals for regular employment or participation in the 
 programs or activities for which those community agencies and 
 officials are responsible; 

    (c) Initiate and sponsor projects responsive to needs of 
 the poor which are not otherwise being met, with particular 
 emphasis on providing central or common services that can be 
 drawn upon by a variety of related programs, developing new 
 approaches or new types of services that can be incorporated 
 into other programs, and filling gaps pending the expansion or 
 modification of those programs; 

    (d) Establish effective procedures by which the poor and 
 area residents concerned will be enabled to influence the 
 character of programs affecting their interests, provide for 
 their regular participation in the implementation of those 
 programs, and provide technical and other support needed to 
 enable the poor and neighborhood groups to secure on their own 
 behalf available assistance from public and private sources; 

    (e) Join with and encourage business, labor and other 
 private groups and organizations to undertake, together with 
 public officials and agencies, activities in support of the 
 community action program which will result in the additional use 
 of private resources and capabilities, with a view to developing 
 new employment opportunities, stimulating investment that will 
 have a measurable impact on reducing poverty among residents of 
 areas of concentrated poverty, and providing methods by which 
 residents of those areas can work with private groups, firms, 
 and institutions in seeking solutions to problems of common 
 concern.  

    Community action agencies, the Minnesota migrant council, 
 and the Indian reservations, may enter into cooperative 
 purchasing agreements and self-insurance programs with local 
 units of government.  Nothing in this section expands or limits 
 the current private or public nature of a local community action 
 agency. 

    (f) Adopt policies that require the agencies to refer area 
 residents and community action program constituents to education 
 programs that increase literacy, improve parenting skills, and 
 address the needs of children from families in poverty.  These 
 programs include, but are not limited to, early childhood family 
 education programs, adult basic education programs, and other 
 life-long learning opportunities.  The agencies and agency 
 programs, including Head Start, shall collaborate with child 
 care and other early childhood education programs to ensure 
 smooth transitions to work for parents. 

    Subd. 6.    Agencies as local providers.  Agencies 
 defined by this section shall be considered among local 
 providers of outreach services and activities for all 
 antipoverty efforts.  

    Subd. 7.    Categorical funds.  Federal antipoverty 
 categorical funds consolidated into block grants to the state of 
 Minnesota shall be designated by the state for antipoverty 
 purposes.  

    HIST: 1981 c 367 s 3; 1982 c 571 s 4-8; 1985 c 282 s 3; 1986 c 
 411 s 1,2; 1987 c 403 art 2 s 133; 1994 c 632 art 4 s 65; 1997 c 
 162 art 2 s 25 

     268.54 Community action programs. 

    Subdivision 1.    In general.  A community action 
 program is a community based and operated program which:  

    (a) Includes or is designed to include a sufficient number 
 of projects or components to provide, in sum, a range of 
 services and activities having a measurable and potentially 
 major impact on causes of poverty in the community or those 
 areas of the community where poverty is a particularly acute 
 problem; 

    (b) Has been developed, and which organizes and combines 
 its component projects and activities, in a manner appropriate 
 to carry out all the purposes of sections 268.52 to 268.54; and 

    (c) Conforms to any other supplementary criteria as the 
 governor may prescribe consistent with the purposes and 
 provisions of sections 268.52 to 268.54.  

    Subd. 2.    Components.  The components of a community 
 action program shall be designed to assist participants, 
 including the elderly poor to achieve increased self-sufficiency 
 and greater participation in the affairs of the community by 
 providing services and programs not sufficiently provided in the 
 community by any governmental unit, any public institution, or 
 any other publicly funded agency or corporation.  Community 
 action agencies, governmental units, public institutions or 
 other publicly funded agencies or corporations shall consult on 
 whether or not a program or service is sufficiently provided in 
 the community. 

    Subd. 3.    Administration.  Components of a community 
 action program may be administered by the community action 
 agency when consistent with sound and efficient management and 
 applicable law, or by other agencies.  They may be projects 
 eligible for assistance under section 268.52, or projects 
 assisted from other public or private sources; and they may be 
 either specially designed to meet local needs, or designed 
 pursuant to the eligibility standards of a state or federal 
 program providing assistance to a particular kind of activity 
 which will help in meeting those needs. 

    HIST: 1981 c 367 s 4; 1982 c 571 s 9 

     268.55 Foodshelf program. 

    Subdivision 1.    Distribution of appropriation.  The 
 department of economic security shall distribute funds 
 appropriated to it by law for that purpose to the Minnesota 
 Foodshelf Association, a statewide association of foodshelves 
 organized as a nonprofit corporation as defined under section 
 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, to distribute to 
 qualifying foodshelves.  A foodshelf qualifies under this 
 section if:  

    (1) it is a nonprofit corporation, or is affiliated with a 
 nonprofit corporation, as defined in section 501(c)(3) of the 
 Internal Revenue Code of 1986; 

    (2) it distributes standard food orders without charge to 
 needy individuals.  The standard food order must consist of at 
 least a two-day supply or six pounds per person of nutritionally 
 balanced food items; 

    (3) it does not limit food distributions to individuals of 
 a particular religious affiliation, race, or other criteria 
 unrelated to need or to requirements necessary to administration 
 of a fair and orderly distribution system; 

    (4) it does not use the money received or the food 
 distribution program to foster or advance religious or political 
 views; and 

    (5) it has a stable address and directly serves individuals.

    Subd. 2.    Application.  In order to receive money 
 appropriated under this section, the Minnesota Foodshelf 
 Association must apply to the department of economic security.  
 The application must be in a form prescribed by the department 
 of economic security and must indicate the proportion of money 
 each qualifying foodshelf shall receive.  Applications must be 
 filed at the times and for the periods determined by the 
 department of economic security.  

    Subd. 3.    Distribution formula.  The Minnesota 
 Foodshelf Association shall distribute money distributed to it 
 by the department of economic security to foodshelf programs in 
 proportion to the number of individuals served by each foodshelf 
 program.  The department of economic security shall gather data 
 from the Minnesota Foodshelf Association or other appropriate 
 sources to determine the proportionate amount each qualifying 
 foodshelf program is entitled to receive.  The department of 
 economic security may increase or decrease the qualifying 
 foodshelf program's proportionate amount if it determines the 
 increase or decrease is necessary or appropriate to meet 
 changing needs or demands. 

    Subd. 4.    Use of money.  At least 96 percent of the 
 money distributed to the Minnesota Foodshelf Association under 
 this section must be distributed to foodshelf programs to 
 purchase, transport and coordinate the distribution of 
 nutritious food to needy individuals and families.  No more than 
 four percent of the money may be expended for other expenses, 
 such as rent, salaries, and other administrative expenses of the 
 Minnesota Foodshelf Association. 

    Subd. 5.    Enforcement.  The Minnesota Foodshelf 
 Association must retain records documenting expenditure of the 
 money and comply with any additional requirements imposed by the 
 department of economic security.  The department of economic 
 security may require the Minnesota Foodshelf Association to 
 report on its use of the funds.  The department of economic 
 security may require that the report contain an independent 
 audit.  If ineligible expenditures are made by the Minnesota 
 Foodshelf Association, the ineligible amount must be repaid to 
 the department of economic security and deposited in the general 
 fund. 

    Subd. 6.    Administrative expenses.  All funds 
 appropriated under this section must be distributed to the 
 Minnesota Foodshelf Association as provided under this section 
 with deduction by the commissioner for administrative expenses 
 limited to 1.8 percent. 

    HIST: 1991 c 291 art 21 s 5; 1993 c 369 s 88; 1994 c 483 s 1 

     268.551 Definitions. 

    Subdivision 1.    Terms.  For the purposes of this 
 section and section 268.552, the terms defined in this section 
 have the meanings given them. 

    Subd. 2.    Commissioner.  "Commissioner" means the 
 commissioner of economic security. 

    Subd. 3.    Eligible applicant.  "Eligible applicant" 
 means a person who: 

    (1) has been a resident of this state for at least one 
 month; 

    (2) is unemployed; 

    (3) is not receiving and is not eligible to receive 
 reemployment insurance; and 

    (4) is a targeted young person as defined in Laws 1990, 
 chapter 562, article 4, section 12, between the ages of 14 and 
 21, who, because of a lack of personal resources and skills, 
 needs assistance in setting and realizing education goals and in 
 becoming a contributing member of the community. 

    Subd. 4.    Employer.  "Employer" means a private or 
 public employer. 

    HIST: 1991 c 345 art 1 s 81; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1994 c 488 s 8 

     268.552 Wage subsidy program. 

    Subdivision 1.    Creation.  A grant program is 
 established to provide adolescents with opportunities for 
 gaining a high school diploma, exploring occupations, evaluating 
 vocational options, receiving career and life skills counseling, 
 developing and pursuing personal goals, and participating in 
 community-based projects and summer youth employment. 

    Subd. 2.    Amount and duration of subsidy.  The maximum 
 subsidy is $4 per hour for wages and $1 per hour for fringe 
 benefits.  The subsidy for an eligible applicant may be paid for 
 a maximum of 1,040 hours over a period of 26 weeks.  Employers 
 are encouraged to use money from other sources to provide 
 increased wages to applicants they employ. 

    Subd. 3.    Contracts to administer.  The commissioner 
 may contract with local service units or certified local service 
 providers to deliver the wage subsidies.  The contract must 
 require that no more than five percent of the contract amount be 
 expended for administration. 

    Subd. 4.    Area allocation of subsidies.  Wage subsidy 
 money must be allocated to local service units based on the 
 number of eligible applicants in that area compared to the state 
 total of eligible applicants.  Money may be reallocated if it 
 otherwise would not be used. 

    Subd. 5.    Allocation to applicants.  Priority for 
 subsidies shall be in the following order: 

    (1) applicants living in households with no other income 
 source; 

    (2) applicants whose incomes and resources are less than 
 the standard for eligibility for general assistance; and 

    (3) applicants who are eligible for aid to families with 
 dependent children or Minnesota family investment 
 program-statewide. 

    Subd. 6.    Outreach.  A local service unit shall 
 publicize the availability of wage subsidies within its area. 

    Subd. 7.    Reports.  Each entity delivering wage 
 subsidies shall report to the commissioner on a quarterly basis: 

    (1) the number of persons placed in private sector jobs, in 
 temporary public sector jobs, or in other services; 

    (2) the outcome for each participant placed; 

    (3) the number and type of employers employing persons 
 under the program; 

    (4) the amount of money spent in each local service unit 
 for wages for each type of employment and each type of other 
 expense; 

    (5) the age, educational experience, family status, gender, 
 priority group status, race, and work experience of each person 
 in the program; 

    (6) the amount of wages received by persons while in the 
 program and 60 days after completing the program; 

    (7) for each classification of persons described in clause 
 (5), the outcome of the wage subsidy placement, including length 
 of time employed; nature of employment, whether private sector, 
 temporary public sector, or other service; and the hourly wages; 
 and 

    (8) any other information requested by the commissioner.  
 Each report must include cumulative information, as well as 
 information for each quarter. 

    Data collected on individuals under this subdivision are 
 private data on individuals as defined in section 13.02, 
 subdivision 12, except that summary data may be provided under 
 section 13.05, subdivision 7. 

    Subd. 8.    Part-time employment.  Subsidies under this 
 section may be paid for part-time jobs. 

    Subd. 9.    Layoffs; work reductions.  An employer may 
 not lay off, terminate, or reduce the working hours of an 
 employee for the purpose of hiring an individual with funds 
 provided by this section.  An employer may not hire an 
 individual with funds available under this section if any other 
 person is on layoff from the same or a substantially equivalent 
 job.  

    Subd. 10.    Rules.  The commissioner may adopt rules to 
 implement this section. 

    HIST: 1991 c 345 art 1 s 82; 1997 c 85 art 4 s 27 

     268.56 Minnesota youth program; definitions. 

    Subdivision 1.    Scope.  For the purposes of this 
 section and section 268.561, the terms defined in this section 
 have the meanings given them. 

    Subd. 2.    Commissioner.  "Commissioner" means the 
 commissioner of economic security. 

    Subd. 3.    Eligible applicant.  "Eligible applicant" 
 means an individual who is between the ages of 14 and 21 and 
 economically disadvantaged. 

    An at-risk youth who is classified as a family of one is 
 deemed economically disadvantaged.  For purposes of eligibility 
 determination the following individuals are considered at risk: 

    (1) a pregnant or parenting youth; 

    (2) a youth with limited English proficiency; 

    (3) a potential or actual school dropout; 

    (4) a youth in an offender or diversion program; 

    (5) a public assistance recipient or a recipient of group 
 home services; 

    (6) a youth with disabilities including learning 
 disabilities; 

    (7) a chemically dependent youth or child of drug or 
 alcohol abusers; 

    (8) a homeless or runaway youth; 

    (9) a youth with basic skills deficiency; 

    (10) a youth with an educational attainment of one or more 
 levels below grade level appropriate to age; or 

    (11) a foster child. 

    Subd. 4.    Employer.  "Employer" means a private or 
 public employer. 

    HIST: 1994 c 483 s 1; 1994 c 632 art 4 s 66 

     268.561 Minnesota youth program. 

    Subdivision 1.    Purpose.  The Minnesota youth program 
 is established to: 

    (1) improve the employability of eligible applicants 
 through exposure to public or private sector work; 

    (2) enhance the basic educational skills of eligible 
 applicants; 

    (3) encourage the completion of high school or equivalency; 

    (4) assist eligible applicants to enter employment, 
 school-to-work transition programs, the military, or 
 post-secondary education or training; 

    (5) enhance the citizenship skills of eligible applicants 
 through community service and service-learning; and 

    (6) provide educational, career, and life skills counseling.

    Subd. 2.    Wage rate.  The rate of pay for Minnesota 
 youth program positions with public, private nonprofit, and 
 private for-profit employers is the minimum wage.  Employers may 
 use their own funds to increase the participants' hourly wage 
 rates.  Youths designated as supervisors may be paid at a higher 
 level to be determined by the local contractor. 

    Subd. 3.    Employment contracts.  The commissioner may 
 enter into arrangements with existing public and private 
 nonprofit organizations and agencies with experience in 
 administering youth employment programs for the purpose of 
 providing employment opportunities for eligible applicants in 
 furtherance of this section and section 268.56.  The department 
 of economic security shall retain ultimate responsibility for 
 the administration of this employment program. 

    Subd. 4.    Contract administration.  Preference shall 
 be given to local contractors with experience in administering 
 youth employment and training programs and those who have 
 demonstrated efforts to coordinate state and federal youth 
 programs locally. 

    Subd. 5.    Allocation formula.  Seventy percent of 
 Minnesota youth program funds must be allocated based on the 
 county's share of economically disadvantaged youth.  The 
 remaining 30 percent must be allocated based on the county's 
 share of population ages 14 to 21. 

    Subd. 6.    Allowable cost categories.  Of the total 
 allocation, up to 15 percent may be used for administrative 
 purposes and the remainder may be used for a combination of 
 training and participant support activities. 

    Subd. 7.    Reports.  Each contractor shall report to 
 the commissioner on a quarterly basis in a format to be 
 determined by the commissioner. 

    Data collected on individuals under this subdivision are 
 private data on individuals as defined in section 13.02, 
 subdivision 12, except that summary data may be provided under 
 section 13.05, subdivision 7. 

    Subd. 8.    Part-time employment.  Wages and subsidies 
 under this section may be paid for part-time employment. 

    Subd. 9.    Layoffs; worker reductions.  An employer may 
 not lay off, terminate, or reduce the working hours of an 
 employee for the purpose of hiring an individual with funds 
 provided by this section.  An employer may not hire an 
 individual with funds available under this section if any other 
 individual is laid off from the same or a substantially 
 equivalent job. 

    Subd. 10.    Rules.  The commissioner may adopt rules to 
 implement this section. 

    HIST: 1994 c 483 s 1; 1994 c 632 art 4 s 67; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 4 
 s 30 

     268.60 Purpose. 

    It is the purpose of sections 268.60 to 268.64 to provide 
 financial assistance for comprehensive job training and related 
 services for economically disadvantaged, unemployed, and 
 underemployed individuals through opportunities 
 industrialization centers.  

    HIST: 1983 c 312 art 6 s 1 

     268.61 Definitions. 

    Subdivision 1.    Scope.  When used in sections 268.60 
 to 268.64 the terms in this section have the meanings given them.

    Subd. 2.    Commissioner.  "Commissioner" means the 
 commissioner of economic security.  

    Subd. 3.    Council.  "Council" means the Minnesota 
 state council of the opportunities industrialization centers of 
 America.  

    Subd. 4.    Economically disadvantaged.  "Economically 
 disadvantaged" means an individual who meets the criteria for an 
 economically disadvantaged person established by rule by the 
 commissioner.  

    Subd. 5.    Underemployed.  "Underemployed" means an 
 individual:  

    (a) Working part time but seeking full-time work; or 

    (b) Working full time but receiving wages below the greater 
 of:  

    (1) the poverty level determined in accordance with 
 criteria established by the department of economic security; or 

    (2) 70 percent of the lower living standard income level as 
 determined by the United States Bureau of Labor Statistics.  

    Subd. 6.    Unemployed.  "Unemployed" means an 
 individual who is without a job, and who wants and is available 
 for work.  

    HIST: 1983 c 312 art 6 s 2; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 75; 1994 c 
 483 s 1 

     268.62 Distribution and use of state money. 

    The commissioner shall distribute the money appropriated 
 for:  

    (a) comprehensive job training and related services or job 
 opportunities programs for economically disadvantaged, 
 unemployed, and underemployed individuals, including persons of 
 limited English speaking ability, through opportunities 
 industrialization centers; and 

    (b) the establishment and operation in Minnesota of these 
 centers.  

    Comprehensive job training and related services include: 
 recruitment, counseling, remediation, motivational prejob 
 training, vocational training, job development, job placement, 
 and other appropriate services enabling individuals to secure 
 and retain employment at their maximum capacity.  

    HIST: 1983 c 312 art 6 s 3 

     268.63 Criteria for distribution of money. 

    The commissioner, with the advice of the council, shall 
 establish criteria for the distribution of state money for the 
 purpose of section 268.62.  The criteria shall include 
 requirements that:  

    (a) the program receiving state assistance:  

    (1) involve residents in the area to be served by the 
 program in the planning and operation of the program; and 

    (2) involve the business community in the area to be served 
 by the program in its development and operation; 

    (b) the distribution of assistance among areas within the 
 state be equitable, with priority being given to areas with high 
 unemployment or underemployment; 

    (c) financial assistance under sections 268.60 to 268.64 to 
 any program may not exceed 25 percent of the cost of the program 
 including costs of administration; and 

    (d) a program receiving financial assistance has adequate 
 internal administrative controls, accounting procedures, 
 personnel standards, evaluation procedures, availability of 
 in-service training and technical assistance programs, and other 
 policies necessary to promote the effective use of state money.  

    The commissioner may make a distribution in excess of the 
 limit prescribed in clause (c) if the commissioner determines 
 that the excess distribution is necessary to further the 
 objectives of sections 268.60 and 268.62.  

    HIST: 1983 c 312 art 6 s 4 

     268.64 Money distribution. 

    The commissioner may make a distribution of money directly 
 to a program, or make a distribution subject to conditions that 
 ensure use consistent with the distribution and utilization of 
 money under federal legislation regarding job training and 
 related services. 

    HIST: 1983 c 312 art 6 s 5 

     268.65 Approved training. 

    Subdivision 1.    Creation.  The commissioner of 
 economic security shall establish a training program for 
 structurally unemployed workers under which individuals may be 
 enrolled in an on-the-job training program, and an additional 
 1,000 individuals may be enrolled in classroom training, in 
 accordance with this section.  Nothing in this section limits or 
 adversely affects the approved training provisions applicable to 
 an individual under section 268.08, subdivision 1, clause (3).  
 An individual approved under this section is eligible for 
 tuition aid under the provisions of chapter 136A.  

    Subd. 2.    Approval of training.  An individual's 
 enrollment in a training course must be approved for the 
 purposes of this subdivision if the commissioner finds that: 

    (1) the individual is not unemployed due to the seasonal 
 nature of the work or a temporary work shortage; 

    (2) the individual's separation or notice of layoff from 
 most recent employment was caused by job obsolescence, plant 
 shutdown, regional decline in the individual's customary 
 occupation, or industry slowdown, and the individual is unlikely 
 to return to work for that employer or in that occupation within 
 12 months following separation from employment; 

    (3) reasonable and suitable work opportunities for which 
 the individual is fitted by training, experience, and physical 
 capabilities do not exist within the local labor market; 

    (4) the training course is designed to provide preparation 
 for available employment within the local labor market or in an 
 area to which the individual is willing to relocate; 

    (5) the training is conducted by an agency, educational 
 institution, or employing unit that is approved by the 
 commissioner of children, families, and learning or the board of 
 trustees of the Minnesota state colleges and universities or 
 higher education services office to conduct training programs; 
 except that an agency, educational institution, or employing 
 unit that is not subject to regulation and approval by one of 
 the agencies in this clause may be approved by the commissioner 
 if it is determined that the institution's curriculum, 
 facilities, staff, and other essentials are adequate to achieve 
 the training objective; and 

    (6) the training consists of a full course load, as defined 
 by the training provider, necessary to achieve the approved 
 training objective, and the individual is making satisfactory 
 progress in the course.  The department may require the training 
 provider to periodically certify to the individual's attendance 
 and progress. 

    Subd. 3.    On-the-job training.  An individual who 
 meets the criteria in subdivision 2 is eligible for 
 participation in a full-time on-the-job training program if: 

    (1) the on-the-job training position is in an occupation 
 for which the commissioner has determined a demand exists or 
 will exist; in making this determination, the commissioner shall 
 consider labor market information as contained in state and 
 national occupational outlook publications, as well as other 
 generally accepted authoritative sources with verifiable 
 validity; 

    (2) the employer pays an hourly wage during training of at 
 least the state minimum wage; 

    (3) the employer guarantees to provide at least 12 
 consecutive months of employment to the trainee after the 
 completion of training at the prevailing area labor market wage 
 for a trained individual in that occupation; 

    (4) the employer will not terminate the trainee during the 
 period of training or guaranteed employment except for 
 misconduct or demonstrated substandard performance; and 

    (5) the employer will not terminate, lay off, or reduce the 
 hours of any employee for the purpose of hiring an individual 
 with money available, and will not hire an individual if another 
 person is on layoff from the same or a substantially equivalent 
 job. 

    Subd. 4.    Training allowance.  During participation in 
 an approved on-the-job training program, the trainee shall 
 maintain satisfactory progress and attendance.  During the 
 period of training specified in the agreement between the 
 commissioner and the employer, individuals participating in an 
 approved on-the-job training program must be paid a training 
 allowance for each week claimed during the benefit year, until 
 benefits are exhausted, equal to the weekly benefit amount 
 calculated under section 268.07, subdivision 2, less the part of 
 the earnings, including holiday pay, in excess of $100.  The 
 training allowance is computed by rounding down to the nearest 
 dollar amount.  Notwithstanding any other provision, an 
 individual participating in on-the-job training on a full-time 
 basis is not employed for purposes of benefit eligibility. 

    Subd. 5.    Employer penalty.  An employer who enters 
 into an on-the-job training agreement with the commissioner and 
 who terminates the trainee in a manner other than provided in 
 this subdivision shall repay 70 percent of the amount of 
 unemployment insurance benefits paid to the individual while in 
 the training program with that employer if the termination 
 occurs during the training period.  If the termination occurs 
 during the 12-month period of guaranteed employment, the 
 employer receives a proportional reduction in the amount it must 
 repay.  Penalties assessed under this subdivision are in 
 addition to any other penalties provided for by this chapter and 
 are subject to the same collection procedures that apply to past 
 due contributions under this chapter.  Penalties under this 
 subdivision shall be paid to the commissioner and credited to 
 the job search and relocation fund.  When it is determined to be 
 in the best interest of the state, the commissioner may waive 
 all or part of the employer penalty.  The commissioner shall use 
 any money collected under this paragraph for job search and 
 relocation expenses of structurally unemployed workers 
 participating in the training program. 

    HIST: 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 46; 1987 c 385 s 46; 1994 c 483 s 
 1; 1995 c 212 art 3 s 59; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 16 s 13; 1996 c 339 s 
 7; 1996 c 395 s 18 

     268.66 First source agreements. 

    Subdivision 1.    List of vacancies.  A business or 
 private enterprise receiving grants or loans from the state in 
 amounts over $200,000 a year shall as part of the grant or loan 
 agree to list any vacant or new positions with the job services 
 of the commissioner of economic security or the local service 
 units. 

    Subd. 2.    Grant and loan agreements.  The commissioner 
 of trade and economic development shall incorporate the 
 provisions of this section into grant and loan agreements and 
 assist the commissioner of economic security and the local 
 service units to promote private sector listings with job 
 services and to evaluate their effect on employers and 
 individuals who are referred. 

    HIST: 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 47; 1987 c 312 art 1 s 26 subd 2; 
 1994 c 483 s 1 

     268.665 Workforce development council. 

    Subdivision 1.    Creation.  The governor's workforce 
 development council is created under the authority of the Job 
 Training Partnership Act, United States Code, title 29, section 
 1501, et seq.  Local workforce development councils are 
 authorized under the Job Training Partnership Act, United States 
 Code, title 29, section 1501 and the one stop career center 
 system. 

    Subd. 2.    Membership.  The governor's workforce 
 development council is composed of 33 members appointed by the 
 governor.  The members may be removed pursuant to section 
 15.059.  In selecting the representatives of the council, the 
 governor shall ensure that 50 percent of the members come from 
 nominations provided by local workforce councils.  Local 
 education representatives shall come from nominations provided 
 by local education to employment partnerships.  The 32 members 
 shall represent the following sectors:  

    (a) State agencies:  the following individuals shall serve 
 on the council:  

    (1) commissioner of the Minnesota department of economic 
 security; 

    (2) commissioner of the Minnesota department of children, 
 families, and learning; 

    (3) commissioner of the Minnesota department of human 
 services; and 

    (4) commissioner of the Minnesota department of trade and 
 economic development. 

    (b) Business and industry:  six individuals shall represent 
 the business and industry sectors of Minnesota. 

    (c) Organized labor:  six individuals shall represent labor 
 organizations of Minnesota. 

    (d) Community-based organizations:  four individuals shall 
 represent community-based organizations of Minnesota.  
 Community-based organizations are defined by the Job Training 
 Partnership Act as private nonprofit organizations that are 
 representative of communities or significant segments of 
 communities and that provide job training services, agencies 
 serving youth, agencies serving individuals with disabilities, 
 agencies serving displaced homemakers, union-related 
 organizations, and employer-related nonprofit organizations and 
 organizations serving nonreservation Indians and tribal 
 governments. 

    (e) Education:  six individuals shall represent the 
 education sector of Minnesota as follows:  

    (1) one individual shall represent local public secondary 
 education; 

    (2) one individual shall have expertise in design and 
 implementation of school-based service-learning; 

    (3) one individual shall represent post-secondary 
 education; 

    (4) one individual shall represent secondary/post-secondary 
 vocational institutions; 

    (5) the chancellor of the board of trustees of the 
 Minnesota state colleges and universities; and 

    (6) one individual shall have expertise in agricultural 
 education. 

    (f) Other:  two individuals shall represent other 
 constituencies including: 

    (1) units of local government; and 

    (2) applicable state or local programs. 

    The speaker and the minority leader of the house of 
 representatives shall each appoint a representative to serve as 
 an ex officio member of the council.  The majority and minority 
 leaders of the senate shall each appoint a senator to serve as 
 an ex officio member of the council.  After January 1, 1997, the 
 Minnesota director of the corporation for national service shall 
 also serve as an ex officio member.  

    (g) Appointment:  each member shall be appointed for a term 
 of three years from the first day of January or July immediately 
 following their appointment.  Elected officials shall forfeit 
 their appointment if they cease to serve in elected office.  

    (h) Members of the council are compensated as provided in 
 section 15.059, subdivision 3. 

    Subd. 3.    Purpose; duties.  The governor's workforce 
 development council shall replace the governor's job training 
 council and assume all of its requirements, duties, and 
 responsibilities, under the Job Training Partnership Act, United 
 States Code, title 29, section 1501, et seq.  Additionally, the 
 workforce development council shall assume the following duties 
 and responsibilities:  

    (a) Coordinate the development, implementation, and 
 evaluation of the statewide education and employment transitions 
 system under section 126B.01.  Beginning January 1, 1997, the 
 council shall also coordinate the development, implementation, 
 and evaluation of the Minnesota youth services programs under 
 sections 121.704 to 121.709, and the National and Community 
 Services Act of 1993, United States Code, title 42, section 
 12501, et seq.  

    (b) Review the provision of services and the use of funds 
 and resources under applicable federal human resource programs 
 and advise the governor on methods of coordinating the provision 
 of services and the use of funds and resources consistent with 
 the laws and regulations governing the programs.  For purposes 
 of this section, applicable federal and state human resource 
 programs mean the: 

    (1) Job Training Partnership Act, United States Code, title 
 29, section 1501, et seq.; 

    (2) Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Applied Technology 
 Education Act, United States Code, title 20, section 2301, et 
 seq.; 

    (3) National and Community Service Act of 1993, United 
 States Code, title 42, section 12501, et seq.; 

    (4) Adult Education Act, United States Code, title 20, 
 section 1201, et seq.; 

    (5) Wagner-Peyser Act, United States Code, title 29, 
 section 49; 

    (6) Social Security Act, title IV, part F, (JOBS), United 
 States Code, title 42, section 681, et seq.; 

    (7) Food Stamp Act of 1977, United States Code, title 7, 
 section 6(d)(4), Food Stamp Employment and Training Program, 
 United States Code, title 7, section 2015(d)(4); 

    (8) programs defined in section 268.0111, subdivisions 4 
 and 5; and 

    (9) School to Work Opportunity Act of 1994, Public Law 
 Number 103-239.  

    Additional federal and state programs and resources can be 
 included within the scope of the council's duties if recommended 
 by the governor after consultation with the council. 

    (c) Review federal, state, and local education, 
 post-secondary, job skills training, and youth employment 
 programs, and make recommendations to the governor and the 
 legislature for establishing an integrated seamless system for 
 providing education, service-learning, and work skills 
 development services to learners and workers of all ages. 

    (d) Advise the governor on the development and 
 implementation of statewide and local performance standards and 
 measures relating to applicable federal human resource programs 
 and the coordination of performance standards and measures among 
 programs.  

    (e) Administer grants to local education and employment 
 transition partnerships, including implementation grants under 
 section 126B.01, grants for youth apprenticeship programs under 
 section 126B.03, and youth employer grants.  Beginning January 
 1, 1997, administer youthworks grants under sections 121.704 to 
 121.709; and 

    (1) coordinate implementation of the education and 
 employment transitions system under section 126B.01; 

    (2) promote education and employment transitions programs 
 and knowledge and skills of entrepreneurship among employers, 
 workers, youth, and educators, and encourage employers to 
 provide meaningful work-based learning opportunities; 

    (3) evaluate and identify exemplary education and 
 employment transitions programs and provide technical assistance 
 to local partnerships to replicate the programs throughout the 
 state; 

    (4) establish a performance-based quality assurance system 
 for consistent statewide evaluation of the performance of the 
 education and employment transitions system at both the state 
 and local level; 

    (5) conduct an annual review of each local education and 
 employment transitions partnership to ensure it adequately meets 
 the quality assurance standards established as part of the state 
 quality assurance system; 

    (6) develop the methods to assess local partnership 
 effectiveness; 

    (7) annually publish a report on the findings of the 
 evaluations of each local education transitions partnership; 

    (8) promote knowledge and skills of entrepreneurship among 
 students in kindergarten through grade 12 by sharing information 
 about the ways new business development contributes to a strong 
 economy. 

    (f) Advise the governor on methods to evaluate applicable 
 federal human resource programs.  

    (g) Sponsor appropriate studies to identify human 
 investment needs in Minnesota and recommend to the governor 
 goals and methods for meeting those needs.  

    (h) Recommend to the governor goals and methods for the 
 development and coordination of a human resource system in 
 Minnesota.  

    (i) Examine federal and state laws, rules, and regulations 
 to assess whether they present barriers to achieving the 
 development of a coordinated human resource system. 

    (j) Recommend to the governor and to the federal government 
 changes in state or federal laws, rules, or regulations 
 concerning employment and training programs that present 
 barriers to achieving the development of a coordinated human 
 resource system. 

    (k) Recommend to the governor and to the federal government 
 waivers of laws and regulations to promote coordinated service 
 delivery. 

    (l) Sponsor appropriate studies and prepare and recommend 
 to the governor a strategic plan which details methods for 
 meeting Minnesota's human investment needs and for developing 
 and coordinating a state human resource system.  

    Subd. 4.    Subcommittees.  The governor's workforce 
 development council shall appoint an advisory subcommittee the 
 majority of whose members shall represent business and industry 
 to advise the council on the establishment of the statewide 
 education and employment transitions system.  The chair of the 
 workforce development council may establish subcommittees in 
 order to carry out the duties and responsibilities of the 
 council.  

    Subd. 5.    Staffing.  The department of economic 
 security must provide staff support to the Minnesota workforce 
 development council.  The department of economic security and 
 the department of children, families, and learning shall jointly 
 staff the education and employment transitions subcommittee and 
 its activity with the full council.  The support includes 
 professional, technical, and clerical staff necessary to perform 
 the duties assigned to the workforce development council.  The 
 council may ask for assistance from other units of state 
 government as it requires in order to fulfill its duties and 
 responsibilities.  

    Subd. 6.    Expiration.  The council expires immediately 
 if it is no longer required by federal law as a condition of 
 receiving federal funding, or if there is no federal funding for 
 the human resource programs within the scope of the council's 
 duties. 

    HIST: 1995 c 131 s 1; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 16 s 13; 1996 c 395 s 18; 
 1Sp1997 c 4 art 3 s 19 

     268.666 Workforce service areas. 

    Subdivision 1.    Designation of workforce service areas. 
  For the purpose of administering federal, state, and local 
 employment and training services, the commissioner shall 
 designate the geographic boundaries for workforce service areas 
 in Minnesota. 

    The commissioner shall approve a request to be a workforce 
 service area from: 

    (1) a home rule charter or statutory city with a population 
 of 200,000 or more or a county with a population of 200,000 or 
 more; or 

    (2) a consortium of contiguous home rule charter or 
 statutory cities or counties with an aggregate population of 
 200,000 or more that serves a substantial part of one or more 
 labor markets. 

    The commissioner may approve a request to be a workforce 
 service area from a home rule charter or statutory city or a 
 county or a consortium of contiguous home rule charter or 
 statutory cities or counties, without regard to population, that 
 serves a substantial portion of a labor market area. 

    The commissioner shall make a final designation of 
 workforce service areas within the state after consulting with 
 local elected officials and the governor's workforce development 
 council.  Existing service delivery areas designated under the 
 federal Job Training Partnership Act shall be initially 
 designated as workforce service areas providing that no other 
 petitions are submitted by local elected officials. 

    The commissioner may redesignate workforce service areas no 
 more frequently than every two years.  These redesignations must 
 be made not later than four months before the beginning of a 
 program year. 

    Subd. 2.    Creation of local workforce councils.  A 
 local workforce council must be established in each workforce 
 service area, designated according to subdivision 1. 

    Subd. 3.    Membership on local workforce councils.  In 
 workforce service areas representing only one home rule charter 
 or statutory city or a county, the chief elected official must 
 appoint members to the council.  In workforce service areas 
 representing two or more home rule charter or statutory cities 
 or counties, the chief elected officials of the home rule 
 charter or statutory cities or counties must appoint members to 
 the council, in accordance with an agreement entered into by 
 such units of general local government. 

    A council shall include as members: 

    (1) representatives of the private sector, who must 
 constitute a majority of the membership of the council and who 
 are owners of business concerns, chief executives or chief 
 operating officers of nongovernmental employers, or other 
 private sector executives who have substantial management or 
 policy responsibility; 

    (2) at least two representatives of organized labor; 

    (3) representatives of the area workforce and 
 community-based organizations, who shall constitute not less 
 than 15 percent of the membership of the council; and 

    (4) representatives of each of the following: 

    (i) educational agencies that are representative of all 
 educational agencies within the workforce service area; 

    (ii) vocational rehabilitation agencies; 

    (iii) public assistance agencies; 

    (iv) economic development agencies; and 

    (v) public employment service agencies. 

    The chair of each local workforce council shall be selected 
 from among the members of the council who are representatives of 
 the private sector.  

    Private sector representatives on the local workforce 
 council shall be selected from among individuals nominated by 
 general purpose business organizations, such as local chambers 
 of commerce, in the workforce service area. 

    Education representatives on the local workforce council 
 shall be selected from among individuals nominated by secondary 
 and post-secondary educational institutions within the workforce 
 service area. 

    Organized labor representatives on the local workforce 
 council shall be selected from individuals recommended by 
 recognized state and local labor federations, organizations, or 
 councils.  If the state or local labor federations, 
 organizations, or councils fail to nominate a sufficient number 
 of individuals to meet the labor representation requirements, 
 individual workers may be included on the local workforce 
 council to complete the labor representation. 

    The commissioner must certify a local workforce council if 
 the commissioner determines that its composition and 
 appointments are consistent with this subdivision. 

    Subd. 4.    Purpose; duties of local workforce council.  
 The local workforce council is responsible for providing policy 
 guidance for, and exercising oversight with respect to, 
 activities conducted by local workforce centers in partnership 
 with the local unit or units of general local government within 
 the workforce service area and with the commissioner.  

    A local workforce center is a location where federal, 
 state, and local employment and training services are provided 
 to job seekers and employers. 

    A local workforce council, in accordance with an agreement 
 or agreements with the appropriate chief elected official or 
 officials and the commissioner, shall: 

    (1) determine procedures for the development of the local 
 workforce service area plan.  The procedures may provide for the 
 preparation of all or any part of the plan: 

    (i) by the council; 

    (ii) by any unit of general local or state government in 
 the workforce service area, or by an agency of that unit; or 

    (iii) by any other methods or institutions as may be 
 provided in the agreement; 

    (2) select the recipients for local grants and an 
 administrator of the local workforce service area plan.  These 
 may be the same entity or separate entities and must be chosen 
 from among the following: 

    (i) the council; 

    (ii) a unit of general local or state government in its 
 workforce service area, or an agency of that unit; 

    (iii) a nonprofit organization or corporation; or 

    (iv) any other agreed upon entity; 

    (3) jointly plan for local collaborative activities 
 including the transition of public assistance recipients to 
 employment in the public or private sectors; 

    (4) provide on-site review and oversight of program 
 performance; 

    (5) establish local priorities for service and target 
 populations; 

    (6) ensure nonduplication of services and a unified service 
 delivery system within the workforce service area; and 

    (7) nominate individuals to the governor to consider for 
 membership on the governor's workforce development council. 

    HIST: 1997 c 118 s 1 

  268.671 Repealed, 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 78 subd 1 

     268.6715 1997 Minnesota employment and economic 
  development program. 

    The 1997 Minnesota employment and economic development 
 program is established to assist businesses and communities to 
 create jobs that provide the wages, benefits, and on-the-job 
 training opportunities necessary to help low-wage workers and 
 people transitioning from public assistance to get and retain 
 jobs, and to help their families to move out of poverty.  
 Employment obtained under this program is not excluded from the 
 definition of "employment" by section 268.04, subdivision 12, 
 clause (10), paragraph (d). 

    HIST: 1997 c 200 art 3 s 1 

     268.672 Definitions. 

    Subdivision 1.    Terms.  For the purposes of sections 
 268.672 to 268.682, the following terms have the meanings given 
 them.  

    Subd. 2. Repealed, 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 78 subd 2 

    Subd. 3.    Eligible business.  "Eligible business" 
 means a for-profit business.  

    Subd. 4. Repealed, 1997 c 200 art 3 s 19 

    Subd. 5.    Eligible government agency.  "Eligible 
 government agency" means a county, municipality, school 
 district, or other local governmental subdivision, a state 
 agency, or a federal agency office in Minnesota.  

    Subd. 6.    Eligible job applicant.  "Eligible job 
 applicant" means a person who:  

    (1) has attempted to secure a nonsubsidized job by 
 completing comprehensive job readiness and is: 

    (i) a temporary assistance for needy families (TANF) 
 recipient who is making good faith efforts to comply with the 
 family support agreement as defined under section 256.032, 
 subdivision 7a, but has failed to find suitable employment; or 

    (ii) a family general assistance recipient; 

    (2) is a member of a household supported only by: 

    (i) a low-income worker; or 

    (ii) a person who is underemployed as that term is defined 
 in section 268.61, subdivision 5; or 

    (3) is a member of a family that is eligible for, but not 
 receiving public assistance. 

    Subd. 7.    Eligible nonprofit agency.  "Eligible 
 nonprofit agency" means an organization exempt from taxation 
 under the Internal Revenue Code of 1954, section 501(c)(3), as 
 amended through December 31, 1982.  

    Subd. 8. Repealed, 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 78 subd 2 

    Subd. 9.    Household.  "Household" means a group of 
 persons living at the same residence consisting of, at a 
 maximum, spouses and the minor children of each.  

    Subd. 10. Repealed, 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 78 subd 2 

    Subd. 11. Repealed, 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 78 subd 2 

    Subd. 12. Repealed, 1990 c 568 art 4 s 85 

    Subd. 13.    Comprehensive job readiness.  
 "Comprehensive job readiness" means a job search program 
 administered by a county, its designee, or workforce service 
 area that teaches self-esteem, marketable work habits, 
 job-seeking skills, and life-management skills, and may include 
 job retention services. 

    Subd. 14.    Eligible program participant.  "Eligible 
 program participant" means an eligible job applicant who is 
 participating in comprehensive job readiness, subsidized 
 employment, or job retention services.  An individual who has 
 been dismissed for cause or quit subsidized employment without 
 good cause is not eligible for subsidized employment under the 
 program. 

    Subd. 15.    Employer.  "Employer" means a private or 
 public employer that: 

    (1) agrees to create a job that is long term and full time, 
 except a private nonprofit or public employer may provide a 
 temporary job; 

    (2) pays a wage of at least $2 per hour higher than the 
 minimum wage; and 

    (3) agrees to retain a participant at the same wage and 
 benefit level of the wage subsidy period after satisfactory 
 completion of the subsidy period. 

    Subd. 16.    Full time.  "Full time" means 40 hours of 
 work per week or any other schedule considered full time by the 
 employer.  In the case of a temporary assistance to needy 
 families recipient, "full time" means 40 hours comprised of the 
 number of hours of work needed to meet the recipient's work 
 requirement plus the number of hours spent in a training or 
 education program.  The employer is required to pay and is 
 eligible to receive the subsidy only for hours worked by the 
 participant for the employer.  

    Subd. 17.    Job retention services.  "Job retention 
 services" means assistance that would not otherwise be provided 
 to an eligible job applicant with child care, transportation, 
 job coaching, employer-employee mediation, and other forms of 
 support services to help an applicant to transition to 
 employment and retain a job. 

    Subd. 18.    Low-income worker.  "Low-income worker" 
 means a worker who earns no more than $1 per hour more than the 
 minimum wage. 

    Subd. 19.    Minimum wage.  "Minimum wage" means the 
 greater of (1) the federal minimum wage in effect on or after 
 September 1, 1997, and (2) the state minimum wage under section 
 177.24. 

    Subd. 20.    Program.  "Program" means the 1997 
 Minnesota employment and economic development program. 

    Subd. 21.    Workforce service area.  "Workforce service 
 area" means a service delivery area designated by the governor 
 under the Job Training Partnership Act, United States Code, 
 title 29, section 1501, et seq. 

    HIST: 1983 c 312 art 7 s 2; 1984 c 654 art 5 s 43; 1Sp1985 c 9 
 art 2 s 78,79,105; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 48,49; 1987 c 384 art 2 
 s 1; 1991 c 199 art 2 s 1; 1994 c 488 s 8; 1997 c 200 art 3 s 
 2-11 

     268.673 Emergency jobs program; commissioner's duties. 

    Subdivision 1. Repealed, 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 78 subd 2 

    Subd. 2. Repealed, 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 78 subd 2 

    Subd. 3.    Department of economic security.  The 
 commissioner shall supervise wage subsidies, comprehensive job 
 readiness, and job retention services and shall provide 
 technical assistance to counties in their delivery.  

    Subd. 4.    Enforcement.  (a) The commissioner shall 
 ensure compliance with sections 268.672 to 268.682.  

    (b) The commissioner may:  

    (1) make public or private investigations within or without 
 this state necessary to determine whether any person has 
 violated or is about to violate sections 268.672 to 268.682, a 
 contract entered into under them, or any rule or order adopted 
 under them, or to aid in the enforcement of sections 268.672 to 
 268.682 or in rules and forms adopted under them; 

    (2) require or permit any person to file a written 
 statement under oath or otherwise, as the commissioner 
 determines, as to all the facts and circumstances concerning the 
 matter being investigated; and 

    (3) hold hearings, upon reasonable notice, on any matter 
 arising out of the administration of sections 268.672 to 268.682.

    (c) The attorney general shall assign one or more assistant 
 attorneys general to the commissioner and shall conduct all 
 proceedings involving the violation of sections 268.672 to 
 268.682 and all other enforcement proceedings.  

    (d) Whenever it appears to the commissioner that any person 
 has violated a provision of sections 268.672 to 268.682, a 
 contract entered into under them, or a rule or order adopted 
 under them:  

    (1)  The commissioner may issue and cause to be served upon 
 the person an order requiring the person to cease and desist 
 from the violation.  The order must be calculated to give 
 reasonable notice of the right of the person to request a 
 hearing on it and must state the reasons for the entry of the 
 order.  A hearing must be held not later than seven days after a 
 request for the hearing is received by the commissioner, after 
 which and within 20 days of the date of the hearing the 
 commissioner shall issue a further order vacating the cease and 
 desist order or making it permanent as the facts require.  If no 
 hearing is requested within 30 days of service of the order, the 
 order becomes final and remains in effect until it is modified 
 or vacated by the commissioner.  If the person to whom a cease 
 and desist order is issued fails to appear at the hearing after 
 being duly notified, the person shall be deemed in default, and 
 the proceeding may be determined upon consideration of the cease 
 and desist order, the allegations of which may be deemed to be 
 true; 

    (2)  The commissioner may bring an action in the district 
 court of the appropriate county to enjoin the violation and to 
 enforce compliance with the provisions of sections 268.672 to 
 268.682, a contract entered into under them, or any rule or 
 order adopted under them, and the commissioner may refer the 
 matter to the attorney general.  Upon a proper showing, a 
 permanent or temporary injunction, restraining order, or writ of 
 mandamus shall be granted.  The court may not require the 
 commissioner to post a bond.  

    Any injunction proceeding under the provisions of sections 
 268.672 to 268.682 may be brought on for hearing and disposition 
 upon an order to show cause returnable upon not more than eight 
 days notice to the defendant.  The case has precedence over 
 other cases upon the court calendar and may not be continued 
 without the consent of the state, except upon good cause shown 
 to the court, and then only for a reasonable length of time 
 necessary in the opinion of the court to protect the rights of 
 the defendant.  

    Subd. 4a.    Contracts with counties.  The commissioner 
 shall contract directly with counties, their designees, or 
 workforce service areas to deliver wage subsidies, comprehensive 
 job readiness, and job retention services if (1) each county 
 served by the designee or workforce service area agrees to the 
 contract and knows the amount of wage subsidy money, 
 comprehensive job readiness money, and job retention services 
 money allocated to the county under section 268.6751, and (2) 
 the designee or workforce service area agrees to meet regularly 
 with each county being served.  The contracts must require that 
 no more than ten percent of the contract amount be expended for 
 administration. 

    Counties and workforce service areas are encouraged to 
 designate community-based providers of comprehensive job 
 readiness and job retention services. 

    Subd. 5.    Report.  Each county delivering wage 
 subsidies, comprehensive job readiness, and job retention 
 services shall report to the commissioner on a quarterly basis: 

    (1) the number of persons placed in private sector jobs, in 
 temporary public sector jobs, or in other services; 

    (2) the outcome for each participant placed; 

    (3) the number and type of employers employing persons 
 under the program; 

    (4) the amount of money spent in each county for wages, 
 comprehensive job readiness, and job retention services for each 
 type of employment and each type of other expense; 

    (5) the age, educational experience, family status, gender, 
 priority group status, race, and work experience of each person 
 in the program; 

    (6) the amount of wages received by persons while in the 
 program and 60 days after completing the program; and 

    (7) for each classification of persons described in clause 
 (5), the outcome of the wage subsidy placement, the 
 comprehensive job readiness, and the job retention services, 
 including length of time employed; nature of employment, whether 
 private sector, temporary public sector, or other service; and 
 the hourly wages. 

    Data collected on individuals under this subdivision are 
 private data on individuals as defined in section 13.02, 
 subdivision 12, except that summary data may be provided under 
 section 13.05, subdivision 7. 

    Subd. 6. Repealed, 1997 c 200 art 3 s 19 

    HIST: 1983 c 312 art 7 s 3; 1984 c 654 art 5 s 44; 1Sp1985 c 9 
 art 2 s 80,103,105; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 50-53; 1986 c 444; 1987 
 c 403 art 2 s 134,135; 1990 c 568 art 4 s 62,63; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1997 c 
 200 art 3 s 12-14 

  268.674 Repealed, 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 78 subd 2 

  268.675 Repealed, 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 78 subd 2 

     268.6751 Allocation of wage subsidy money. 

    Subdivision 1.    Allocation.  Wage subsidy money, 
 comprehensive job readiness money, and job retention services 
 money must be allocated to counties in proportion to the number 
 of persons living at or below the federal poverty threshold in 
 each county.  By December 31 of each fiscal year, counties, 
 designees, and workforce service areas receiving wage subsidy 
 money, comprehensive job readiness money, and job retention 
 services money shall report to the commissioner on the use of 
 allocated funds.  The commissioner shall reallocate uncommitted 
 funds for each fiscal year according to the formula in this 
 subdivision. 

    Subd. 2.    Emergency wage subsidies.  (a) The 
 commissioner shall monitor local and statewide unemployment 
 rates.  Upon determining that an economic emergency exists in 
 one or more local service units, the commissioner may implement 
 an emergency wage subsidy program and recommend to the governor 
 to pursue ways to increase the wage subsidy money available to 
 local service units in the affected area or areas from sources 
 other than the appropriation allocated under subdivision 1.  

    (b) When the unemployment rate for the state of Minnesota 
 equals or exceeds nine percent, the commissioner shall implement 
 a statewide emergency wage subsidy program and shall recommend 
 to the governor to pursue ways to increase money available for 
 wage subsidies. 

    HIST: 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 54; 1987 c 403 art 2 s 136; 1990 c 
 568 art 4 s 64; 1997 c 200 art 3 s 15 

*   NOTE:  Subdivision 1 was also amended by Laws 1997, chapter 
*85, article 4, section 28, to read as follows: 

*   "Subdivision 1.    Wage subsidies.  Wage subsidy money 
*must be allocated to local service units in the following manner:

*   (a) The commissioner shall allocate 87.5 percent of the 
*funds available for allocation to local service units for wage 
*subsidy programs as follows:  the proportion of the wage subsidy 
*money available to each local service unit must be based on the 
*number of unemployed persons in the local service unit for the 
*most recent six-month period and the number of aid to families 
*with dependent children and Minnesota family investment 
*program-statewide cases in the local service unit for the most 
*recent six-month period. 

*   (b) Five percent of the money available for wage subsidy 
*programs must be allocated at the discretion of the commissioner.

*   (c) Seven and one-half percent of the money available for 
*wage subsidy programs must be allocated at the discretion of the 
*commissioner to provide jobs for residents of federally 
*recognized Indian reservations.  

*   (d) By December 31 of each fiscal year, providers and local 
*service units receiving wage subsidy money shall report to the 
*commissioner on the use of allocated funds.  The commissioner 
*shall reallocate uncommitted funds for each fiscal year 
*according to the formula in paragraph (a)."

   268.676 Repealed, 1997 c 200 art 3 s 19 

*   NOTE:  Subdivision 1 was also amended by Laws 1997, chapter 
*85, article 4, section 29, to read as follows: 

*   "Subdivision 1.    Among job applicants.  At least 80 
*percent of funds allocated among eligible job applicants 
*statewide must be allocated to: 

*   (1) applicants living in households with no other income 
*source; 

*   (2) applicants whose incomes and resources are less than 
*the standards for eligibility for general assistance; 

*   (3) applicants who are eligible for aid to families with 
*dependent children or Minnesota family investment 
*program-statewide; and 

*   (4) applicants who live in a farm household who demonstrate 
*severe household financial need."

     268.677 Use of funds. 

    Subdivision 1.    Wage subsidy, comprehensive job 
 readiness, and job retention services money.  To the extent 
 allowable under federal and state law, wage subsidy money, 
 comprehensive job readiness money, and job retention services 
 money must be pooled and used in combination with money from 
 other employment and training services or income maintenance and 
 support services.  

    (a) The wage subsidy is $2.50 per hour for wages and up to 
 $1 per hour for reimbursement of employer-paid benefits for 
 health care, child care, or transportation expenses for 
 employers paying an eligible program participant an hourly wage 
 that is $2 to $2.99 per hour higher than the minimum wage. 

    (b) The wage subsidy is $4 per hour for wages and up to $1 
 per hour for reimbursement of employer paid benefits for health 
 care, child care, or transportation expenses for employers 
 paying an eligible program participant an hourly wage that is $3 
 or more per hour higher than the minimum wage. 

    (c) The wage subsidy for an eligible job applicant may be 
 paid for a maximum of 1,040 hours over a period of 26 weeks.  
 Employers are encouraged to use money from other sources to 
 provide increased wages to applicants they employ.  Job 
 retention services may be provided to an eligible program 
 participant over a period of 78 weeks.  

    (d) An employer of more than four full-time employees shall 
 receive wage subsidies for no more than 25 percent of the 
 employer's full-time workforce. 

    Subd. 2. Repealed, 1997 c 200 art 3 s 19 

    Subd. 3. Repealed, 1997 c 200 art 3 s 19 

    HIST: 1983 c 312 art 7 s 7; 1984 c 654 art 5 s 48; 1Sp1985 c 9 
 art 2 s 85,105; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 56; 1987 c 403 art 2 s 138; 
 1990 c 568 art 4 s 66,67; 1990 c 594 art 3 s 10; 1997 c 200 art 
 3 s 16 

  268.678 Repealed, 1997 c 200 art 3 s 19 

    268.679 Subdivision 1. MS 1994 Repealed, 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 
 78 subd 2 

    Subd. 2. MS 1994 Repealed, 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 78 subd 2 

    Subd. 3. MS 1996 Repealed, 1997 c 200 art 3 s 19 

  268.68 Repealed, 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 78 subd 2 

     268.681 Business employment. 

    Subdivision 1.    Eligible businesses.  A business 
 employer is an eligible employer if it enters into a written 
 contract, signed and subscribed to under oath, with a county or 
 its designee, containing assurances that: 

    (a) funds received by a business shall be used only as 
 permitted under sections 268.672 to 268.682; 

    (b) the business has submitted information to the county, 
 its designee, or workforce service area (1) describing the 
 duties and proposed compensation of each employee proposed to be 
 hired under the program; and (2) demonstrating that, with the 
 funds provided under sections 268.672 to 268.682, the business 
 is likely to succeed and continue to employ persons hired using 
 wage subsidies; 

    (c) the business will use funds exclusively for 
 compensation and benefits of eligible job applicants and will 
 provide employees hired with these funds with benefits and other 
 terms and conditions of employment comparable to those provided 
 to other employees of the business who do comparable work; 

    (d) the funds are necessary to allow the business to begin, 
 expand, or to fill other open positions but not to fill 
 positions which would be filled in the absence of wage 
 subsidies; 

    (e) the business will cooperate with the county and the 
 commissioner in collecting data to assess the result of wage 
 subsidies and the effectiveness of comprehensive job readiness 
 and job retention services; and 

    (f) the business is in compliance with all applicable 
 affirmative action, fair labor, health, safety, and 
 environmental standards.  

    Subd. 1a.    Ineligible businesses.  A business employer 
 is ineligible to participate in the program and is ineligible to 
 receive wage subsidy money if:  

    (1) the business is a temporary employment agency; or 

    (2) the business is a restaurant.  

    For purposes of this subdivision, "temporary employment 
 agency" means a business that hires people to work in temporary 
 positions for employers who are clients of that business.  

    For purposes of this subdivision, "restaurant" includes, 
 but is not limited to, fast food restaurants. 

    Subd. 1b.    Discharge of program participant.  A 
 program participant discharged from employment may challenge the 
 discharge as a violation of subdivision 1. 

    Subd. 2.    Priorities.  (a) In allocating funds among 
 eligible businesses, the county or its designee shall give 
 priority to: 

    (1) businesses that will provide applicants with on-the-job 
 training and marketable job skills; 

    (2) businesses engaged in manufacturing; 

    (3) nonretail businesses that are small businesses as 
 defined in section 645.445; and 

    (4) businesses that export products outside the state. 

    (b) In addition to paragraph (a), a county must give 
 priority to businesses that: 

    (1) have a high potential for growth and long-term job 
 creation; 

    (2) are labor intensive; 

    (3) make high use of local and Minnesota resources; 

    (4) are under ownership of women and minorities; 

    (5) make high use of new technology; 

    (6) produce energy conserving materials or services or are 
 involved in development of renewable sources of energy; and 

    (7) have their primary place of business in Minnesota.  

    Subd. 3.    Payback.  (a) A business receiving wage 
 subsidies shall repay 70 percent of the amount initially 
 received for each eligible job applicant employed, if the 
 employee does not continue in the employment of the business 
 beyond the six-month subsidized period.  If the employee 
 continues in the employment of the business for one year or 
 longer after the six-month subsidized period, the business need 
 not repay any of the funds received for that employee's wages.  
 If the employee continues in the employment of the business for 
 a period of less than one year after the expiration of the 
 six-month subsidized period, the business shall receive a 
 proportional reduction in the amount it must repay. 

    (b) If an employer dismisses an employee for good cause and 
 works in good faith with the local service unit or its 
 contractor to employ and train another person referred by the 
 county, its designee, or workforce service area, the payback 
 formula shall apply as if the original person had continued in 
 employment.  

    (c) If a business receiving funds under the program reduces 
 the hourly wage after the six-month subsidy, the business must 
 repay a portion of the subsidy in direct proportion to the 
 amount that the hourly wage is reduced. 

    (d) A repayment schedule shall be negotiated and agreed to 
 by the county and the business prior to the disbursement of the 
 funds and is subject to renegotiation.  The county shall retain 
 payments received under this subdivision for any administrative 
 costs associated with the collection of the funds under this 
 subdivision and for entering into new wage subsidy agreements.  

    (e) If an employer is more than 60 days late in repaying a 
 subsidy as required in this subdivision, the county may engage a 
 licensed collection agency or refer the matter to the department 
 for collection under chapter 16D. 

    Subd. 4.  Repealed, 1990 c 594 art 3 s 15 

    Subd. 4.    Successorship.  A contract entered into by 
 an owner, employer, or manager under the wage subsidy program is 
 legally binding on any successor owner, employer, or manager. 

    HIST: 1983 c 312 art 7 s 11; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 63; 1987 c 
 403 art 2 s 141,142; 1990 c 568 art 4 s 69-71; 1990 c 594 art 3 
 s 11; 1997 c 200 art 3 s 17 

     268.6811 Fund combinations. 

    To the extent allowable under federal law, money for job 
 training under Title II-A of the Job Training Partnership Act, 
 United States Code, title 29, section 1501 et seq., and money 
 from other employment and training services or income 
 maintenance and support services, except services administered 
 under chapter 116L, may be pooled and used in combination with 
 money to provide subsidized employment, comprehensive job 
 readiness and job retention services under sections 268.6715 to 
 268.682. 

    HIST: 1997 c 200 art 3 s 18 

     268.682 Worker displacement prohibited. 

    Subdivision 1.    Layoffs; work reductions.  An eligible 
 employer may not terminate, lay off, or reduce the working hours 
 of an employee for the purpose of hiring an individual with 
 funds available under sections 268.672 to 268.682.  

    Subd. 2.    Hiring during layoffs.  An eligible employer 
 may not hire an individual with funds available under sections 
 268.672 to 268.682 if any other person is on layoff from the 
 same or a substantially equivalent job. 

    Subd. 3.    Employer certification.  In order to qualify 
 as an eligible employer, a government or nonprofit agency or 
 business must certify to the eligible local service unit that 
 each job created and funded under sections 268.672 to 268.682:  

    (a) will result in an increase in employment opportunities 
 over those which would otherwise be available; 

    (b) will not result in the displacement of currently 
 employed workers, including partial displacement such as 
 reduction in hours of nonovertime work, wages, or employment 
 benefits; and 

    (c) will not impair existing contracts for service or 
 result in the substitution of wage subsidy funds for other funds 
 in connection with work that would otherwise be performed.  

    HIST: 1983 c 312 art 7 s 12; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 64 

  268.683 Repealed, 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 78 subd 2 

  268.684 Repealed, 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 78 subd 2 

  268.685 Repealed, 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 78 subd 1 

   268.686 Repealed, 1Sp1985 c 9 art 2 s 104; 1Sp1985 c 14 
  art 9 s 78 subd 2 

   268.80 Repealed, 1983 c 312 art 8 s 18; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 
  s 78 subd 1 

   268.81 Repealed, 1983 c 312 art 8 s 18; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 
  s 78 subd 1 

   268.82 Repealed, 1983 c 312 art 8 s 18; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 
  s 78 subd 1 

   268.83 Repealed, 1983 c 312 art 8 s 18; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 
  s 78 subd 1 

  268.84 Repealed, 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 78 subd 1 

     268.85 Service priorities. 

    Subdivision 1.    Groups with severe disadvantages.  To 
 the extent that the state has the authority to establish 
 priority groups to be served through employment and training 
 services, greatest consideration must be given to client groups 
 identified as experiencing the most severe disadvantages to 
 employment.  Individuals volunteering for employment, regardless 
 of whether they are required to register, must also be given 
 preference to avoid the effects of long-term unemployment or 
 dependence on public assistance. 

    Subd. 2.    Order of priority.  (a) The priority for 
 services to be provided is: 

    (1) permanent, unsubsidized, full-time private or nonprofit 
 sector employment and, where possible, in conjunction with 
 targeted jobs tax credits as defined at United States Code, 
 title 26, section 44B, as amended by Public Law Number 98-369, 
 with highest priority to employment with paid medical benefits; 

    (2) permanent, subsidized, full-time private sector 
 employment; 

    (3) permanent, subsidized, full-time nonprofit sector 
 employment; 

    (4) training; 

    (5) relocation, except that relocation is considered only 
 when a client can find affordable housing near the new location; 
 and 

    (6) part-time, subsidized, nonprofit, or public employment 
 with continued employment assistance. 

    (b) Individuals receiving any of the priority services in 
 paragraph (a) must be provided with child care, transportation, 
 or other support services as necessary and in relation to their 
 eligibility and the availability of funds. 

    (c) In delivering employment and training services, local 
 service units shall distribute their available resources in a 
 manner that provides greater incentives to clients in permanent 
 private or nonprofit sector employment than in public sector 
 jobs. 

    HIST: 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 65; 1987 c 403 art 3 s 51 

     268.86 Employment and training programs. 

    Subdivision 1. Repealed, 1987 c 403 art 3 s 98 

    Subd. 2.    Interagency agreements.  By October 1, 1987, 
 the commissioner and the commissioner of human services shall 
 enter into a written contract for the design, delivery, and 
 administration of employment and training services for 
 applicants for or recipients of food stamps, aid to families 
 with dependent children or Minnesota family investment 
 program-statewide, including AFDC and MFIP-S employment and 
 training programs and general assistance.  The contract must 
 address: 

    (1) specific roles and responsibilities of each department; 

    (2) assignment and supervision of staff for interagency 
 activities including any necessary interagency employee mobility 
 agreements under the administrative procedures of the department 
 of employee relations; 

    (3) mechanisms for determining the conditions under which 
 individuals participate in services, their rights and 
 responsibilities while participating, and the standards by which 
 the services must be administered; 

    (4) procedures for providing technical assistance to local 
 service units, Indian tribes, and employment and training 
 service providers; 

    (5) access to appropriate staff for ongoing development and 
 interpretation of policy, rules, and program standards; 

    (6) procedures for reimbursing appropriate agencies for 
 administrative expenses; and 

    (7) procedures for accessing available federal funds. 

    Subd. 3. Repealed, 1987 c 403 art 3 s 98 

    Subd. 4. Repealed, 1987 c 403 art 3 s 98 

    Subd. 5. Repealed, 1987 c 403 art 3 s 98 

    Subd. 6.    Coordination.  In developing employment and 
 training services, the commissioner shall identify and 
 incorporate, to the extent possible, money from both federal and 
 state income maintenance, employment and training, and 
 educational programs. 

    Subd. 7. Repealed, 1989 c 282 art 5 s 133 

    Subd. 8.    Grant diversion.  The commissioner shall 
 develop grant diversion processes for recipients of general 
 assistance and work readiness assistance payments and shall 
 supervise the counties in the administration of the employment 
 and training services to meet the needs and circumstances of 
 these recipients.  A grant diversion program that places general 
 assistance and work readiness recipients in public sector 
 employment must operate as a community investment program under 
 section 268.90.  

    Subd. 9. Repealed, 1990 c 568 art 4 s 85 

    Subd. 10.    Inventory, referral, and intake services.  
 The commissioner of economic security, in cooperation with the 
 commissioner of human services, shall develop an inventory, 
 referral, and intake system.  The system must provide for 
 coordinated delivery of employment and training and income 
 maintenance support services, efficient client referral among 
 programs and services, reduction of duplicate data collection, 
 coordinated program intake by local agencies, and effective 
 evaluation of employment and training services.  The system 
 must, at a minimum, include the following: 

    (1) a listing of all available public and private 
 employment and training services, income maintenance and support 
 services, and vocationally directed education and training 
 programs; 

    (2) the capability to assess client needs and match those 
 needs with employment opportunities, education and training 
 programs, and employment and training and income maintenance and 
 support services, and to refer the client to the appropriate 
 employer, educational institution, or service provider; 

    (3) a coordinated intake procedure for employment and 
 training services, and income maintenance and support services; 

    (4) access to a statewide database for client tracking and 
 program evaluation; and 

    (5) internal security measures to protect private data from 
 unauthorized access. 

    In developing the system, the commissioner shall consult 
 with the public post-secondary educational systems, local 
 agencies, employment and training service providers, and client 
 and employer representatives.  The system must be available in 
 each local agency or service provider delivering programs 
 administered by the commissioner of economic security or the 
 commissioner of human services.  Access by intake workers, state 
 agency personnel, clients, and any other system users to 
 information contained in the system must conform with all 
 applicable federal and state data privacy requirements.  

    HIST: 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 66; 1987 c 403 art 3 s 53; 1988 c 
 689 art 2 s 222; 1989 c 282 art 5 s 125; 1990 c 568 art 4 s 
 72,73; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1997 c 85 art 4 s 30 

     268.871 Local delivery. 

    Subdivision 1.    Responsibility and certification.  (a) 
 Unless prohibited by federal law or otherwise determined by 
 state law, a local service unit is responsible for the delivery 
 of employment and training services.  After February 1, 1988, 
 employment and training services must be delivered by certified 
 employment and training service providers.  

    (b) The local service unit's employment and training 
 service provider must meet the certification standards in this 
 subdivision in order to be certified to deliver any of the 
 following employment and training services and programs:  wage 
 subsidies; general assistance grant diversion; food stamp 
 employment and training programs; community work experience 
 programs; AFDC or MFIP-S job search; AFDC or MFIP-S grant 
 diversion; AFDC or MFIP-S on-the-job training; and AFDC or 
 MFIP-S case management.  

    (c) The commissioner shall certify a local service unit's 
 service provider to provide these employment and training 
 services and programs if the commissioner determines that the 
 provider has:  

    (1) past experience in direct delivery of the programs 
 specified in paragraph (b); 

    (2) staff capabilities and qualifications, including 
 adequate staff to provide timely and effective services to 
 clients, and proven staff experience in providing specific 
 services such as assessments, career planning, job development, 
 job placement, support services, and knowledge of community 
 services and educational resources; 

    (3) demonstrated effectiveness in providing services to 
 public assistance recipients and other economically 
 disadvantaged clients; and 

    (4) demonstrated administrative capabilities, including 
 adequate fiscal and accounting procedures, financial management 
 systems, participant data systems, and record retention 
 procedures. 

    (d) When the only service provider that meets the criterion 
 in paragraph (c), clause (1), has been decertified, according to 
 subdivision 1a, in that local service unit, the following 
 criteria shall be substituted:  past experience in direct 
 delivery of multiple, coordinated, nonduplicative services, 
 including outreach, assessments, identification of client 
 barriers, employability development plans, and provision or 
 referral to support services. 

    (e) The commissioner shall certify providers of the 
 Minnesota family investment plan case management services as 
 defined in section 256.032, subdivision 3.  Providers must meet 
 the standards defined in paragraph (c), except that past 
 experience under paragraph (c), clause (1), must be in services 
 and programs similar to those specified in section 256.032, 
 subdivision 3.  

    Employment and training service providers shall be 
 certified by the commissioner for two fiscal years beginning 
 July 1, 1991, and every second year thereafter. 

    Subd. 1a.    Decertification.  (a) The department, on 
 its own initiative, or at the request of the local service unit, 
 shall begin decertification processes for employment and 
 training service providers who: 

    (1) no longer meet one or more of the certification 
 standards; 

    (2) are delivering services in a manner that does not 
 comply with the Family Support Act of 1988, Public Law Number 
 100-485 or relevant state law after corrective actions have been 
 cited, technical assistance has been provided, and a reasonable 
 period of time for remedial action has been provided; or 

    (3) are not complying with other state and federal laws or 
 policy which are necessary for effective delivery of services. 

    (b) The initiating of decertification processes shall not 
 result in decertification of the service provider unless and 
 until adequate fact-finding and investigation has been performed 
 by the department. 

    Subd. 2.    Contracting responsibility.  A local service 
 unit must contract with certified employment and training 
 service providers that can effectively coordinate federal, 
 state, and local employment and training services; that can 
 maximize use of available federal and other nonstate funds; and 
 that have demonstrated the ability to achieve effective results 
 in serving public assistance clients as well as other unemployed 
 people.  

    Subd. 3.    Enforcement.  The local service units shall 
 provide for the enforcement of employment and training 
 requirements for appropriate recipients of public assistance, 
 and must include provisions for enforcing the requirements in 
 any contracts with providers under subdivisions 1 and 2. 

    Subd. 4.    Location of staff.  (a) In establishing a 
 contract, the county shall agree to colocate, where feasible, 
 income maintenance and social service staff as necessary to 
 accept applications and determine eligibility, monitor ongoing 
 client eligibility, and authorize services and grants available 
 under programs administered by the county or local service unit 
 that are related to employment and training or the client's 
 successful participation in employment and training activities. 

    (b) The commissioner shall colocate, where feasible, 
 sufficient staff to make the services provided through the 
 department of economic security and the programs it administers 
 or supervises available to clients being served by the local 
 service unit or the contract agency. 

    (c) The commissioner has emergency and permanent rulemaking 
 authority to implement this section and shall establish the 
 circumstances under which the requirements for colocation may be 
 waived. 

    Subd. 5.    Reports.  Each employment and training 
 service provider under contract with a local service unit or an 
 Indian tribe to deliver employment and training services must 
 submit an annual report by March 1 to the local service unit or 
 the Indian tribe.  The report must specify: 

    (1) the types of services provided; 

    (2) the number of priority and nonpriority AFDC recipients 
 served, the number of work readiness assistance recipients 
 served, and the number of other clients served; 

    (3) how resources will be prioritized to serve priority and 
 nonpriority public assistance recipients and other clients; and 

    (4) the manner in which state employment and training funds 
 and programs are being coordinated with federal and local 
 employment and training funds and programs.  

    HIST: 1Sp1985 c 9 art 2 s 103; 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 67; 1987 c 
 403 art 3 s 55-57; 1987 c 403 art 2 s 143; 1989 c 282 art 5 s 
 126; 1990 c 568 art 4 s 74-76; 1993 c 306 s 17; 1994 c 483 s 1; 
 1997 c 85 art 4 s 31 

     268.872 State funding of employment and training 
  programs. 

    Subdivision 1.    Available money.  The commissioner and 
 local service units are not required to provide employment and 
 training services that exceed the levels permitted by available 
 federal, state, and local funds subject to the requirements or 
 limitations of each program. 

    Subd. 2.    Maintenance of effort.  A local service unit 
 shall certify to the commissioner that it has not reduced funds 
 from other federal, state, and county sources which would, in 
 the absence of this section, have been available for employment 
 and training services and child care services and related 
 administrative costs. 

    Subd. 3. Repealed, 1990 c 568 art 4 s 85 

    HIST: 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 68 

     268.88 Local service unit plans. 

    (a) By April 15, 1991, and by April 15 of each second year 
 thereafter, local service units shall prepare and submit to the 
 commissioner a plan that covers the next two state fiscal 
 years.  The commissioner shall notify each local service unit 
 within 60 days of receipt of its plan that the plan has been 
 approved or disapproved.  The plan must include: 

    (1) a statement of objectives for the employment and 
 training services the local service unit administers; 

    (2) the establishment of public assistance caseload 
 reduction goals and the strategies and programs that will be 
 used to achieve these goals; 

    (3) a statement of whether the goals from the preceding 
 year were met and an explanation if the local service unit 
 failed to meet the goals; 

    (4) the amount proposed to be allocated to each employment 
 and training service; 

    (5) the proposed types of employment and training services 
 the local service unit plans to utilize; 

    (6) a description of how the local service unit will use 
 funds provided under section 256.736 to meet the requirements of 
 that section.  The description must include the two work 
 programs required by section 256.736, subdivision 10, paragraph 
 (a), clause (13), what services will be provided, number of 
 clients served, per service expenditures, type of clients 
 served, and projected outcomes; 

    (7) a report on the use of wage subsidies, grant 
 diversions, community investment programs, and other services 
 administered under this chapter; 

    (8) a performance review of the employment and training 
 service providers delivering employment and training services 
 for the local service unit; 

    (9) a copy of any contract between the local service unit 
 and an employment and training service provider including 
 expected outcomes and service levels for public assistance 
 clients; and 

    (10) a copy of any other agreements between educational 
 institutions, family support services, and child care providers. 

    (b) In counties with a city of the first class, the county 
 and the city shall develop and submit a joint plan.  The plan 
 may not be submitted until agreed to by both the city and the 
 county.  The plan must provide for the direct allocation of 
 employment and training money to the city and the county unless 
 waived by either.  If the county and the city cannot concur on a 
 plan, the commissioner shall resolve their dispute.  In counties 
 in which a federally recognized Indian tribe is operating an 
 employment and training program under an agreement with the 
 commissioner of human services, the plan must provide that the 
 county will coordinate its employment and training programs, 
 including developing a system for referrals, sanctions, and the 
 provision of supporting services such as access to child care 
 funds and transportation with programs operated by the Indian 
 tribe.  The plan may not be given final approval by the 
 commissioner until the tribal unit and county have submitted 
 written agreement on these provisions in the plan.  If the 
 county and Indian tribe cannot agree on these provisions, the 
 local service unit shall notify the commissioner of economic 
 security and the commissioners of economic security and human 
 services shall resolve the dispute.  

    (c) The commissioner may withhold the distribution of 
 employment and training money from a local service unit that 
 does not submit a plan to the commissioner by the date set by 
 this section, and shall withhold the distribution of employment 
 and training money from a local service unit whose plan has been 
 disapproved by the commissioner until an acceptable amended plan 
 has been submitted.  

    (d) Beginning April 15, 1992, and by April 15 of each 
 second year thereafter, local service units must prepare and 
 submit to the commissioner an interim year plan update that 
 deals with performance in that state fiscal year and changes 
 anticipated for the second year of the biennium.  The update 
 must include information about employment and training programs 
 addressed in the local service unit's two-year plan and shall be 
 completed in accordance with criteria established by the 
 commissioner. 

    HIST: 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 69; 1987 c 403 art 2 s 144; art 3 s 
 58; 1989 c 282 art 5 s 127; 1990 c 568 art 4 s 77; 1994 c 483 s 
 1 

     268.881 Indian tribe plans. 

    (a) The commissioner, in consultation with the commissioner 
 of human services, shall review and comment on Indian tribe 
 plans submitted to the commissioner for provision of employment 
 and training services.  Beginning April 15, 1991, and by April 
 15 of each second year thereafter, the Indian tribe shall 
 prepare and submit to the commissioner a plan that covers the 
 next two state fiscal years.  Beginning April 15, 1992, and by 
 April 15 of each second year thereafter, the Indian tribe shall 
 prepare and submit to the commissioner an interim year plan 
 update that deals with performance during the past state fiscal 
 year and that covers changes anticipated for the second year of 
 the biennium.  The commissioner shall notify the Indian tribe of 
 approval or disapproval of the plans and updates for existing 
 programs within 60 days of submission. 

    (b) A plan for a new tribal program must be submitted at 
 least 45 days before the program is to commence.  The 
 commissioner shall approve or disapprove the plan for new 
 programs within 30 days of receipt. 

    (c) The tribal plan and update must contain information 
 that has been established by the commissioner and the 
 commissioner of human services for the tribal employment and 
 training service program. 

    (d) The commissioner may recommend to the commissioner of 
 human services withholding the distribution of employment and 
 training money from a tribe whose plan or update is disapproved 
 by the commissioner or a tribe that does not submit a plan or 
 update by the date established in this section. 

    HIST: 1989 c 282 art 5 s 128; 1990 c 568 art 4 s 78 

     268.89 Jobs training partnership act; administration. 

    Subdivision 1.    Coordination of state and federal 
 programs.  The commissioner shall act as the governor's agent 
 in administering the federal jobs training partnership act.  To 
 the extent permitted under federal regulation, this program must 
 be administered in conjunction with a comprehensive state 
 employment and training strategy and its resources used in 
 coordination with state programs and to further state objectives.

    Subd. 2.    Biennial plan.  The commissioner shall 
 recommend to the governor the priorities, performance standards, 
 and special projects. 

    Subd. 3.    Other plans.  Strong consideration for 
 income maintenance recipients must be included in the goals, 
 objectives, and criteria of the governor's coordination and 
 special services plan under section 121 of the Jobs Training 
 Partnership Act, United States Code, title 29, section 1531.  
 Local service delivery area plans and job service plans must 
 describe methods of complying with the coordination criteria 
 under the governor's coordination and special services plan as 
 required under United States Code, title 29, sections 49g and 
 1514.  

    HIST: 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 70; 1987 c 403 art 2 s 145 

     268.90 Community investment programs. 

    Subdivision 1.    Purpose; requirements.  Community 
 investment programs provide temporary employment to people who 
 are experiencing prolonged unemployment and economic hardship.  
 Community investment programs consist of one or more projects.  
 Community investment programs must be beneficial to the state 
 and the communities in which they are located and must provide 
 program participants with training and work experience that will 
 enhance their employability.  The projects must include 
 activities that: 

    (1) expand or improve services, including education, 
 health, social services, recreation, and safety; 

    (2) improve or maintain natural resources, including 
 rivers, streams and lakes, forest lands and roads, and soil 
 conservation; 

    (3) make permanent improvements to lands and buildings; or 

    (4) weatherize public buildings and private residential 
 dwellings. 

    Community investment programs may not include job 
 placements that replace work that was part or all of the duties 
 or responsibilities of an authorized public employee position 
 established as of January 1, 1985. 

    Community investment programs that include other sources of 
 money or authorized programs may provide employment for the 
 groups eligible for the included programs under the terms and 
 conditions of those programs.  These programs include the 
 Minnesota conservation corps, Minnesota summer youth program, 
 county emergency jobs program, and the jobs training partnership 
 act. 

    Subd. 2.    Employment conditions.  (a) An eligible 
 nonprofit or public employer may not terminate, lay off, or 
 reduce the regular working hours of an employee for the purpose 
 of hiring an individual with money available under this 
 program.  An eligible employer may not hire an individual with 
 money available through this program if any other person is on 
 layoff from the same or a substantially equivalent job. 

    (b) Community investment program participants are employees 
 of the project employer within the meaning of workers' 
 compensation laws, personal income tax, and the Federal 
 Insurance Contribution Act, but not retirement or civil service 
 laws. 

    (c) Each project and job must comply with all applicable 
 affirmative action, fair labor, health, safety, and 
 environmental standards. 

    (d) Individuals employed under the community investment 
 program must be paid a wage at the same wage rates as work site 
 or employees doing comparable work in that locality, unless 
 otherwise specified in law. 

    (e) Recipients of aid to families with dependent children 
 or Minnesota family investment program-statewide who are 
 eligible on the basis of an unemployed parent may not have 
 available more than 100 hours a month.  All employees are 
 limited to 32 hours or four days a week, so that they can 
 continue to seek full-time private sector employment, unless 
 otherwise specified in law. 

    (f) The commissioner shall establish, by rule, the terms 
 and conditions governing the participation of appropriate public 
 assistance recipients.  The rules must, at a minimum, establish 
 the procedures by which the minimum and maximum number of work 
 hours and maximum allowable travel distances are determined, the 
 amounts and methods by which work expenses will be paid, and the 
 manner in which support services will be provided.  The rules 
 must also provide for periodic reviews of clients continuing 
 employment in community investment programs. 

    (g) Participation in a community investment program by a 
 recipient of aid to families with dependent children, Minnesota 
 family investment program-statewide, or general assistance is 
 voluntary.  

    Subd. 3.    Commissioner of economic security.  The 
 commissioner shall: 

    (1) make rules governing plan content, criteria for 
 approval, and administrative standards; 

    (2) refer community investment program administrators to 
 the appropriate state agency for technical assistance in 
 developing and administering community investment programs; 

    (3) establish the method by which community investment 
 programs will be approved or disapproved through the community 
 investment program plan and the annual update component of the 
 county plan; 

    (4) review and comment on community investment program 
 plans; 

    (5) institute ongoing methods to monitor and evaluate 
 community investment programs; and 

    (6) consult with the commissioner of human services on the 
 approval of county plans for community investment programs 
 relating to the participation of public assistance recipients. 

    Subd. 4.    County boards of commissioners.  The county 
 boards of commissioners shall: 

    (1) be encouraged to establish community investment 
 programs that are administered jointly according to section 
 471.59, or through multicounty human service boards under 
 chapter 402; 

    (2) develop community investment programs in consultation 
 with the exclusive representatives of their employees; 

    (3) plan community investment programs by involving 
 nonprofit organizations and other governmental units, community 
 action agencies, community-based organizations, local union 
 representatives, and representatives of client groups; 

    (4) submit to the commissioner a community investment 
 program plan identifying the program funding source and amount, 
 before the initiation of a community investment program, for 
 approval according to standards established by the commissioner; 

    (5) plan community investment projects that, whenever 
 possible, utilize existing programs that are administered under 
 contract by nonprofit organizations and governmental units, 
 including departments and agencies of cities, counties, towns, 
 school districts, state and federal agencies, park reserve 
 districts, and other special districts; 

    (6) include in their local service unit plans an annual 
 update to their community investment program plans for approval 
 according to standards established by the commissioner; 

    (7) submit reports and meet administrative standards 
 established by the commissioner; 

    (8) monitor the performance of entities under contract to 
 administer individual community investment projects; 

    (9) enter into contracts with other governmental and 
 private bodies to jointly fund or jointly administer approvable 
 projects when agreements expand the resources available, the 
 scope of people employed, or further recognized public purposes; 
 and 

    (10) be encouraged to enter into contracts with businesses 
 or individuals for eligible projects under subdivision 1 and 
 charge a fee for the completion of a project. 

    Subd. 5.    State financial participation.  The 
 statutorily established state rates of financial participation 
 or available state appropriations or grants are not affected by 
 their incorporation into a community investment program. 

    HIST: 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 71; 1990 c 568 art 4 s 79-81; 1994 
 c 483 s 1; 1997 c 7 art 5 s 35; 1997 c 85 art 4 s 32 

    268.91 Subdivision 1. Renumbered 256H.01 

    Subd. 2. Renumbered 256H.02 

    Subd. 3. Renumbered 256H.03 

    Subd. 3a. Renumbered 256H.04 

    Subd. 3b. Renumbered 256H.05 

    Subd. 3c. Renumbered 256H.06 

    Subd. 3d. Renumbered 256H.07 

    Subd. 3e. Renumbered 256H.08 

    Subd. 3f. Renumbered 256H.09 

    Subd. 4. Renumbered 256H.10 

    Subd. 5. Renumbered 256H.11 

    Subd. 6. Renumbered 256H.12 

    Subd. 6a. Renumbered 256H.13 

    Subd. 7. Renumbered 256H.14 

    Subd. 8. Renumbered 256H.15 

    Subd. 9. Renumbered 256H.16 

    Subd. 10. Renumbered 256H.17 

    Subd. 11. Renumbered 256H.18 

    Subd. 12. Renumbered 256H.19 

  268.911 Renumbered 256H.20 

     268.912 Head Start program. 

    The department of children, families, and learning is the 
 state agency responsible for administering the Head Start 
 program.  The commissioner of children, families, and learning 
 may make grants to public or private nonprofit agencies for the 
 purpose of providing supplemental funds for the federal Head 
 Start program. 

    HIST: 1989 c 282 art 2 s 171; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1997 c 162 art 1 
 s 8 

     268.913 Definitions. 

    Subdivision 1.    Scope.  As used in sections 268.914 to 
 268.916, the terms defined in this section have the meanings 
 given them. 

    Subd. 2.    Program account 20.  "Program account 20" 
 means the federally designated and funded account for training 
 and technical assistance activities. 

    Subd. 3.    Program account 22.  "Program account 22" 
 means the federally designated and funded account for basic 
 services. 

    Subd. 4.    Program account 25.  "Program account 25" 
 means the federally designated and funded account for parent 
 child centers. 

    Subd. 5. Repealed, 1997 c 162 art 1 s 19 

    Subd. 6.    Start-up costs.  "Start-up costs" means 
 one-time costs incurred in expanding services to additional 
 children. 

    HIST: 1989 c 282 art 2 s 172; 1997 c 162 art 1 s 9,10 

     268.914 Distribution of appropriation. 

    Subdivision 1.    State supplement for federal grantees. 
  (a) The commissioner of children, families, and learning must 
 distribute money appropriated for that purpose to Head Start 
 program grantees to expand services and to serve additional 
 low-income children.  Money must be allocated to each project 
 Head Start grantee in existence on the effective date of Laws 
 1989, chapter 282.  Migrant and Indian reservation grantees must 
 be initially allocated money based on the grantees' share of 
 federal funds.  The remaining money must be initially allocated 
 to the remaining local agencies based equally on the agencies' 
 share of federal funds and on the proportion of eligible 
 children in the agencies' service area who are not currently 
 being served.  A Head Start grantee must be funded at a per 
 child rate equal to its contracted, federally funded base level 
 for program accounts 20, 22, and 25 at the start of the fiscal 
 year.  In allocating funds under this paragraph, the 
 commissioner must assure that each Head Start grantee is 
 allocated no less funding in any fiscal year than was allocated 
 to that grantee in fiscal year 1993.  The commissioner may 
 provide additional funding to grantees for start-up costs 
 incurred by grantees due to the increased number of children to 
 be served.  Before paying money to the grantees, the 
 commissioner must notify each grantee of its initial allocation, 
 how the money must be used, and the number of low-income 
 children that must be served with the allocation.  Each grantee 
 must notify the commissioner of the number of low-income 
 children it will be able to serve.  For any grantee that cannot 
 utilize its full allocation, the commissioner must reduce the 
 allocation proportionately.  Money available after the initial 
 allocations are reduced must be redistributed to eligible 
 grantees. 

    (b) Up to 11 percent of the funds appropriated annually may 
 be used to provide grants to local Head Start agencies to 
 provide funds for innovative programs designed either to target 
 Head Start resources to particular at-risk groups of children or 
 to provide services in addition to those currently allowable 
 under federal Head Start regulations.  The commissioner must 
 award funds for innovative programs under this paragraph on a 
 competitive basis. 

    Subd. 2. Repealed, 1993 c 369 s 146 

    HIST: 1989 c 282 art 2 s 173; 1991 c 292 art 3 s 34; 1993 c 
 369 s 89; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1997 c 162 art 1 s 11 

     268.915 Federal requirements. 

    Grantees and the commissioner shall comply with federal 
 regulations governing the federal head start program, except for 
 innovative programs funded under section 268.914, paragraph (b), 
 which may operate differently than federal head start 
 regulations, and except that when a state statute or regulation 
 conflicts with a federal statute or regulation, the state 
 statute or regulation prevails. 

    HIST: 1989 c 282 art 2 s 174 

     268.916 Reports. 

    Each grantee shall submit an annual report to the 
 commissioner on the format designated by the commissioner, 
 including program information report data.  By January 1 of each 
 year, the commissioner shall prepare an annual report to the 
 health and human services committee of the house of 
 representatives and the family services committee of the senate 
 concerning the uses and impact of head start supplemental 
 funding, including a summary of innovative programs and the 
 results of innovative programs and an evaluation of the 
 coordination of head start programs with employment and training 
 services provided to AFDC and MFIP-S recipients. 

    HIST: 1989 c 282 art 2 s 175; 1993 c 4 s 31; 1997 c 85 art 4 s 
 33 

     268.917 Early childhood learning and child protection 
  facilities. 

    The commissioner may make grants to state agencies and 
 political subdivisions to construct or rehabilitate facilities 
 for Head Start, early childhood and family education programs, 
 other early childhood intervention programs, or demonstration 
 family service centers housing multiagency collaboratives, with 
 priority to centers in counties or municipalities with the 
 highest number of children living in poverty.  The commissioner 
 may also make grants to state agencies and political 
 subdivisions to construct or rehabilitate facilities for crisis 
 nurseries or child visitation centers.  The facilities must be 
 owned by the state or a political subdivision, but may be leased 
 under section 16A.695 to organizations that operate the 
 programs.  The commissioner shall prescribe the terms and 
 conditions of the leases.  A grant for an individual facility 
 must not exceed $200,000 for each program that is housed in the 
 facility, up to a maximum of $500,000 for a facility that houses 
 three programs or more.  The commissioner shall give priority to 
 grants that involve collaboration among sponsors of programs 
 under this section.  At least 25 percent of the amounts 
 appropriated for these grants must be used in conjunction with 
 the youth employment and training programs operated by the 
 commissioner.  Eligible programs must consult with appropriate 
 labor organizations to deliver education and training. 

    HIST: 1994 c 643 s 73; 1996 c 463 s 43; 1997 c 200 art 5 s 1 

     268.918 Homeless youth facilities. 

    The commissioner may make grants to state agencies and 
 political subdivisions to construct or rehabilitate facilities 
 to provide services to homeless or at-risk youth.  The 
 facilities must be owned by the state or a political 
 subdivision, but may be leased under section 16A.695 to 
 organizations that operate the programs.  The commissioner shall 
 prescribe the terms and conditions of the leases.  The 
 commissioner shall give priority to grants that involve 
 collaboration among sponsors of programs.  At least 25 percent 
 of the amounts appropriated for these grants must be used in 
 conjunction with the youth employment and training programs 
 operated by the commissioner.  Eligible programs must consult 
 with appropriate labor organizations to deliver education and 
 training. 

    HIST: 1996 c 463 s 44 

     268.92 Lead abatement program. 

    Subdivision 1.    Definitions.  (a) For the purposes of 
 this section, the words defined in section 144.9501 have the 
 meanings given. 

    (b) For purposes of this section, "eligible organization" 
 means a lead contractor, city, board of health, community health 
 department, community action agency as defined in section 
 268.52, or community development corporation. 

    (c) For purposes of this section, "commissioner" means the 
 commissioner of economic security, or commissioner of the 
 Minnesota housing finance agency as authorized by section 
 462A.05, subdivision 15c. 

    Subd. 2.    Grants; administration.  Within the limits 
 of the available appropriation, the commissioner shall develop a 
 swab team services program which may make demonstration and 
 training grants to eligible organizations to train workers to 
 provide swab team services and swab team services for 
 residential property.  Grants may be awarded to nonprofit 
 organizations to provide technical assistance and training to 
 ensure quality and consistency within the statewide program.  
 Grants shall be awarded to help ensure full-time employment to 
 workers providing swab team services and shall be awarded for a 
 two-year period. 

    Grants awarded under this section must be made in 
 consultation with the commissioners of the department of health 
 and the housing finance agency, and representatives of 
 neighborhood groups from areas at high risk for toxic lead 
 exposure, a labor organization, the lead coalition, community 
 action agencies, and the legal aid society.  The consulting team 
 shall review grant applications and recommend awards to eligible 
 organizations that meet requirements for receiving a grant under 
 this section. 

    Subd. 3.    Applicants.  (a) Interested eligible 
 organizations may apply to the commissioner for grants under 
 this section.  Two or more eligible organizations may jointly 
 apply for a grant.  Priority shall be given to community action 
 agencies in greater Minnesota and to either community action 
 agencies or neighborhood based nonprofit organizations in cities 
 of the first class.  Of the total annual appropriation, 12.5 
 percent may be used for administrative purposes.  The 
 commissioner may deviate from this percentage if a grantee can 
 justify the need for a larger administrative allowance.  Of this 
 amount, up to five percent may be used by the commissioner for 
 state administrative purposes.  Applications must provide 
 information requested by the commissioner, including at least 
 the information required to assess the factors listed in 
 paragraph (d).  

    (b) The commissioner shall coordinate with the commissioner 
 of health who shall consult with boards of health to provide 
 swab team services for purposes of secondary prevention.  The 
 priority for swab teams created by grants to eligible 
 organizations under this section shall be work assigned by the 
 commissioner of health, or by a board of health if so designated 
 by the commissioner of health, to provide secondary prevention 
 swab team services to fulfill the requirements of section 
 144.9504, subdivision 6, in response to a lead order.  Swab 
 teams assigned work under this section by the commissioner, that 
 are not engaged daily in fulfilling the requirements of section 
 144.9504, subdivision 6, must deliver swab team services in 
 response to elevated blood lead levels as defined in section 
 144.9501, subdivision 9, where lead orders were not issued, and 
 for purposes of primary prevention in census tracts known to be 
 in areas at high risk for toxic lead exposure as described in 
 section 144.9503, subdivision 2. 

    (c) Any additional money shall be used for grants to 
 establish swab teams for primary prevention under section 
 144.9503, in census tracts in areas at high risk for toxic lead 
 exposure as determined under section 144.9503, subdivision 2.  

    (d) In evaluating grant applications, the commissioner 
 shall consider the following criteria: 

    (1) the use of lead contractors and lead workers for 
 residential swab team services; 

    (2) the participation of neighborhood groups and 
 individuals, as swab team workers, in areas at high risk for 
 toxic lead exposure; 

    (3) plans for the provision of swab team services for 
 primary and secondary prevention as required under subdivision 
 4; 

    (4) plans for supervision, training, career development, 
 and postprogram placement of swab team members; 

    (5) plans for resident and property owner education on lead 
 safety; 

    (6) plans for distributing cleaning supplies to area 
 residents and educating residents and property owners on 
 cleaning techniques; 

    (7) sources of other funding and cost estimates for 
 training, lead inspections, swab team services, equipment, 
 monitoring, testing, and administration; 

    (8) measures of program effectiveness; 

    (9) coordination of program activities with other federal, 
 state, and local public health, job training, apprenticeship, 
 and housing renovation programs including the emergency jobs 
 program under sections 268.672 to 268.881; and 

    (10) prior experience in providing swab team services. 

    Subd. 4.    Lead contractors.  (a) Eligible 
 organizations and lead contractors may participate in the swab 
 team program.  An eligible organization receiving a grant under 
 this section must assure that all participating lead contractors 
 are licensed and that all swab team workers are certified by the 
 department of health under section 144.9505.  Eligible 
 organizations and lead contractors may distinguish between 
 interior and exterior services in assigning duties and may 
 participate in the program by: 

    (1) providing on-the-job training for swab team workers; 

    (2) providing swab team services to meet the requirements 
 of sections 144.9503, subdivision 4, and 144.9504, subdivision 
 6; 

    (3) providing a removal and replacement component using 
 skilled craft workers under subdivision 7; 

    (4) providing lead testing according to subdivision 7a; 

    (5) providing lead dust cleaning supplies, as described in 
 section 144.9503, subdivision 5, paragraph (b), to residents; or 

    (6) having a swab team worker instruct residents and 
 property owners on appropriate lead control techniques, 
 including the lead-safe directives developed by the commissioner 
 of health.  

    (b) Participating lead contractors must: 

    (1) demonstrate proof of workers' compensation and general 
 liability insurance coverage; 

    (2) be knowledgeable about lead abatement requirements 
 established by the Department of Housing and Urban Development 
 and the Occupational Safety and Health Administration and lead 
 hazard reduction requirements and lead-safe directives of the 
 commissioner of health; 

    (3) demonstrate experience with on-the-job training 
 programs; 

    (4) demonstrate an ability to recruit employees from areas 
 at high risk for toxic lead exposure; and 

    (5) demonstrate experience in working with low-income 
 clients. 

    Subd. 5.    Swab team workers.  Each worker engaged in 
 swab team services established under this section must have 
 blood lead concentrations below 15 micrograms of lead per 
 deciliter of whole blood as determined by a baseline blood lead 
 screening.  Any organization receiving a grant under this 
 section is responsible for lead screening and must assure that 
 all swab team workers meet the standards established in this 
 subdivision.  Grantees must use appropriate workplace procedures 
 including following the lead-safe directives developed by the 
 commissioner of health to reduce risk of elevated blood lead 
 levels.  Grantees and participating contractors must report all 
 employee blood lead levels that exceed 15 micrograms of lead per 
 deciliter of whole blood to the commissioner of health.  

    Subd. 6.    On-the-job training component.  (a) Programs 
 established under this section must provide on-the-job training 
 for swab team workers.  Training methods must follow procedures 
 established under section 144.9506.  

    (b) Swab team workers must receive monetary compensation 
 equal to the prevailing wage as defined in section 177.42, 
 subdivision 6, for comparable jobs in the licensed contractor's 
 principal business. 

    Subd. 7.    Removal and replacement component.  (a) 
 Within the limits of the available appropriation and if a need 
 is identified by a lead inspector, the commissioner may 
 establish a component for removal and replacement of 
 deteriorated paint in residential properties according to the 
 following criteria: 

    (1) components within a residence must have both 
 deteriorated lead-based paint and substrate damage beyond repair 
 or rotting wooden framework to be eligible for removal and 
 replacement; 

    (2) all removal and replacement must be done using 
 least-cost methods and following lead-safe directives; 

    (3) whenever windows and doors or other components covered 
 with deteriorated lead-based paint have sound substrate or are 
 not rotting, those components should be repaired, sent out for 
 stripping or be planed down to remove deteriorated lead-based 
 paint or covered with protective guards instead of being 
 replaced, provided that such an activity is the least cost 
 method of providing the swab team service; 

    (4) removal and replacement or repair must be done by lead 
 contractors using skilled craft workers or trained swab team 
 members; and 

    (5) all craft work that requires a state license must be 
 supervised by a person with a state license in the craft work 
 being supervised.  The grant recipient may contract for this 
 supervision. 

    (b) The program design must: 

    (1) identify the need for on-the-job training of swab team 
 workers to be removal and replacement workers; and 

    (2) describe plans to involve appropriate groups in 
 designing methods to meet the need for training swab team 
 workers. 

    Subd. 7a.    Testing and evaluation.  (a) Testing of the 
 environment is not necessary by swab teams whose work is 
 assigned by the commissioner of health or a designated board of 
 health under section 144.9504.  The commissioner of health or 
 designated board of health shall share the analytical testing 
 data collected on each residence for purposes of secondary 
 prevention under section 144.9504 with the swab team workers in 
 order to provide constructive feedback on their work and to the 
 commissioner for the purposes set forth in paragraph (c). 

    (b) For purposes of primary prevention evaluation, the 
 following samples must be collected:  pretesting and posttesting 
 of one noncarpeted floor dust lead sample and a notation of the 
 extent and location of bare soil and of deteriorated lead-based 
 paint.  The analytical testing data collected on each residence 
 for purposes of primary prevention under section 144.9503, shall 
 be shared with the swab team workers in order to provide 
 constructive feedback on their work and to the commissioner for 
 the purposes set forth in paragraph (c). 

    (c) The commissioner of health shall establish a program in 
 cooperation with the commissioner to collect appropriate data as 
 required under paragraphs (a) and (b), in order to conduct an 
 ongoing evaluation of swab team services for primary and 
 secondary prevention.  Within the limits of available 
 appropriations, the commissioner of health shall conduct or 
 contract with the commissioner, on up to 1,000 residences which 
 have received primary or secondary prevention swab team 
 services, a postremediation evaluation, on at least a quarterly 
 basis for a period of at least two years for each residence.  
 The evaluation must note the condition of the paint within the 
 residence, the extent of bare soil on the grounds, and collect 
 and analyze one noncarpeted floor dust lead sample.  The data 
 collected shall be evaluated to determine the efficacy of 
 providing swab team services as a method of reducing lead 
 exposure in young children.  In evaluating this data, the 
 commissioner of health shall consider city size, community 
 location, historic traffic flow, soil lead level of the property 
 by area or census tract, distance to industrial point sources 
 that emit lead, season of the year, age of the housing, age, and 
 number of children living at the residence, the presence of pets 
 that move in and out of the residence, and other relevant 
 factors as the commissioner of health may determine.  This 
 evaluation of the swab team program may be paid from amounts 
 appropriated to the department of economic security for 
 providing swab team services. 

    Subd. 8.    Program benefits.  As a condition of 
 providing swab team services under this section, an organization 
 may require a property owner to not increase rents on a property 
 solely as a result of a substantial improvement made with public 
 funds under the programs in this section. 

    Subd. 9.    Requirements of organizations receiving 
 grants.  An eligible organization that is awarded a training 
 and demonstration grant under this section shall prepare and 
 submit a quarterly progress report to the commissioner beginning 
 three months after receipt of the grant. 

    Subd. 10. Repealed, 1996 c 339 s 10 

    HIST: 1993 c 369 s 90; 1994 c 465 art 1 s 34; 1994 c 483 s 1; 
 1995 c 213 art 2 s 1-10 

     268.95 Individual enterprise. 

    Subdivision 1.    Coordination.  The commissioner may 
 coordinate state activities related to self-employment 
 enterprises, including home-based businesses, individual 
 self-employment initiatives, and collective and cooperative 
 efforts involving individual entrepreneurs. 

    Subd. 2.    Marketing.  The commissioner may undertake 
 activities to expand the marketing of goods or services produced 
 by the state's independent entrepreneurs.  

    Subd. 3.    Technical assistance.  The commissioner may 
 provide or arrange for the provision of information, technical 
 assistance, and support as necessary to help individuals 
 determine whether they wish to become self-employed, to obtain 
 needed training, to develop business plans and financing, and to 
 sustain the initiatives. 

    Subd. 4.    Pilot program.  The commissioner shall 
 develop a pilot program, in cooperation with the commissioners 
 of trade and economic development and human services, to enable 
 low-income persons to start or expand self-employment 
 opportunities or home-based businesses that are designed to make 
 the individual entrepreneurs economically independent.  The 
 commissioner of human services shall seek necessary waivers from 
 federal regulations to allow recipients of aid to families with 
 dependent children or Minnesota family investment 
 program-statewide to participate and retain eligibility while 
 establishing a business. 

    Subd. 5.    Study.  The commissioner shall study the 
 needs of individual entrepreneurs and beginning businesses and 
 recommend to the governor how state programs and resources can 
 provide further assistance. 

    HIST: 1Sp1985 c 14 art 9 s 73; 1987 c 312 art 1 s 26 subd 2; 
 1997 c 85 art 4 s 34 

     268.96 Displaced homemaker programs. 

    The commissioner of economic security may enter into 
 arrangements with existing private or nonprofit organizations 
 and agencies with experience in dealing with displaced 
 homemakers to provide counseling and training services.  The 
 commissioner shall assist displaced homemakers in applying for 
 appropriate welfare programs and shall take welfare allowances 
 received into account in setting the stipend level.  Income 
 received as a stipend under these programs shall be totally 
 disregarded for purposes of determining eligibility for and the 
 amount of a general assistance grant. 

    HIST: 1973 c 254; 1977 c 428 s 8; 1977 c 430 s 25; 1Sp1985 c 
 14 art 9 s 75; 1994 c 483 s 1 

     268.971 Hospitality host program. 

    Subdivision 1.    Establishment.  A hospitality host 
 older worker tourism program is established in the department of 
 economic security to assist economically disadvantaged older 
 workers to gain employment in the promotion of the tourism 
 industry in Minnesota and to become self-sufficient.  The 
 objectives of the program are to: 

    (1) assist in the diversification of industry in rural 
 areas by stimulating and promoting tourism; 

    (2) create full-time and part-time employment for 
 low-income persons 55 years old or older; 

    (3) raise the income of older persons living in poverty; 
 and 

    (4) promote tourism in selected local areas throughout the 
 state, thereby improving local economies. 

    Subd. 2.    Definitions.  (a)    Scope.  As used in 
 this section, the terms defined in this section have the 
 meanings given them. 

    (b)    Commissioner.  "Commissioner" means the 
 commissioner of the department of economic security. 

    (c)    Older worker.  "Older worker" means an 
 economically disadvantaged person 55 years or older. 

    (d)    Economically disadvantaged.  "Economically 
 disadvantaged" means a person having an income of 125 percent or 
 less of the federal poverty income guidelines.  In determining 
 income, the federal Job Training Partnership Act definition of 
 family and family income will prevail. 

    (e)    Program.  "Program" means the hospitality host 
 older worker program created in subdivision 1. 

    (f)    Coordinating agency.  "Coordinating agency" means 
 the Arrowhead economic opportunity agency. 

    Subd. 3.    Distribution and use of state money.  Money 
 allocated to the coordinating agency by the commissioner must be 
 used for activities consistent with the objectives of the 
 program including, but not limited to:  outreach, selection of 
 eligible participants, program sites, individual work sites, 
 classroom training, on-the-job training opportunities, and 
 program marketing.  Program funds shall be used to provide 
 training-related costs to enrollees during orientation and 
 classroom training segments.  Program funds shall be used to 
 subsidize up to 50 percent of enrollee wages during contracted 
 on-the-job training periods with the employer being responsible 
 for the remainder.  Salaries upon employment shall be at least 
 the state or federal minimum wage, whichever is higher. 

    Subd. 4.    Responsibilities of coordinating agency.  
 The commissioner shall enter into written agreement with the 
 coordinating agency for the design, delivery, and general 
 administration of the program.  The commissioner shall set 
 program goals and objectives and monitor the program. 

    Subd. 5.    Reports.  The coordinating agency shall 
 submit an annual report to the commissioner one year from the 
 effective date of Laws 1989, chapter 282, and annually 
 thereafter.  In addition, the coordinating agency shall submit 
 to the commissioner such other reports as required to document 
 the status and progress of the program.  The annual report must 
 include:  information on the number and types of jobs created; 
 status of program sites; wages paid program participants; types 
 of services provided by programs; the retention of program 
 participants; and other information to assess the progress and 
 status of the program. 

    HIST: 1989 c 282 art 2 s 176; 1994 c 483 s 1 

     268.975 Definitions. 

    Subdivision 1.    Terms.  For the purposes of sections 
 268.975 to 268.98, the following terms have the meanings given 
 them. 

    Subd. 2.    Commissioner.  "Commissioner" means the 
 commissioner of economic security. 

    Subd. 3.    Dislocated worker.  "Dislocated worker" 
 means an individual who is a resident of Minnesota at the time 
 employment ceased or was working in the state at the time 
 employment ceased and: 

    (1) has been terminated or who has received a notice of 
 termination from public or private sector employment, is 
 eligible for or has exhausted entitlement to reemployment 
 insurance, and is unlikely to return to the previous industry or 
 occupation; 

    (2) has been terminated or has received a notice of 
 termination of employment as a result of any plant closing or 
 any substantial layoff at a plant, facility, or enterprise; 

    (3) has been long-term unemployed and has limited 
 opportunities for employment or reemployment in the same or a 
 similar occupation in the area in which the individual resides, 
 including older individuals who may have substantial barriers to 
 employment by reason of age; or 

    (4) has been self-employed, including farmers and ranchers, 
 and is unemployed as a result of general economic conditions in 
 the community in which the individual resides or because of 
 natural disasters, subject to rules to be adopted by the 
 commissioner. 

    Subd. 3a.    Additional dislocated worker.  "Additional 
 dislocated worker" means an individual who was a full-time 
 homemaker for a substantial number of years and derived the 
 substantial share of support from: 

    (1) a spouse and no longer receives such support due to the 
 death, divorce, permanent disability of, or permanent separation 
 from the spouse; or 

    (2) public assistance on account of dependents in the home 
 and no longer receives such support. 

    An additional dislocated worker must have resided in 
 Minnesota at the time the support ceased. 

    Subd. 4.    Eligible organization.  "Eligible 
 organization" means a local government unit, nonprofit 
 organization, community action agency, business organization or 
 association, or labor organization. 

    Subd. 5.    Local government unit.  "Local government 
 unit" means a statutory or home rule charter city, county, or 
 town. 

    Subd. 6.    Plant closing.  "Plant closing" means the 
 announced or actual permanent shutdown of a single site of 
 employment, or one or more facilities or operating units within 
 a single site of employment. 

    Subd. 7.    Prefeasibility study grant.  "Prefeasibility 
 study grant" means the grant awarded under section 268.978. 

    Subd. 8.    Substantial layoff.  "Substantial layoff" 
 means a permanent reduction in the work force, which is not a 
 result of a plant closing, and which results in an employment 
 loss at a single site of employment during any 30-day period for 
 at least 50 employees excluding those employees that work less 
 than 20 hours a week. 

    Subd. 9.    Substate grantee.  "Substate grantee" means 
 the agency or organization designated to administer at the local 
 level federal dislocated worker programs pursuant to the federal 
 Job Training Partnership Act, United States Code, title 29, 
 section 1501, et seq. 

    Subd. 10.    Worker adjustment services.  "Worker 
 adjustment services" means the array of employment and training 
 services designed to assist dislocated workers make the 
 transition to new employment, including basic readjustment 
 assistance, training assistance, and support services. 

    Subd. 11.    Basic readjustment assistance.  "Basic 
 readjustment assistance" means employment transition services 
 that include, but are not limited to:  development of individual 
 readjustment plans for participants; outreach and intake; early 
 readjustment; job or career counseling; testing; orientation; 
 assessment, including evaluation of educational attainment and 
 participant interests and aptitudes; determination of 
 occupational skills; provision of occupational information; job 
 placement assistance; labor market information; job clubs; job 
 search; job development; prelayoff assistance; relocation 
 assistance; and programs conducted in cooperation with employers 
 or labor organizations to provide early intervention in the 
 event of plant closings or substantial layoffs. 

    Subd. 12.    Training assistance.  "Training assistance" 
 means services that will enable a dislocated worker to become 
 reemployed by retraining for a new occupation or industry, 
 enhancing current skills, or relocating to employ existing 
 skills.  Training services include, but are not limited to:  
 classroom training; occupational skill training; on-the-job 
 training; out-of-area job search; relocation; basic and remedial 
 education; literacy and English for training non-English 
 speakers; entrepreneurial training; and other appropriate 
 training activities directly related to appropriate employment 
 opportunities in the local labor market. 

    Subd. 13.    Support services.  "Support services" means 
 assistance provided to dislocated workers to enable their 
 participation in an employment transition and training program.  
 Services include, but are not limited to:  family care 
 assistance, including child care; commuting assistance; housing 
 and rental assistance; counseling assistance, including personal 
 and financial; health care; emergency health assistance; 
 emergency financial assistance; work-related tools and clothing; 
 and other appropriate support services that enable a person to 
 participate in an employment and training program. 

    HIST: 1986 c 444; 1989 c 282 art 2 s 177; 1991 c 292 art 3 s 
 35,36; 1993 c 369 s 91-100; 1994 c 483 s 1; 1994 c 488 s 8 

  268.9755 Repealed, 1995 c 131 s 3 

     268.976 Early warning system. 

    Subdivision 1.    Early warning indicators.  The 
 commissioner, in cooperation with the commissioners of revenue 
 and trade and economic development, shall establish and oversee 
 an early warning system to identify industries and businesses 
 likely to experience large losses in employment including a 
 plant closing or a substantial layoff, by collecting and 
 analyzing information which may include, but not be limited to, 
 products and markets experiencing declining growth rates, 
 companies and industries subject to competition from production 
 in low wage counties, changes in ownership, layoff and 
 employment patterns, payments of reemployment insurance 
 contributions, and state tax payments.  The commissioner may 
 request the assistance of businesses, business organizations, 
 and trade associations in identifying businesses, industries, 
 and specific establishments that are likely to experience large 
 losses in employment.  The commissioner may request information 
 and other assistance from other state agencies for the purposes 
 of this subdivision. 

    Subd. 2.    Notice.  (a) The commissioner shall 
 encourage those business establishments considering a decision 
 to effect a plant closing, substantial layoff, or relocation of 
 operations located in this state to give notice of that decision 
 as early as possible to the commissioner, the employees of the 
 affected establishment, any employee organization representing 
 the employees, and the local government unit in which the 
 affected establishment is located.  This notice shall be in 
 addition to any notice required under the Worker Adjustment and 
 Retraining Notification Act, United States Code, title 29, 
 section 2101. 

    (b) Notwithstanding section 268.975, subdivision 6, for 
 purposes of this section, "plant closing" means the announced or 
 actual permanent or temporary shutdown of a single site of 
 employment, or one or more facilities or operating units within 
 a single site of employment, if the shutdown results in an 
 employment loss at the single site of employment during any 
 30-day period for 50 or more employees excluding employees who 
 work less than 20 hours per week.  

    Subd. 3.    Employer responsibility.  An employer 
 providing notice of a plant closing, substantial layoff, or 
 relocation of operations under the Worker Adjustment and 
 Retraining Notification Act, United States Code, title 29, 
 section 2101, or under subdivision 2 must report to the 
 commissioner the names, addresses, and occupations of the 
 employees who will be or have been terminated. 

    HIST: 1989 c 282 art 2 s 178; 1993 c 369 s 102; 1994 c 488 s 8 

  268.977 Repealed, 1993 c 369 s 146 

     268.9771 Rapid and expeditious response. 

    Subdivision 1.    Responsibility.  The commissioner 
 shall respond quickly and effectively to announced or actual 
 plant closings and substantial layoffs.  Affected workers and 
 employers, as well as appropriate business organizations or 
 associations, labor organizations, substate grantees, state and 
 local government units, and community organizations shall be 
 assisted by the commissioner through either rapid response 
 activities or expeditious response activities as described in 
 this section to respond effectively to a plant closing or mass 
 layoff. 

    Subd. 2.    Coverage.  Rapid response is to be provided 
 by the commissioner where permanent plant closings or 
 substantial layoffs affect at least 50 workers over a 30-day 
 period as evidenced by actual separation from employment or by 
 advance notification of a closing or layoff.  Expeditious 
 response is to be provided by worker adjustment services plan 
 grantees in coordination with rapid response activities or where 
 permanent plant closings and substantial layoffs are not 
 otherwise covered by rapid response. 

    Subd. 3.    Coordination.  The commissioner and 
 expeditious response grantees shall coordinate their respective 
 rapid response and expeditious response activities.  The roles 
 and responsibilities of each shall be detailed in written 
 agreements and address on-site contact with employer and 
 employee representatives when notified of a plant closing or 
 substantial layoff.  The activities include formation of a 
 community task force, collecting and disseminating information 
 related to economic dislocation and available services to 
 dislocated workers, providing basic readjustment assistance 
 services to workers affected by a plant closure or substantial 
 layoff, conducting a needs assessment survey of workers, and 
 developing a plan of action responsive to the worker adjustment 
 services needs of affected workers. 

    Subd. 4.    Rapid response activities.  The commissioner 
 shall be responsible for implementing the following rapid 
 response activities: 

    (1) establishing on-site contact with employer and employee 
 representatives within a short period of time after becoming 
 aware of a current or projected plant closing or substantial 
 layoff in order to: 

    (i) provide information on and facilitate access to 
 available public programs and services; and 

    (ii) provide emergency assistance adapted to the particular 
 closure or layoff; 

    (2) promoting the formation of a labor-management committee 
 by providing: 

    (i) immediate assistance in the establishment of the 
 labor-management committee; 

    (ii) technical advice and information on sources of 
 assistance, and liaison with other public and private services 
 and programs; and 

    (iii) assistance in the selection of worker representatives 
 in the event no union is present; 

    (3) collecting and disseminating information related to 
 economic dislocation, including potential closings or layoffs, 
 and all available resources with the state for dislocated 
 workers; 

    (4) providing or obtaining appropriate financial and 
 technical advice and liaison with economic development agencies 
 and other organizations to assist in effort to avert 
 dislocations; 

    (5) disseminating information throughout the state on the 
 availability of services and activities carried out by the 
 dislocated worker unit; 

    (6) assisting the local community in developing its own 
 coordinated response to a plant closing or substantial layoff 
 and access to state economic development assistance; and 

    (7) promoting the use of prefeasibility study grants under 
 section 268.978. 

    Subd. 5.    Expeditious response activities.  Grantees 
 designated to provide worker adjustment services through worker 
 adjustment services plans shall be responsible for implementing 
 the following expeditious response activities: 

    (1) establishing on-site contact with employer and employee 
 representatives, not otherwise covered under rapid response, 
 within a short period of time after becoming aware of a current 
 or projected plant closing or mass layoff in order to provide 
 information on available public programs and services; 

    (2) obtaining appropriate financial and technical advice 
 and liaison with local economic development agencies and other 
 organizations to assist in efforts to avert dislocations; 

    (3) disseminating information on the availability of 
 services and activities carried out by the grantee through its 
 worker adjustment services plan; 

    (4) providing basic readjustment assistance services for up 
 to 90 days following the initial on-site meeting with the 
 employer and employee representatives; 

    (5) assisting the local community in the development of its 
 own coordinated response to the closure or layoff and access to 
 economic development assistance; 

    (6) facilitating the formation of a community task force, 
 if appropriate, to formulate a service plan to assist affected 
 dislocated workers from plant closings and mass layoffs; 

    (7) conducting surveys of workers, if appropriate, affected 
 by plant closings or layoffs to identify worker characteristics 
 and worker adjustment service needs; and 

    (8) facilitating access to available public or private 
 programs and services, including the development of proposals to 
 provide access to additional resources to assist workers 
 affected by plant closings and substantial layoffs. 

    HIST: 1993 c 369 s 103 

     268.978 Prefeasibility studies. 

    Subdivision 1.    Prefeasibility study grants.  (a) The 
 commissioner may make grants for up to $15,000 to eligible 
 organizations to provide an initial assessment of the 
 feasibility of alternatives to plant closings or substantial 
 layoffs.  The alternatives may include employee ownership, other 
 new ownership, new products or production processes, or public 
 financial or technical assistance to keep a plant open.  Two or 
 more eligible organizations may jointly apply for a grant under 
 this section. 

    (b) Interested organizations shall apply to the 
 commissioner for the grants.  As part of the application 
 process, applicants must provide a statement of need for a 
 grant, information relating to the work force at the plant, the 
 area's unemployment rate, the community's and surrounding area's 
 labor market characteristics, information of efforts to 
 coordinate the community's response to the plant closing or 
 substantial layoff, a timetable of the prefeasibility study, a 
 description of the organization applying for the grant, a 
 description of the qualifications of persons conducting the 
 study, and other information required by the commissioner. 

    (c) The commissioner shall respond to the applicant within 
 five working days of receiving the organization's application.  
 The commissioner shall inform each organization that applied for 
 but did not receive a grant the reasons for the grant not being 
 awarded.  The commissioner may request further information from 
 those organizations that did not receive a grant, and the 
 organization may reapply for the grant. 

    Subd. 2.    Prefeasibility study.  (a) The 
 prefeasibility study must explore the current and potential 
 viability, profitability, and productivity of the plant that may 
 close or experience a substantial layoff and alternative uses 
 for the plant.  The study is not intended to be a major 
 examination of each possible alternative but rather is meant to 
 quickly determine if further action or examination is feasible 
 and should be fully explored. 

    (b) The prefeasibility study must contain: 

    (1) a description of the plant's present products, 
 production techniques, management structure, and history; 

    (2) a brief discussion of the feasibility of the various 
 alternatives for ownership, production technique, and products; 

    (3) an estimate of the financing required to keep the plant 
 open and the potential sources of that financing; 

    (4) a description of the employer's, employees', and 
 community's efforts to maintain the operation of the plant; and 

    (5) other information the commissioner may require. 

    Subd. 3. Repealed, 1993 c 369 s 146 

    HIST: 1989 c 282 art 2 s 180; 1993 c 369 s 104 

     268.9781 Worker adjustment services plans. 

    Subdivision 1.    Worker adjustment services plans.  The 
 commissioner shall establish and fund worker adjustment services 
 plans that are designed to assist dislocated workers in their 
 transition to new employment.  Authorized grantees shall submit 
 a worker adjustment services plan biennially, with an annual 
 update, in a form and manner prescribed by the commissioner.  
 The worker adjustment services plan shall include information 
 required in substate plans established under the federal Job 
 Training Partnership Act, United States Code, title 29, section 
 1501, et seq. and a detailed description of expeditious response 
 activities to be implemented under the plan.  

    Subd. 2.    Grantees.  Entities authorized to submit a 
 worker adjustment services plan include substate grantees and up 
 to six additional eligible organizations.  Criteria for 
 selecting the six authorized nonsubstate grantee eligible 
 organizations shall be established by the commissioner, in 
 consultation with the workforce development council.  The 
 criteria include, but are not limited to: 

    (1) the capacity to deliver worker adjustment services; 

    (2) an identifiable constituency from which eligible 
 dislocated workers may be drawn; 

    (3) a demonstration of a good faith effort to establish 
 coordination agreements with substate grantees in whose 
 geographic area the organization would be operating; 

    (4) the capability to coordinate delivery of worker 
 adjustment services with other appropriate programs and 
 agencies, including educational institutions, employment 
 service, human service agencies, and economic development 
 agencies; and 

    (5) sufficient administrative controls to ensure fiscal 
 accountability. 

    Subd. 3.    Coverage.  (a) Persons eligible to receive 
 worker adjustment services under this section include dislocated 
 workers as defined in section 268.975, subdivision 3. 

    (b) Worker adjustment services available under this section 
 shall also be available to additional dislocated workers as 
 defined in section 268.975, subdivision 3a, when they can be 
 provided without adversely affecting delivery of services to all 
 dislocated workers. 

    Subd. 4.    Substate grantee funding.  (a) Funds 
 allocated to substate grantees under section 268.022 for 
 expeditious response activities and worker adjustment services 
 under this section shall be allocated as follows: 

    (1) one-half of available funds shall be allocated to 
 substate grantees based on an allocation formula prescribed by 
 the commissioner, in consultation with the workforce development 
 council; and 

    (2) one-half of available funds shall be allocated based on 
 need as demonstrated to the commissioner in consultation with 
 the workforce development council. 

    (b) The formula for allocating substate grantee funds must 
 utilize the most appropriate information available to the 
 commissioner to distribute funds in order to address the state's 
 worker adjustment assistance needs.  Information for the formula 
 allocation may include, but is not limited to:  

    (1) insured unemployment data; 

    (2) dislocated worker special assessment receipts data; 

    (3) small plant closing data; 

    (4) declining industries data; 

    (5) farmer-rancher economic hardship data; and 

    (6) long-term unemployment data. 

    (c) The commissioner shall establish a uniform procedure 
 for reallocating substate grantee funds.  The criteria for 
 reallocating funds from substate grantees not expending their 
 allocations consistent with their worker adjustment services 
 plans to other substate grantees shall be developed by the 
 commissioner in consultation with the workforce development 
 council. 

    HIST: 1993 c 369 s 105; 1995 c 131 s 2; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 4 s 30 

     268.9782 Dislocation event services grants. 

    Subdivision 1.    Dislocation event services grants.  
 The commissioner shall establish and fund dislocation event 
 services grants designed to provide worker adjustment services 
 to workers displaced as a result of larger plant closings and 
 substantial layoffs.  Grantees shall apply for a dislocation 
 event services grant by submitting a proposal to the 
 commissioner in a form and manner prescribed by the 
 commissioner.  The application must describe the demonstrated 
 need for intervention, including the need for retraining, the 
 workers to be served, the coordination of available local 
 resources, the services to be provided, and the budget plan. 

    Subd. 2.    Grantees.  (a) Entities authorized to submit 
 dislocation event services grants include substate grantees and 
 other eligible organizations.  Nonsubstate grantees shall 
 demonstrate they meet criteria established by the commissioner, 
 in consultation with the workforce development council.  The 
 criteria include, but are not limited to: 

    (1) the capacity to deliver worker adjustment services; 

    (2) an ability to coordinate its activities with substate 
 grantees in whose geographic area the organization will be 
 operating; 

    (3) the capability to coordinate delivery of worker 
 adjustment services with other appropriate programs and 
 agencies, including educational institutions, employment 
 service, human service agencies, and economic development 
 agencies; and 

    (4) sufficient administrative controls to ensure fiscal 
 accountability. 

    (b) For purposes of this section, the state job service may 
 apply directly to the commissioner for a dislocation event 
 services grant only if the effect of a plant closing or 
 substantial layoff is statewide or results in the termination 
 from employment of employees of the state of Minnesota. 

    Subd. 3.    Coverage.  Persons who may receive worker 
 adjustment services under this section are limited to dislocated 
 workers affected by plant closings and substantial layoffs 
 involving at least 50 workers from a single employer. 

    Subd. 4.    Funding.  The commissioner, in consultation 
 with the workforce development council, may establish an 
 emergency funding process for dislocation event services 
 grants.  No more than 20 percent of the estimated budget of the 
 proposed grant may be awarded through this procedure.  The 
 grantee shall submit a formal dislocation event services grant 
 application within 90 days of the initial award of emergency 
 funding. 

    HIST: 1993 c 369 s 106; 1995 c 131 s 2; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 4 s 30 

     268.9783 Retraining and targeted training grants. 

    Subdivision 1.    Established.  The commissioner may 
 make grants to substate grantees or other eligible organizations 
 designed to provide for the employment of dislocated workers or 
 targeted training assistance to workers at risk of dislocation.  
 The focus of the grants must be on the provision of skill-based 
 training required by the worker's employer or prospective 
 employer.  The grants must be developed to meet the worker 
 training needs of employers individually or together.  Two or 
 more organizations may jointly apply for a grant. 

    Subd. 2.    Retraining grants.  An organization 
 interested in applying for a grant to retrain workers who are at 
 risk of becoming dislocated workers must apply to the 
 commissioner.  As part of the application process, an applicant 
 must provide: 

    (1) a statement of need that identifies the causes 
 contributing to the workers being at risk of dislocation, the 
 prospects for reemployment of the workers in the employer's 
 industry or the worker's occupation, and the employer's past 
 record of permanently laying off workers; 

    (2) a description of the current skill level of the workers 
 targeted for training and the skills needed by the workers to 
 significantly reduce their vulnerability to becoming displaced 
 from employment; 

    (3) a description of the actions and investments made and 
 planned by the employer to avert or minimize worker dislocation, 
 including the adoption of high performance workplace and worker 
 participation systems and practices; 

    (4) a training plan that details who will receive training, 
 the type and scope of training assistance to be provided to 
 workers, the providers of the training, and any impact on worker 
 wages; 

    (5) evidence that the proposal has the support and 
 involvement of labor; and 

    (6) any other relevant information the commissioner 
 requires in the grant application. 

    Subd. 3.    Targeted training grants.  An organization 
 interested in applying for a grant to target training for 
 dislocated workers being hired by an employer must apply to the 
 commissioner.  As part of the application process, applicants 
 must provide: 

    (1) a statement of need; 

    (2) a description of local labor market characteristics, 
 including the area's unemployment rate, types of workers 
 available to be employed in terms of occupation, and the local 
 availability of workers in the industry of the employer or 
 employers; 

    (3) a description of the actions and investments made and 
 planned by the employer or employers to create and retain jobs, 
 including past employment history, wages paid for the same or 
 similar work, and whether high performance workplace and worker 
 participation systems and practices have been adopted; 

    (4) a description of the type of work to be performed, the 
 work-related skills needed, projected wages, and the target 
 group of workers requiring the training assistance; 

    (5) a training plan that details who will receive training, 
 the type and scope of training assistance to be provided 
 workers, and the providers of the training; 

    (6) evidence that the proposal has the support and 
 involvement of labor; and 

    (7) any other relevant information the commissioner 
 requires in the grant application. 

    Subd. 4.    Criteria.  The criteria used to award 
 targeted training grants must include the severity of need, the 
 target group of workers, training assistance, worker wages, 
 utilization of resources, cost-effectiveness, grantee management 
 capability, and other considerations adopted by the commissioner.

    Subd. 5.    Coverage.  Persons eligible to receive 
 retraining assistance under this section include workers at risk 
 of dislocation from employment and dislocated workers as defined 
 in section 268.975, subdivision 3.  Workers are considered to be 
 at risk of dislocation as evidenced by a pattern of worker 
 layoffs from an employer, a pattern of substantial layoffs or 
 plant closures in the same or related industry, or where worker 
 skills needed by the employer have become obsolete due to 
 advances in technology. 

    Subd. 6.    Funding.  The commissioner may award 
 retraining and targeted training grants, if approved by the 
 workforce development council, through a request for proposal 
 process if:  

    (1) employers benefiting from a retraining and targeted 
 training grant provide a match of at least one for one that may 
 be in the form of funding, equipment, staff, instructors, and 
 work release time for workers enrolled in training; 

    (2) employers benefiting from a retraining and targeted 
 training grant to retrain workers at risk of dislocation 
 maintain their past rate of expenditure from other sources for 
 that training during the grant period; and 

    (3) employers benefiting from a retraining and targeted 
 training grant to train new workers do not have workers in 
 layoff status, unless it can be documented the layoff is 
 temporary or seasonal. 

    Subd. 7.    Limitation.  No more than five percent of 
 the amount available under section 268.022, subdivision 2, 
 paragraph (e), may be used for the grants authorized under this 
 section.  The funds must be used from the allocation under 
 section 268.022, subdivision 2, paragraph (e), clause (2). 

    Subd. 8. Repealed, 1996 c 452 s 40; 1996 c 460 art 2 s 3 

    HIST: 1994 c 632 art 4 s 68; 1995 c 131 s 2; 1Sp1995 c 3 art 4 
 s 30 

     268.979 Dislocated worker coordination. 

    The commissioner shall coordinate the actions taken by 
 state agencies and public post-secondary educational 
 institutions to respond to or address the specific needs of 
 dislocated workers and to provide services to dislocated workers 
 including education and retraining.  The commissioner shall also 
 assist local government units, community groups, business 
 associations or organizations, labor organizations, and others 
 in coordinating their efforts in providing services to 
 dislocated workers. 

    HIST: 1989 c 282 art 2 s 181 

     268.98 Performance standards, reporting, cost 
  limitations. 

    Subdivision 1.    Performance standards.  The 
 commissioner shall establish performance standards for the 
 programs and activities administered or funded under sections 
 268.975 to 268.98.  The commissioner may use, when appropriate, 
 existing federal performance standards or, if the commissioner 
 determines that the federal standards are inadequate or not 
 suitable, may formulate new performance standards to ensure that 
 the programs and activities of the dislocated worker program are 
 effectively administered. 

    The commissioner shall, at a minimum, establish performance 
 standards which appropriately gauge the program's effectiveness 
 at achieving the following objectives: 

    (1) placement of dislocated workers in employment; 

    (2) replacing lost income resulting from worker dislocation 
 from employment; 

    (3) early intervention with workers shortly after becoming 
 displaced from employment; and 

    (4) retraining of workers from one occupation or industry 
 to another. 

    The standards shall be applied to plans or grants 
 authorized under sections 268.9781, 268.9782, and 268.9783 and 
 for other activities the commissioner considers appropriate. 

    Subd. 2.    Reports.  (a) Grantees receiving funds under 
 sections 268.9771, 268.978, 268.9781, and 268.9782 shall report 
 to the commissioner information on program participants, 
 activities funded, and utilization of funds in a form and manner 
 prescribed by the commissioner. 

    (b) The commissioner shall report quarterly to the 
 workforce development council information on prefeasibility 
 study grants awarded, rapid response and expeditious response 
 activities, worker adjustment services plans, and dislocation 
 event services grants.  Specific information to be reported 
 shall be by agreement between the commissioner and the workforce 
 development council. 

    Subd. 3.    Cost limitations.  (a) For purposes of 
 sections 268.9781 and 268.9782, funds allocated to a grantee are 
 subject to the following limitations: 

    (1) a maximum of 15 percent for administration in a worker 
 adjustment services plan and ten percent in a dislocation event 
 services grant; 

    (2) a minimum of 50 percent for provision of training 
 assistance; 

    (3) a minimum of ten percent and maximum of 30 percent for 
 provision of support services; and 

    (4) the balance used for provision of basic readjustment 
 assistance. 

    (b) A waiver of the cost limitation on providing training 
 assistance may be requested.  The waiver may not permit less 
 than 30 percent of the funds be spent on training assistance. 

    (c) The commissioner shall prescribe the form and manner 
 for submission of an application for a waiver under paragraph 
 (b).  Criteria for granting a waiver shall be established by the 
 commissioner in consultation with the workforce development 
 council. 

    HIST: 1989 c 282 art 2 s 182; 1991 c 292 art 3 s 38; 1993 c 
 369 s 107; 1994 c 632 art 4 s 69; 1995 c 131 s 2; 1Sp1995 c 3 
 art 4 s 30; 1996 c 339 s 8