HB 192: "An Act relating to the payment of unemployment compensation benefits; relating to a penalty for late unemployment benefit payments; relating to inflation adjustments to unemployment benefit amounts; relating to an insured worker's availability for work; and providing for an effective date."
00 HOUSE BILL NO. 192 01 "An Act relating to the payment of unemployment compensation benefits; relating to a 02 penalty for late unemployment benefit payments; relating to inflation adjustments to 03 unemployment benefit amounts; relating to an insured worker's availability for work; 04 and providing for an effective date." 05 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 06 * Section 1. AS 23.20.340(d) is amended to read: 07 (d) Unless the claimant is determined to be disqualified for benefits under 08 AS 23.20.360, 23.20.362, 23.20.375, 23.20.378 - 23.20.387, or 23.20.505, benefits 09 shall be promptly paid in accordance with the initial determination or subsequent 10 redetermination. The department may not delay payment of an approved weekly 11 benefit because of a holiday. A penalty payment equal to 10 percent of the benefit 12 due shall be paid to the claimant for each day the payment is late. 13 * Sec. 2. AS 23.20.340(f) is amended to read: 14 (f) If a determination of disqualification under AS 23.20.360, 23.20.362,
01 23.20.375, 23.20.378 - 23.20.387, or 23.20.505 is made, the claimant shall be 02 promptly notified of the determination and the reasons for it. The claimant and other 03 interested parties as defined by regulations of the department may appeal the 04 determination in the same manner prescribed in this chapter for appeals of initial 05 determinations and redeterminations. Benefits may not be paid while a determination 06 is being appealed for any week for which the determination of disqualification was 07 made. However, if a decision on the appeal allows benefits to the claimant, those 08 benefits must be paid within 24 hours, including weekends and holidays. If the 09 benefits are not paid within 24 hours, a penalty payment equal to 10 percent of 10 the benefits due shall be paid to the claimant for each day the payment is late 11 [PROMPTLY]. 12 * Sec. 3. AS 23.20.340 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 13 (h) The department shall develop a contingency plan for periods when the call 14 center call volume may exceed the capacity of the call center. An insured worker may 15 not be disqualified from benefits, or have benefits reduced, for failure to timely 16 provide information through a call center if, during the week the information was due, 17 the volume of calls received by the call center exceeded the capacity of the call center 18 to accept calls. 19 * Sec. 4. AS 23.20.350(d) is amended to read: 20 (d) An individual who is eligible under (a) of this section is entitled to receive 21 the weekly benefit amount set out in column (B) of the table in this subsection that is 22 opposite the amount set out in column (A) of the individual's base period wages 23 determined under (c) of this section: 24 (A) (B) 25 Base Period Wages Weekly Benefit 26 Amount 27 At least But less than 28 0 2,500 $ 0 29 2,500 2,750 56 30 2,750 3,000 58 31 3,000 3,250 60
01 3,250 3,500 62 02 3,500 3,750 64 03 3,750 4,000 66 04 4,000 4,250 68 05 4,250 4,500 70 06 4,500 4,750 72 07 4,750 5,000 74 08 5,000 5,250 76 09 5,250 5,500 78 10 5,500 5,750 80 11 5,750 6,000 82 12 6,000 6,250 84 13 6,250 6,500 86 14 6,500 6,750 88 15 6,750 7,000 90 16 7,000 7,250 92 17 7,250 7,500 94 18 7,500 7,750 96 19 7,750 8,000 98 20 8,000 8,250 100 21 8,250 8,500 102 22 8,500 8,750 104 23 8,750 9,000 106 24 9,000 9,250 108 25 9,250 9,500 110 26 9,500 9,750 112 27 9,750 10,000 114 28 10,000 10,250 116 29 10,250 10,500 118 30 10,500 10,750 120 31 10,750 11,000 122
01 11,000 11,250 124 02 11,250 11,500 126 03 11,500 11,750 128 04 11,750 12,000 130 05 12,000 12,250 132 06 12,250 12,500 134 07 12,500 12,750 136 08 12,750 13,000 138 09 13,000 13,250 140 10 13,250 13,500 142 11 13,500 13,750 144 12 13,750 14,000 146 13 14,000 14,250 148 14 14,250 14,500 150 15 14,500 14,750 152 16 14,750 15,000 154 17 15,000 15,250 156 18 15,250 15,500 158 19 15,500 15,750 160 20 15,750 16,000 162 21 16,000 16,250 164 22 16,250 16,500 166 23 16,500 16,750 168 24 16,750 17,000 170 25 17,000 17,250 172 26 17,250 17,500 174 27 17,500 17,750 176 28 17,750 18,000 178 29 18,000 18,250 180 30 18,250 18,500 182 31 18,500 18,750 184
01 18,750 19,000 186 02 19,000 19,250 188 03 19,250 19,500 190 04 19,500 19,750 192 05 19,750 20,000 194 06 20,000 20,250 196 07 20,250 20,500 198 08 20,500 20,750 200 09 20,750 21,000 202 10 21,000 21,250 204 11 21,250 21,500 206 12 21,500 21,750 208 13 21,750 22,000 210 14 22,000 22,250 212 15 22,250 22,500 214 16 22,500 22,750 216 17 22,750 23,000 218 18 23,000 23,250 220 19 23,250 23,500 222 20 23,500 23,750 224 21 23,750 24,000 226 22 24,000 24,250 228 23 24,250 24,500 230 24 24,500 24,750 232 25 24,750 25,000 234 26 25,000 25,250 236 27 25,250 25,500 238 28 25,500 25,750 240 29 25,750 26,000 242 30 26,000 26,250 244 31 26,250 26,500 246
01 26,500 26,750 248 02 26,750 27,000 250 03 27,000 27,250 252 04 27,250 27,500 254 05 27,500 27,750 256 06 27,750 28,000 258 07 28,000 28,250 260 08 28,250 28,500 262 09 28,500 28,750 264 10 28,750 29,000 266 11 29,000 29,250 268 12 29,250 29,500 270 13 29,500 29,750 272 14 29,750 30,000 274 15 30,000 30,250 276 16 30,250 30,500 278 17 30,500 30,750 280 18 30,750 31,000 282 19 31,000 31,250 284 20 31,250 31,500 286 21 31,500 31,750 288 22 31,750 32,000 290 23 32,000 32,250 292 24 32,250 32,500 294 25 32,500 32,750 296 26 32,750 33,000 298 27 33,000 33,250 300 28 33,250 33,500 302 29 33,500 33,750 304 30 33,750 34,000 306 31 34,000 34,250 308
01 34,250 34,500 310 02 34,500 34,750 312 03 34,750 35,000 314 04 35,000 35,250 316 05 35,250 35,500 318 06 35,500 35,750 320 07 35,750 36,000 322 08 36,000 36,250 324 09 36,250 36,500 326 10 36,500 36,750 328 11 36,750 37,000 330 12 37,000 37,250 332 13 37,250 37,500 334 14 37,500 37,750 336 15 37,750 38,000 338 16 38,000 38,250 340 17 38,250 38,500 342 18 38,500 38,750 344 19 38,750 39,000 346 20 39,000 39,250 348 21 39,250 39,500 350 22 39,500 39,750 352 23 39,750 40,000 354 24 40,000 40,250 356 25 40,250 40,500 358 26 40,500 40,750 360 27 40,750 41,000 362 28 41,000 41,250 364 29 41,250 41,500 366 30 41,500 41,750 368 31 41,750 42,000 370
01 42,000 42,250 372 02 42,250 42,500 374 03 42,500 42,750 376 04 42,750 43,000 378 05 43,000 43,250 380 06 43,250 43,500 382 07 43,500 43,750 384 08 43,750 44,000 386 09 44,000 44,250 388 10 44,250 44,500 390 11 44,500 44,750 392 12 44,750 45,000 394 13 45,000 45,250 396 14 45,250 45,500 398 15 45,500 45,750 400 16 45,750 46,000 402 17 46,000 46,250 404 18 46,250 46,500 406 19 46,500 46,750 408 20 46,750 47,000 410 21 47,000 47,250 412 22 47,250 47,500 414 23 47,500 47,750 416 24 47,750 48,000 418 25 48,000 48,250 420 26 48,250 48,500 422 27 48,500 48,750 424 28 48,750 49,000 426 29 49,000 49,250 428 30 49,250 49,500 430 31 49,500 49,750 432
01 49,750 50,000 434 02 50,000 50,250 436 03 50,250 50,500 438 04 50,500 50,750 440 05 50,750 51,000 442 06 51,000 51,250 444 07 51,250 51,500 446 08 51,500 51,750 448 09 51,750 52,000 450 10 52,000 52,250 452 11 52,250 52,500 454 12 52,500 52,750 456 13 52,750 53,000 458 14 53,000 53,250 460 15 53,250 53,500 462 16 53,500 53,750 464 17 53,750 54,000 466 18 54,000 54,250 468 19 54,250 54,500 470 20 54,500 54,750 472 21 54,750 55,000 474 22 55,000 55,250 476 23 55,250 55,500 478 24 55,500 55,750 480 25 55,750 56,000 482 26 56,000 56,250 484 27 56,250 56,500 486 28 56,500 56,750 488 29 56,750 57,000 490 30 57,000 57,250 492 31 57,250 57,500 494
01 57,500 57,750 496 02 57,750 58,000 498 03 58,000 58,250 500 04 58,250 58,500 502 05 58,500 58,750 504 06 58,750 59,000 506 07 59,000 59,250 508 08 59,250 59,500 510 09 59,500 59,750 512 10 59,750 60,000 514 11 60,000 60,250 516 12 60,250 60,500 518 13 60,500 60,750 520 14 60,750 61,000 522 15 61,000 61,250 524 16 61,250 61,500 526 17 61,500 61,750 528 18 61,750 62,000 530 [370]. 19 * Sec. 5. AS 23.20.350(f) is amended to read: 20 (f) An individual who establishes a benefit year is eligible for an allowance for 21 dependents in addition to the individual's weekly benefit amount. The department may 22 require an individual claiming or receiving an allowance for dependents to produce 23 income tax returns, birth certificates, notices of adoption or custody, social security 24 account number of spouse, verification of support documents, or other information 25 necessary to verify that the allowance is payable to the individual. The allowance for 26 dependents 27 (1) is $35 [$24] per week for each dependent, except that the total 28 allowance for dependents paid to an individual may not exceed $105 [$72] for each 29 week of unemployment; 30 (2) is payable beginning with the week during the benefit year in 31 which the individual claims an allowance for the dependent and is payable for the
01 remainder of the individual's eligibility for regular, extended, or supplemental 02 payments during the benefit year; 03 (3) may not be claimed for a new dependent after the end of the benefit 04 year or after the exhaustion of regular benefits in the benefit year. [; 05 (4) REPEALED 06 (5) REPEALED] 07 * Sec. 6. AS 23.20.350 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 08 (h) On July 1 of each year, the department shall increase the maximum base 09 period wages in (d) of this section by a percentage equal to the average percentage of 10 increase over the first three of the preceding four calendar years in all items of the 11 Consumer Price Index for all urban consumers for urban Alaska prepared by the 12 United States Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and calculate new 13 weekly benefit amounts accordingly. 14 * Sec. 7. AS 23.20.360 is amended to read: 15 Sec. 23.20.360. Earnings deducted from weekly benefit amount. The 16 amount of benefits, excluding the allowance for dependents, payable to an insured 17 worker for a week of unemployment shall be reduced by 75 percent of the wages 18 payable to the insured worker for that week that are in excess of $50. However, the 19 amount of benefits may not be reduced below zero. If the benefit is not a multiple of 20 $1, it is computed to the next higher multiple of $1. If the benefit is zero, no allowance 21 for dependents is payable. The reduction of benefits payable to an insured worker 22 shall begin the week the insured worker receives payment of wages from 23 employment. The insured worker shall provide to the department accurate 24 documentation of the date the insured worker began employment and the 25 employer's payroll schedule. In addition to any other penalty that may apply, the 26 department shall recover and remit to the unemployment trust fund 27 (AS 23.20.135(a)) 100 percent of any overpayment resulting from the failure of 28 the insured worker to provide accurate documentation of the date the insured 29 worker began employment or the employer's payroll schedule. 30 * Sec. 8. AS 23.20.375(a) is amended to read: 31 (a) An insured worker is entitled to receive [WAITING-WEEK CREDIT OR]
01 benefits for a week of unemployment for which the insured worker has not been 02 disqualified under AS 23.20.360, 23.20.362, 23.20.378 - 23.20.387, or 23.20.505 if, in 03 accordance with regulations adopted by the department, the insured worker has made 04 a claim for benefits 05 [(1) MADE AN INITIAL CLAIM FOR BENEFITS; AND 06 (2) FOR THAT WEEK, CERTIFIED FOR WAITING-WEEK 07 CREDIT OR MADE A CLAIM FOR BENEFITS]. 08 * Sec. 9. AS 23.20.378(a) is amended to read: 09 (a) An insured worker is entitled to receive [WAITING-WEEK CREDIT OR] 10 benefits for a week of unemployment if for that week the insured worker is able to 11 work and available for suitable work. An insured worker is not considered available 12 for work unless registered for work in accordance with regulations adopted by the 13 department. An insured worker may not be disqualified for failure to comply with this 14 subsection if 15 (1) the insured worker is not available for work because the insured 16 worker 17 (A) is ill or disabled; 18 (B) is traveling to obtain medical services that are not available 19 in the area in which the insured worker resides, or, if a physician determines it 20 is necessary, the insured worker is accompanying a spouse or dependent who is 21 traveling to obtain medical services; 22 (C) resides in the state and is noncommercially hunting or 23 fishing for personal survival or the survival of dependents; 24 (D) is serving as a prospective or impaneled juror in a court; 25 [OR] 26 (E) is attending the funeral of an immediate family member for 27 a period of not [NO] longer than seven days; 28 (F) is, for two weeks or less, traveling outside of the area in 29 which the insured worker customarily commutes and the insured worker 30 has 31 (i) demonstrated that, during the relevant base
01 period, the insured worker was permitted, on average, to work 02 remotely at least 50 percent of the time; or 03 (ii) accepted an offer of work that begins after the 04 insured worker's return from travel, and the insured worker 05 provides documentation that an earlier start date was not 06 available; [AND] 07 (2) a condition described in (1)(A) - (E) [(1)] of this subsection occurs 08 during an uninterrupted period of unemployment immediately following a week for 09 which the insured worker has filed a compensable claim, and work has not been 10 offered that would have been suitable for the insured worker before the illness, 11 disability, hunting, fishing, medical travel, jury service, or funeral attendance. 12 * Sec. 10. AS 23.20.378(c) is amended to read: 13 (c) An insured worker is disqualified for [WAITING-WEEK CREDIT OR] 14 benefits for a week of unemployment while the insured worker is pursuing an 15 academic education. A disqualification under this subsection begins with the first 16 week of academic instruction and ends with the week immediately before the first full 17 week in which the insured worker is no longer pursuing an academic education. 18 However, an insured worker who has been pursuing an academic education for at least 19 one school term and who was working at least 30 hours a week during a significant 20 portion of the time that the worker was pursuing an academic education is not 21 disqualified for [WAITING-WEEK CREDIT OR] benefits under this subsection if the 22 worker's academic schedule does not preclude full-time work in the worker's 23 occupation and if the insured worker became unemployed because the worker was laid 24 off or the worker's job was eliminated. In this subsection, 25 (1) "pursuing an academic education" means attending an established 26 school in a course of study providing academic instruction of 10 or more credit hours 27 per week, or the equivalent; 28 (2) "school" includes primary schools, secondary schools, and 29 institutions of higher education. 30 * Sec. 11. AS 23.20.378 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 31 (d) The department shall collect information about an insured worker's remote
01 work history when the insured worker files a claim for benefits. 02 * Sec. 12. AS 23.20.379(a) is amended to read: 03 (a) An insured worker is disqualified for [WAITING-WEEK CREDIT OR] 04 benefits for the first five weeks [WEEK] in which the insured worker is unemployed 05 [AND FOR THE NEXT FIVE WEEKS OF UNEMPLOYMENT FOLLOWING 06 THAT WEEK] if the insured worker 07 (1) left the insured worker's last suitable work voluntarily without 08 good cause; or 09 (2) was discharged for misconduct connected with the insured worker's 10 last work. 11 * Sec. 13. AS 23.20.379(b) is amended to read: 12 (b) An insured worker is disqualified for [WAITING-WEEK CREDIT OR] 13 benefits for a week and the next five weeks of unemployment following that week if, 14 for that week, the insured worker fails without good cause 15 (1) to apply for available suitable work to which the insured worker 16 was referred by the employment office; or 17 (2) to accept suitable work when offered to the insured worker. 18 * Sec. 14. AS 23.20.379(e) is amended to read: 19 (e) An insured worker is disqualified for [WAITING-WEEK CREDIT OR] 20 benefits for the first week in which the insured worker is unemployed and for the next 21 51 weeks of unemployment following that week or until the individual has worked 22 subsequent to the discharge from work and earned 20 times the insured worker's 23 weekly benefit amount in employment covered under this chapter if the insured 24 worker was discharged for commission of a felony or theft in connection with the 25 work. In addition, the insured worker is not eligible for extended benefits under this 26 chapter until the worker has requalified for benefits by meeting the earnings 27 requirement in this subsection. 28 * Sec. 15. AS 23.20.382(a) is amended to read: 29 (a) Benefits [OR WAITING-WEEK CREDIT] for any week may not be 30 denied an otherwise eligible individual because the individual is attending a vocational 31 training or retraining course with the approval of the director of the division
01 responsible for employment and training services or because, while attending the 02 course, the individual is not available for work or refuses an offer of work. 03 * Sec. 16. AS 23.20.382(b) is amended to read: 04 (b) An otherwise eligible individual may not be denied benefits [OR 05 WAITING-WEEK CREDIT] for any week because the individual is in training 06 approved under 19 U.S.C. 2296(a)(1) (sec. 236(a)(1), Trade Act of 1974), if 07 (1) while attending the training, the individual is not available for 08 work, fails to seek work, or refuses work; or 09 (2) the individual left work that was not suitable employment to enter 10 training. 11 * Sec. 17. AS 23.20.382(d) is amended to read: 12 (d) An otherwise eligible individual may not be denied benefits [OR 13 WAITING-WEEK CREDIT] for any week because the individual is in any training 14 approved under P.L. 105-220 (Workforce Investment Act of 1998) and, while 15 attending the training, is not available for work, fails to seek work, or refuses work. 16 * Sec. 18. AS 23.20.383(a) is amended to read: 17 (a) An insured worker is disqualified for [WAITING-WEEK CREDIT OR] 18 benefits for a week of the insured worker's unemployment if, for that week, the 19 department finds the insured worker's unemployment is due to a stoppage of work 20 caused by a labor dispute at the immediate establishment or other premises at which 21 the insured worker is or was last employed. For the purposes of this section, each 22 separate department of the same premises that [WHICH] is commonly conducted as a 23 separate business in separate premises is considered a separate establishment or other 24 premises. 25 * Sec. 19. AS 23.20.520(7) is amended to read: 26 (7) "claimant" means an individual who has filed a request for a 27 determination of insured status, a notice of unemployment, [A CERTIFICATION 28 FOR WAITING-WEEK CREDIT,] or a claim for benefits; 29 * Sec. 20. AS 23.20.375(b) and 23.20.520(22) are repealed. 30 * Sec. 21. This Act takes effect July 1, 2025.