Sen. Chuck Weaver

Filed: 5/5/2017

 

 


 

 


 
10000HB2699sam001LRB100 09362 JLS 26009 a

1
AMENDMENT TO HOUSE BILL 2699

2    AMENDMENT NO. ______. Amend House Bill 2699 on page 1, by
3replacing line 5 with the following:
 
4"changing Sections 1502.1, 1507.1, 1900, 2201, and 2201.1 as
5follows:
 
6    (820 ILCS 405/1502.1)  (from Ch. 48, par. 572.1)
7    Sec. 1502.1. Employer's benefit charges.
8    A. Benefit charges which result from payments to any
9claimant made on or after July 1, 1989 shall be charged:
10        1. For benefit years beginning prior to July 1, 1989,
11    to each employer who paid wages to the claimant during his
12    base period;
13        2. For benefit years beginning on or after July 1, 1989
14    but before January 1, 1993, to the later of:
15            a. the last employer prior to the beginning of the
16        claimant's benefit year:

 

 

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1                i. from whom the claimant was separated or who,
2            by reduction of work offered, caused the claimant
3            to become unemployed as defined in Section 239,
4            and,
5                ii. for whom the claimant performed services
6            in employment, on each of 30 days whether or not
7            such days are consecutive, provided that the wages
8            for such services were earned during the period
9            from the beginning of the claimant's base period to
10            the beginning of the claimant's benefit year; but
11            that employer shall not be charged if:
12                    (1) the claimant's last separation from
13                that employer was a voluntary leaving without
14                good cause, as the term is used in Section 601A
15                or under the circumstances described in
16                paragraphs 1 and 2 of Section 601B; or
17                    (2) the claimant's last separation from
18                that employer was a discharge for misconduct or
19                a felony or theft connected with his work from
20                that employer, as these terms are used in
21                Section 602; or
22                    (3) after his last separation from that
23                employer, prior to the beginning of his benefit
24                year, the claimant refused to accept an offer
25                of or to apply for suitable work from that
26                employer without good cause, as these terms are

 

 

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1                used in Section 603; or
2                    (4) the claimant, following his last
3                separation from that employer, prior to the
4                beginning of his benefit year, is ineligible or
5                would have been ineligible under Section 612 if
6                he has or had had base period wages from the
7                employers to which that Section applies; or
8                    (5) the claimant subsequently performed
9                services for at least 30 days for an individual
10                or organization which is not an employer
11                subject to this Act; or
12            b. the single employer who pays wages to the
13        claimant that allow him to requalify for benefits after
14        disqualification under Section 601, 602 or 603, if:
15                i. the disqualifying event occurred prior to
16            the beginning of the claimant's benefit year, and
17                ii. the requalification occurred after the
18            beginning of the claimant's benefit year, and
19                iii. even if the 30 day requirement given in
20            this paragraph is not satisfied; but
21                iv. the requalifying employer shall not be
22            charged if the claimant is held ineligible with
23            respect to that requalifying employer under
24            Section 601, 602 or 603.
25        3. For benefit years beginning on or after January 1,
26    1993, with respect to each week for which benefits are

 

 

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1    paid, to the later of:
2            a. the last employer:
3                i. from whom the claimant was separated or who,
4            by reduction of work offered, caused the claimant
5            to become unemployed as defined in Section 239, and
6                ii. for whom the claimant performed services
7            in employment, on each of 30 days whether or not
8            such days are consecutive, provided that the wages
9            for such services were earned since the beginning
10            of the claimant's base period; but that employer
11            shall not be charged if:
12                    (1) the claimant's separation from that
13                employer was a voluntary leaving without good
14                cause, as the term is used in Section 601A or
15                under the circumstances described in
16                paragraphs 1, 2, and 6 of Section 601B; or
17                    (2) the claimant's separation from that
18                employer was a discharge for misconduct or a
19                felony or theft connected with his work from
20                that employer, as these terms are used in
21                Section 602; or
22                    (3) the claimant refused to accept an
23                offer of or to apply for suitable work from
24                that employer without good cause, as these
25                terms are used in Section 603 (but only for
26                weeks following the refusal of work); or

 

 

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1                    (4) the claimant subsequently performed
2                services for at least 30 days for an individual
3                or organization which is not an employer
4                subject to this Act; or
5                    (5) the claimant, following his separation
6                from that employer, is ineligible or would have
7                been ineligible under Section 612 if he has or
8                had had base period wages from the employers to
9                which that Section applies (but only for the
10                period of ineligibility or potential
11                ineligibility); or
12            b. the single employer who pays wages to the
13        claimant that allow him to requalify for benefits after
14        disqualification under Section 601, 602, or 603, even
15        if the 30 day requirement given in this paragraph is
16        not satisfied; but the requalifying employer shall not
17        be charged if the claimant is held ineligible with
18        respect to that requalifying employer under Section
19        601, 602, or 603.
20    B. Whenever a claimant is ineligible pursuant to Section
21614 on the basis of wages paid during his base period, any days
22on which such wages were earned shall not be counted in
23determining whether that claimant performed services during at
24least 30 days for the employer that paid such wages as required
25by paragraphs 2 and 3 of subsection A.
26    C. If no employer meets the requirements of paragraph 2 or

 

 

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13 of subsection A, then no employer will be chargeable for any
2benefit charges which result from the payment of benefits to
3the claimant for that benefit year.
4    D. Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this
5Section, no employer shall be chargeable for any benefit
6charges which result from the payment of benefits to any
7claimant after the effective date of this amendatory Act of
81992 where the claimant's separation from that employer
9occurred as a result of his detention, incarceration, or
10imprisonment under State, local, or federal law.
11    D-1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act,
12including those affecting finality of benefit charges or rates,
13an employer shall not be chargeable for any benefit charges
14which result from the payment of benefits to an individual for
15any week of unemployment after January 1, 2003, during the
16period that the employer's business is closed solely because of
17the entrance of the employer, one or more of the partners or
18officers of the employer, or the majority stockholder of the
19employer into active duty in the Illinois National Guard or the
20Armed Forces of the United States.
21    D-2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act, an
22employer shall not be chargeable for any benefit charges that
23result from the payment of benefits to an individual for any
24week of unemployment after the effective date of this
25amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly if the payment was
26the result of the individual voluntarily leaving work under the

 

 

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1conditions described in item 6 of subsection C of Section 500.
2    E. For the purposes of Sections 302, 409, 701, 1403, 1404,
31405 and 1508.1, last employer means the employer that:
4        1. is charged for benefit payments which become benefit
5    charges under this Section, or
6        2. would have been liable for such benefit charges if
7    it had not elected to make payments in lieu of
8    contributions.
9(Source: P.A. 93-634, eff. 1-1-04; 93-1012, eff. 8-24-04;
1094-152, eff. 7-8-05.)
 
11    (820 ILCS 405/1507.1)
12    Sec. 1507.1. Transfer of trade or business; contribution
13rate. Notwithstanding any other provision of this Act:
14    A.(1) If an individual or entity transfers its trade or
15business, or a portion thereof, to another individual or entity
16and, at the time of the transfer, there is any substantial
17common ownership, management, or control of the transferor and
18transferee, then the experience rating record attributable to
19records of the transferred trade or business transferor and
20transferee shall be transferred to the transferee combined for
21the purpose of determining their rates of contribution. For
22purposes of this subsection, a transfer of trade or business
23includes but is not limited to the transfer of some or all of
24the transferor's workforce. For purposes of calculating the
25contribution rates of the transferor and transferee pursuant to

 

 

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1this paragraph, within 30 days of the date of a transfer to
2which this paragraph applies, the transferor and transferee
3shall provide to the Department such information, as the
4Director by rule prescribes, which will show the portion of the
5transferor's experience rating record that is attributable to
6the transferred trade or business.
7    (1.5) If, following a transfer of experience rating records
8under paragraph (1), the Director determines that a substantial
9purpose of the transfer of trade or business was to obtain a
10reduced liability for contributions, the experience rating
11accounts of the employers involved shall be combined into a
12single account and a single rate shall be assigned to the
13account.
14    (2) For the calendar year in which there occurs a transfer
15to which paragraph (1) or (1.5) applies:
16        (a) If the transferor or transferee had a contribution
17    rate applicable to it for the calendar year, it shall
18    continue with that contribution rate for the remainder of
19    the calendar year.
20        (b) If the transferee had no contribution rate
21    applicable to it for the calendar year, then the
22    contribution rate of the transferee shall be computed for
23    the calendar year based on the experience rating record of
24    the transferor or, where there is more than one transferor,
25    the combined experience rating records of the transferors,
26    subject to the 5.4% rate ceiling established pursuant to

 

 

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1    subsection G of Section 1506.1 and subsection A of Section
2    1506.3.
3    B. If any individual or entity that is not an employer
4under this Act at the time of the acquisition acquires the
5trade or business of an employing unit, the experience rating
6record of the acquired business shall not be transferred to the
7individual or entity if the Director finds that the individual
8or entity acquired the business solely or primarily for the
9purpose of obtaining a lower rate of contributions. Evidence
10that a business was acquired solely or primarily for the
11purpose of obtaining a lower rate of contributions includes but
12is not necessarily limited to the following: the cost of
13acquiring the business is low in relation to the individual's
14or entity's overall operating costs subsequent to the
15acquisition; the individual or entity discontinued the
16business enterprise of the acquired business immediately or
17shortly after the acquisition; or the individual or entity
18hired a significant number of individuals for performance of
19duties unrelated to the business activity conducted prior to
20acquisition.
21    C. An individual or entity to which subsection A applies
22shall pay contributions with respect to each calendar year at a
23rate consistent with that subsection, and an individual or
24entity to which subsection B applies shall pay contributions
25with respect to each calendar year at a rate consistent with
26that subsection. If an individual or entity knowingly violates

 

 

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1or attempts to violate this subsection, the individual or
2entity shall be subject to the following penalties:
3        (1) If the individual or entity is an employer, then,
4    in addition to the contribution rate that would otherwise
5    be calculated (including any fund building rate provided
6    for pursuant to Section 1506.3), the employer shall be
7    assigned a penalty contribution rate equivalent to 50% of
8    the contribution rate (including any fund building rate
9    provided for pursuant to Section 1506.3), as calculated
10    without regard to this subsection for the calendar year
11    with respect to which the violation or attempted violation
12    occurred and the immediately following calendar year. In
13    the case of an employer whose contribution rate, as
14    calculated without regard to this subsection or Section
15    1506.3, equals or exceeds the maximum rate established
16    pursuant to paragraph 2 of subsection E of Section 1506.1,
17    the penalty rate shall equal 50% of the sum of that maximum
18    rate and the fund building rate provided for pursuant to
19    Section 1506.3. In the case of an employer whose
20    contribution rate is subject to the 5.4% rate ceiling
21    established pursuant to subsection G of Section 1506.1 and
22    subsection A of Section 1506.3, the penalty rate shall
23    equal 2.7%. If any product obtained pursuant to this
24    subsection is not an exact multiple of one-tenth of 1%, it
25    shall be increased or reduced, as the case may be, to the
26    nearer multiple of one-tenth of 1%. If such product is

 

 

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1    equally near to 2 multiples of one-tenth of 1%, it shall be
2    increased to the higher multiple of one-tenth of 1%. Any
3    payment attributable to the penalty contribution rate
4    shall be deposited into the clearing account.
5        (2) If the individual or entity is not an employer, the
6    individual or entity shall be subject to a penalty of
7    $10,000 for each violation. Any penalty attributable to
8    this paragraph (2) shall be deposited into the Special
9    Administrative Account.
10    D. An individual or entity shall not knowingly advise
11another in a way that results in a violation of subsection C.
12An individual or entity that violates this subsection shall be
13subject to a penalty of $10,000 for each violation. Any such
14penalty shall be deposited into the Special Administrative
15Account.
16    E. Any individual or entity that knowingly violates
17subsection C or D shall be guilty of a Class B misdemeanor. In
18the case of a corporation, the president, the secretary, and
19the treasurer, and any other officer exercising corresponding
20functions, shall each be subject to the aforesaid penalty for
21knowingly violating subsection C or D.
22    F. The Director shall establish procedures to identify the
23transfer or acquisition of a trade or business for purposes of
24this Section.
25    G. For purposes of this Section:
26        "Experience rating record" shall consist of years

 

 

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1    during which liability for the payment of contributions was
2    incurred, all benefit charges incurred, and all wages paid
3    for insured work, including but not limited to years,
4    benefit charges, and wages attributed to an individual or
5    entity pursuant to Section 1507 or subsection A.
6        "Knowingly" means having actual knowledge of or acting
7    with deliberate ignorance of or reckless disregard for the
8    statutory provision involved.
9        "Transferee" means any individual or entity to which
10    the transferor transfers its trade or business or any
11    portion thereof.
12        "Transferor" means the individual or entity that
13    transfers its trade or business or any portion thereof.
14    H. This Section shall be interpreted and applied in such a
15manner as to meet the minimum requirements contained in any
16guidance or regulations issued by the United States Department
17of Labor. Insofar as it applies to the interpretation and
18application of the term "substantial", as used in subsection A,
19this subsection H is not intended to alter the meaning of
20"substantially", as used in Section 1507 and construed by
21precedential judicial opinion, or any comparable term as
22elsewhere used in this Act.
23(Source: P.A. 94-301, eff. 1-1-06.)"; and
 
24on page 9, by inserting immediately below line 21 the
25following:
 

 

 

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1    "(820 ILCS 405/2201)  (from Ch. 48, par. 681)
2    Sec. 2201. Refund or adjustment of contributions. Except as
3otherwise provided in this Section, not Not later than 3 years
4after the date upon which the Director first notifies an
5employing unit that it has paid contributions, interest, or
6penalties thereon erroneously, the employing unit may file a
7claim with the Director for an adjustment thereof in connection
8with subsequent contribution payments, or for a refund thereof
9where such adjustment cannot be made; provided, however, that
10no refund or adjustment shall be made of any contribution, the
11amount of which has been determined and assessed by the
12Director, if such contribution was paid after the determination
13and assessment of the Director became final, and provided,
14further, that any such adjustment or refund, involving
15contributions with respect to wages on the basis of which
16benefits have been paid, shall be reduced by the amount of
17benefits so paid. In the case of an erroneous payment that
18occurred on or after January 1, 2015 and prior to the effective
19date of this amendatory Act of the 100th General Assembly, the
20employing unit may file the claim for adjustment or refund not
21later than June 30, 2018 or 3 years after the date of the
22erroneous payment, whichever is later, subject to all of the
23conditions otherwise applicable pursuant to this Section
24regarding a claim for adjustment or refund. Upon receipt of a
25claim the Director shall make his determination, either

 

 

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1allowing such claim in whole or in part, or ordering that it be
2denied, and serve notice upon the claimant of such
3determination. Such determination of the Director shall be
4final at the expiration of 20 days from the date of service of
5such notice unless the claimant shall have filed with the
6Director a written protest and a petition for hearing,
7specifying his objections thereto. Upon receipt of such
8petition within the 20 days allowed, the Director shall fix the
9time and place for a hearing and shall notify the claimant
10thereof. At any hearing held as herein provided, the
11determination of the Director shall be prima facie correct and
12the burden shall be upon the protesting employing unit to prove
13that it is incorrect. All of the provisions of this Act
14applicable to hearings conducted pursuant to Section 2200 shall
15be applicable to hearings conducted pursuant to this Section.
16Upon the conclusion of such hearing, a decision shall be made
17by the Director and notice thereof given to the claimant. If
18the Director shall decide that the claim be allowed in whole or
19in part, or if such allowance be ordered by the Court pursuant
20to Section 2205 and the judgment of said Court has become
21final, the Director shall, if practicable, make adjustment
22without interest in connection with subsequent contribution
23payments by the claimant, and if adjustments thereof cannot
24practicably be made in connection with such subsequent
25contribution payments, then the Director shall refund to the
26claimant the amount so allowed, without interest except as

 

 

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1otherwise provided in Section 2201.1 from moneys in the benefit
2account established by this Act. Nothing herein contained shall
3prohibit the Director from making adjustment or refund upon his
4own initiative, within the time allowed for filing claim
5therefor, provided that the Director shall make no refund or
6adjustment of any contribution, the amount of which he has
7previously determined and assessed, if such contribution was
8paid after the determination and assessment became final.
9    If this State should not be certified for any year by the
10Secretary of Labor of the United States of America, or other
11appropriate Federal agency, under Section 3304 of the Federal
12Internal Revenue Code of 1954, the Director shall refund
13without interest to any instrumentality of the United States
14subject to this Act by virtue of permission granted in an Act
15of Congress, the amount of contributions paid by such
16instrumentality with respect to such year.
17    The Director may by regulation provide that, if there is a
18total credit balance of less than $2 in an employer's account
19with respect to contributions, interest, and penalties, the
20amount may be disregarded by the Director; once disregarded,
21the amount shall not be considered a credit balance in the
22account and shall not be subject to either an adjustment or a
23refund.
24(Source: P.A. 98-1133, eff. 1-1-15.)
 
25    (820 ILCS 405/2201.1)  (from Ch. 48, par. 681.1)

 

 

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1    Sec. 2201.1. Interest on Overpaid Contributions, Penalties
2and Interest. The Director shall quarterly semi-annually
3furnish each employer with a statement of credit balances in
4the employer's account where the balances with respect to all
5contributions, interest and penalties combined equal or exceed
6$2. Under regulations prescribed by the Director and subject to
7the limitations of Section 2201, the employer may file a
8request for an adjustment or refund of the amount erroneously
9paid. Interest shall be paid on refunds of erroneously paid
10contributions, penalties and interest imposed by this Act,
11except that if any refund is mailed by the Director within 90
12days after the date of the refund claim, no interest shall be
13due or paid. The interest shall begin to accrue as of the date
14of the refund claim and shall be paid at the rate of 1.5% per
15month computed at the rate of 12/365 of 1.5% for each day or
16fraction thereof. Interest paid pursuant to this Section shall
17be paid from monies in the special administrative account
18established by Sections 2100 and 2101. This Section shall apply
19only to refunds of contributions, penalties and interest which
20were paid as the result of wages paid after January 1, 1988.
21(Source: P.A. 98-1133, eff. 1-1-15.)".