CSHB 193(L&C): "An Act establishing a paid parental leave program; relating to special employer contributions; relating to the employment assistance and training program account; relating to unemployment benefits; relating to the collection of child support obligations; and relating to the duties of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development."
00 CS FOR HOUSE BILL NO. 193(L&C) 01 "An Act establishing a paid parental leave program; relating to special employer 02 contributions; relating to the employment assistance and training program account; 03 relating to unemployment benefits; relating to the collection of child support 04 obligations; and relating to the duties of the Department of Labor and Workforce 05 Development." 06 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF ALASKA: 07 * Section 1. AS 23.10 is amended by adding new sections to read: 08 Article 9. Alaska Paid Parental Leave Program. 09 Sec. 23.10.700. Paid parental leave program. The department shall 10 administer the paid parental leave program established under AS 23.10.700 - 11 23.10.795. 12 Sec. 23.10.705. Parental leave fund account. The parental leave fund account 13 is established in the general fund. The commissioner of administration shall separately
01 account for money collected under AS 23.10.710 and AS 23.20.290(g) that the 02 department deposits in the general fund. The legislature may appropriate the annual 03 estimated balance in the account to the department to implement AS 23.10.700 - 04 23.10.795. The legislature may appropriate the lapsing balance of the account to the 05 unemployment compensation fund under AS 23.20.130. 06 Sec. 23.10.710. Special employee contribution for paid parental leave 07 program. (a) In the manner provided in AS 23.20 and for the benefit of the paid 08 parental leave program, the department shall collect from each employee an amount 09 equal to .15 percent of the wages, as set out in AS 23.20.175, on which the employee 10 is required to make contributions under AS 23.20.290(d). The department shall remit 11 money collected under this subsection in accordance with AS 37.10.050. 12 (b) Notwithstanding AS 23.20.290(d), the department shall credit each 13 employee with an amount equal to the amount collected from the employee under (a) 14 of this section against unemployment contributions owed by the employee under 15 AS 23.20. 16 (c) The department shall assess and collect, under AS 23.20.185 - 23.20.275, 17 interest and penalties for delinquent reports and payments due under this section. 18 Interest and penalties collected shall be handled in accordance with AS 23.20.130(d). 19 Sec. 23.10.715. Qualifying purpose. An eligible employee may use paid 20 parental leave when the employee needs to be absent from work to 21 (1) care for a child within 12 months of the 22 (A) anticipated birth of that child to, adoption of that child by, 23 or placement of that child with the eligible employee; or 24 (B) appointment of the eligible employee as the legal guardian 25 of that child; or 26 (2) complete an adoption, legal guardianship, or foster placement 27 process of a child before the child is adopted by or placed with the employee. 28 Sec. 23.10.720. Paid parental leave claim. (a) The department shall establish 29 by regulation procedures for filing a claim for paid parental leave under AS 23.10.700 30 - 23.10.795, including a procedure for certifying that the leave is for a qualifying 31 purpose under AS 23.10.715.
01 (b) An employee may file a claim with the department for paid parental leave 02 not more than 60 days before the anticipated start date of the qualifying absence from 03 work nor more than 90 days after the date on which the qualifying absence from work 04 began. The department may waive the 90-day filing deadline for good cause. The 05 department may process a claim without the eligible employee providing exact dates 06 of an anticipated qualifying absence from work. The department may adjust claim data 07 through a claim modification process established by the department. 08 (c) The department may accept any of the following as sufficient evidence that 09 a paid parental leave claim is for a qualifying purpose: 10 (1) the child's birth certificate; 11 (2) a document from the child's health care provider or the health care 12 provider of the person who gave birth to the child, stating the child's date of birth; 13 (3) a document from the child's health care provider, the adoption 14 agency involved in the adoption, or another individual approved by the department 15 confirming the adoption or anticipated adoption and the date of the adoption or 16 anticipated adoption; 17 (4) a document from the foster care agency involved in the child's 18 placement, or from another individual approved by the department, confirming the 19 placement or anticipated placement of the child for foster care; 20 (5) a form signed by the employee acknowledging paternity of the 21 child that meets the requirements of AS 18.50.165; or 22 (6) a document from a state or tribal court confirming a petition for or 23 decree of legal guardianship of the child. 24 Sec. 23.10.725. Eligibility; benefit amount; duration. (a) An employee who 25 is paid at least $2,500 in wages during at least two of the calendar quarters of the 26 employee's base period is eligible to receive paid parental leave beginning the first day 27 of absence from work for a qualifying purpose under AS 23.10.715. 28 (b) The department shall calculate an employee's base period for purposes of 29 (a) of this section using the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters 30 immediately preceding the first day of the employee's benefit year, except that, if an 31 employee would not otherwise be eligible for paid parental leave because of the use of
01 a base period that does not include the most recently completed calendar quarter 02 immediately preceding the first day of the employee's benefit year, the department 03 shall calculate the employee's base period and determine the employee's eligibility 04 using the four most recently completed calendar quarters before the start of the benefit 05 year. For an individual who has been separated from employment for not more than 26 06 weeks, the department shall calculate the individual's base period using the first four 07 of the last five completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the individual's 08 separation from employment, except that, if an individual would not otherwise be 09 eligible for paid parental leave because of the use of a base period that does not 10 include the most recently completed calendar quarter, the department shall calculate 11 the individual's base period and determine the individual's eligibility using the four 12 most recently completed calendar quarters before the start of the benefit year. 13 (c) The department shall determine an eligible employee's weekly benefit in 14 the same manner as provided in AS 23.20.350(d). The department shall calculate the 15 employee's weekly benefit in accordance with AS 23.10.730 for employees using the 16 accelerated benefit option. 17 (d) The maximum number of weeks for which an eligible employee may take 18 paid parental leave, and for which paid parental leave insurance benefits are payable in 19 a benefit year, is between eight and 26 weeks, cumulative, as determined by the 20 department. The department shall determine and make public the maximum duration 21 of the parental leave benefit each year, based on fund solvency, forecasted use, and 22 actuarial studies completed under AS 23.10.780. For employees using the accelerated 23 benefit option, the department shall calculate the number of weeks an eligible 24 employee may take paid parental leave in accordance with AS 23.10.730. 25 (e) In this section, "benefit year" means a period of 52 consecutive weeks 26 beginning at 12:00 a.m. of the Sunday preceding the day that an eligible employee 27 first files a claim for paid parental leave and, thereafter, the period of 52 consecutive 28 weeks beginning at 12:00 a.m. of the Sunday preceding the day that the insured 29 worker next files the claim after the end of the eligible employee's last preceding 30 benefit year; however, for an eligible employee covered by this subsection, "benefit 31 year" also means a period of 53 weeks if the filing of a claim for paid parental leave
01 would result in overlapping any quarter of the base year of a previously filed request 02 for paid parental leave. 03 Sec. 23.10.730. Accelerated benefit option. An eligible employee may choose 04 to receive the paid parental leave benefit on an accelerated basis. For each week the 05 employee elects the accelerated benefit option, the employee shall receive double the 06 weekly benefit amount to which the employee is entitled. However, for each week the 07 employee chooses the accelerated benefit option, the duration of the benefit is reduced 08 by a corresponding week. 09 Sec. 23.10.735. Coordination of benefits. (a) Leave taken under the paid 10 parental leave program shall run concurrently with leave that also qualifies as leave 11 under 29 U.S.C. 2601 - 2654 (Family and Medical Leave Act) or AS 39.20.500 - 12 39.20.550. 13 (b) An employer may require that payments for paid parental leave under 14 AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.795 be made concurrently with, or coordinated with, payments 15 or leave provided under a short-term disability policy or a separate bank of paid time 16 off designated specifically for parental leave under a collective bargaining agreement 17 or employer policy. The employer must provide employees written notice of this 18 requirement. 19 (c) An employee may not be required to use or exhaust any accrued vacation 20 leave, sick leave, or other paid time off before or while receiving paid parental leave 21 benefits under AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.795. However, the employee may choose to use 22 accrued vacation leave, sick leave, or other paid time off while receiving paid parental 23 leave benefits under AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.795 if the total amount received does not 24 exceed the employee's average weekly earnings. 25 (d) Paid parental leave under AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.795 does not relieve an 26 employer from the obligation to comply with more generous terms included in a 27 collective bargaining agreement or employment contract. 28 Sec. 23.10.740. Disqualification. In addition to any other penalty that may 29 apply, an employee may be disqualified from paid parental leave benefits for up to one 30 year if the department determines the employee intentionally made a false statement or 31 misrepresentation of a material fact, or intentionally failed to report a material fact, to
01 obtain paid parental leave. 02 Sec. 23.10.745. Appeals. The department shall establish a process for an 03 employee to appeal a determination by the department regarding a paid parental leave 04 claim within 90 days after receiving notice of the determination. 05 Sec. 23.10.750. Recovery of improper payments. (a) An employee who 06 receives paid parental leave to which the employee is not entitled under AS 23.10.700 07 - 23.10.795 shall repay to the department the amount improperly paid. The department 08 shall deposit the payment in the parental leave fund account established in 09 AS 23.10.705. 10 (b) The department shall promptly prepare and send a notice of determination 11 to the employee at the employee's last address of record, stating that the employee is 12 required to repay the amount of paid parental leave received in error. If the employee 13 does not repay the amount received in error within a reasonable time set by the 14 department, the department shall deduct the amount from future paid parental leave 15 benefits owed to the employee or from the permanent fund dividend of the employee 16 under AS 43.23.140(b)(6). However, the department may waive repayment of all or a 17 portion of the amount of paid parental leave received in error if the department 18 determines that the employee has died or has acted in good faith when claiming and 19 receiving paid parental leave benefits and that requiring repayment would be unfair or 20 inequitable. 21 (c) If the employee has not repaid the paid parental leave benefit or if the 22 amount has not been deducted from future benefits or the permanent fund dividend of 23 the employee within two years after the last day of the year in which payment was 24 made, the commissioner may declare the amount uncollectible. 25 Sec. 23.10.755. Public education and outreach campaign. The department 26 shall conduct a public education and outreach campaign to educate employees and 27 employers about the availability of paid parental leave. 28 Sec. 23.10.760. Employment protection; health insurance maintenance; 29 enforcement. (a) An eligible employee who takes paid parental leave under 30 AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.795 is entitled to return to the position the employee held when 31 the leave began or to be restored to an equivalent position with equivalent seniority,
01 pay, benefits, working hours, and other terms and conditions of employment, 02 including service credits the employee was entitled to at the start of paid parental 03 leave. 04 (b) During any period of qualified paid parental leave, the employer shall 05 maintain the employee's health care benefits on the same terms as before the leave 06 began. The employee shall continue to pay the employee's share of the cost of any 07 health care benefits. 08 (c) An employer may not take or threaten any adverse employment action or 09 discriminate against the employee for applying for or using paid parental leave under 10 AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.795. 11 (d) An employer may not take any action that prevents or discourages an 12 employee from taking paid parental leave under AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.795, including 13 failing to provide timely and complete information required by the department or 14 reporting or threatening to report suspected citizenship or immigration status of the 15 employee or an employee's family member. 16 (e) An employer may not adopt or enforce a policy that allows paid parental 17 leave taken under AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.795 to be considered as an absence that could 18 result in discipline, discharge, demotion, suspension, or any other adverse action 19 against the employee. 20 (f) The department shall establish a complaint process by regulation for an 21 employee who believes the employee's employer violated this section. A complaint 22 must be filed within two years after the violation occurred or the date the employee 23 reasonably should have known about the violation, whichever is later. 24 (g) After granting the employer a reasonable opportunity for a fair hearing, or 25 after the employer acknowledges that a violation occurred, the department may 26 determine whether a violation occurred. If the department determines a violation 27 occurred, the department may order the employer to remedy the violation, which may 28 include 29 (1) granting the requested paid parental leave; 30 (2) providing up to two years of back pay, plus interest; 31 (3) reinstating the employee;
01 (4) paying to the complainant attorney fees allowed under the Alaska 02 Rules of Civil Procedure; 03 (5) other relief the department considers appropriate. 04 (h) After the department issues a final determination, either party may appeal 05 the determination to a court of competent jurisdiction. 06 Sec. 23.10.765. Notice to employees. (a) An employer shall provide written 07 notice to each employee upon hiring, and annually thereafter, of the benefits available 08 under AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.795. The notice must include 09 (1) the employee's right to paid parental leave benefits under 10 AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.795 and the terms under which the benefits may be used; 11 (2) the amount of paid parental leave available; 12 (3) the procedure for filing a claim for paid parental leave benefits; 13 (4) notice that discrimination and retaliatory personnel actions against 14 the employee for requesting, applying for, or using paid parental leave benefits is 15 prohibited; and 16 (5) notice that the employee has a right to file a complaint for a 17 violation of AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.795. 18 (b) Each employer shall display and maintain a poster in a conspicuous place 19 accessible to employees at the employer's place of business that contains the 20 information required by this section in a form approved by the department. 21 Sec. 23.10.770. Child support interception. (a) Notwithstanding any other 22 provision of AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.795, an individual filing a new claim for paid 23 parental leave must disclose whether child support obligations are owed by that 24 individual. If the individual discloses that child support obligations are owed and the 25 individual is determined to be eligible for paid parental leave, the department shall 26 notify the child support services agency of the Department of Revenue that the 27 individual has been determined to be eligible for paid parental leave. 28 (b) The department shall, unless the obligor and obligee agree otherwise, 29 deduct and withhold from paid parental leave compensation payable to an individual 30 who owes child support obligations 31 (1) the amount specified by the individual to the department to be
01 deducted and withheld under this subsection, if neither (2) nor (3) of this subsection is 02 applicable; 03 (2) the amount specified in an agreement submitted to the department 04 under 42 U.S.C. 654(19)(B)(i) (sec. 454(19)(B)(i), Social Security Act), by the child 05 support services agency of the Department of Revenue, unless (3) of this subsection is 06 applicable; or 07 (3) any amount required to be deducted and withheld through legal 08 process, as defined in 42 U.S.C. 662(e) (sec. 462(e), Social Security Act), properly 09 served on the department. 10 (c) The department shall pay an amount deducted and withheld under (b) of 11 this section to the child support services agency of the Department of Revenue. 12 (d) An amount deducted and withheld under (b) of this section shall for all 13 purposes be treated as if it were paid to the individual as paid parental leave and paid 14 by that individual to the child support services agency of the Department of Revenue 15 in satisfaction of the individual's child support obligations. 16 (e) This section applies only if appropriate arrangements have been made for 17 reimbursement by the child support services agency of the Department of Revenue for 18 the administrative costs incurred by the department under this section. 19 (f) In this section, "child support obligation" includes only obligations that are 20 being enforced under a plan described in 42 U.S.C. 654 (sec. 454, Social Security 21 Act), which has been approved by the United States Secretary of Health and Human 22 Services under 42 U.S.C. 651-665 (Part D of Title IV of the Social Security Act). 23 Sec. 23.10.775. Federal income tax withholding. (a) If the Internal Revenue 24 Service determines that paid parental leave benefits under AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.795 25 are subject to federal income tax, when an individual files a new claim for paid 26 parental leave, the department shall advise the individual that 27 (1) paid parental leave compensation benefits are subject to federal 28 income tax; 29 (2) federal requirements exist pertaining to estimated federal tax 30 payments; 31 (3) the individual may elect to have federal income tax deducted and
01 withheld from the individual's payment of paid parental leave at the amount specified 02 in 26 U.S.C. (Internal Revenue Code); and 03 (4) the individual is permitted to change a previously elected status for 04 the withholding of federal income tax. 05 (b) Amounts deducted for federal income taxes and withheld from paid 06 parental leave shall remain in the parental leave fund account established in 07 AS 23.10.705 until transferred to the federal Internal Revenue Service as payment of 08 federal income tax. 09 (c) The department shall comply with legal requirements of the federal 10 Department of Labor and the Internal Revenue Service regarding the deduction and 11 withholding of federal income tax. 12 Sec. 23.10.780. Actuarial studies. Every two years, the commissioner shall 13 submit to the governor an actuarial study of the benefit structures established under 14 AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.795. 15 Sec. 23.10.795. Definitions. In AS 23.10.700 - 23.10.795, 16 (1) "employee" means a person in the service of an employer; 17 (2) "employer" has the meaning given in AS 23.20.520; 18 (3) "employment" has the meanings given in AS 23.20.525 and 19 23.20.526. 20 * Sec. 2. AS 23.15.625 is amended to read: 21 Sec. 23.15.625. Employment assistance and training program account. The 22 employment assistance and training program account is established in the general 23 fund. The commissioner of administration shall separately account for money 24 collected under AS 23.15.630 and AS 23.20.290 that the department deposits in the 25 general fund. The annual estimated balance in the account may be appropriated by the 26 legislature to the department to implement AS 23.15.620 - 23.15.660. The legislature 27 may appropriate the lapsing balance of the account to the unemployment 28 compensation fund established in AS 23.20.130. 29 * Sec. 3. AS 23.20.290(c) is amended to read: 30 (c) The rate of contributions for each employer is a percentage of the average 31 benefit cost rate multiplied by the employer's experience factor set out in column C of
01 the table in this subsection opposite the employer's applicable rate class set out in 02 column A plus the fund solvency adjustment surcharge required under (f) of this 03 section. That percentage is 76 percent beginning January 1, 2009, and 73 percent 04 beginning January 1, 2010. However, except as provided in (h) and (i) of this 05 section, the rate of contributions for an employer may not be less than one percent or 06 more than six and one-half percent. The rate of contributions for an employer in rate 07 class 21 may not be less than 5.4 percent. The rate of contributions for an employer 08 must be rounded to the nearest 1/100th of one percent. 09 COLUMN B COLUMN C 10 COLUMN A Cumulative Experience 11 Rate Class Ratable Payroll Factor 12 at least but less than 13 (percent) (percent) 14 1 5 .40 15 2 5 10 .45 16 3 10 15 .50 17 4 15 20 .55 18 5 20 25 .60 19 6 25 30 .65 20 7 30 35 .70 21 8 35 40 .80 22 9 40 45 .90 23 10 45 50 1.00 24 11 50 55 1.00 25 12 55 60 1.10 26 13 60 65 1.20 27 14 65 70 1.30 28 15 70 75 1.35 29 16 75 80 1.40 30 17 80 85 1.45 31 18 85 90 1.50
01 19 90 95 1.55 02 20 95 99.99 1.60 03 21 99.99 1.65. 04 * Sec. 4. AS 23.20.290 is amended by adding new subsections to read: 05 (g) The department may implement special employer contributions if the 06 department determines that implementing special employer contributions is consistent 07 with maintaining fund solvency. If the department implements special employer 08 contributions it shall, in the manner provided in this chapter, collect from each 09 employer 10 (1) an amount equal to .20 percent of the wages, as set out in 11 AS 23.20.175, on which the employer is required to make contributions under (c) of 12 this section and remit the money collected under this paragraph to the parental leave 13 fund account established under AS 23.10.705; and 14 (2) an amount equal to .10 percent of the wages, as set out in 15 AS 23.20.175, on which the employer is required to make contributions under (c) of 16 this section and remit the money collected under this paragraph to the employment 17 assistance and training program account established under AS 23.15.625. 18 (h) Notwithstanding (c) of this section, the department shall reduce the 19 contributions owed by an employer under this chapter by an amount equal to the 20 amount collected under (g) of this section. 21 (i) After implementing the special employer contributions described in (g) of 22 this section, the department may reduce the employer contribution to a rate of not less 23 than .50 percent if the department determines that reducing the rate is consistent with 24 maintaining fund solvency. 25 * Sec. 5. AS 23.20.350(d) is amended to read: 26 (d) An individual who is eligible under (a) of this section is entitled to receive 27 the weekly benefit amount set out in column (B) of the table in this subsection that is 28 opposite the amount set out in column (A) of the individual's base period wages 29 determined under (c) of this section: 30 (A) (B) 31 Base Period Wages Weekly Benefit
01 Amount 02 At least But less than 03 0 2,500 $ 0 04 2,500 2,750 56 05 2,750 3,000 58 06 3,000 3,250 60 07 3,250 3,500 62 08 3,500 3,750 64 09 3,750 4,000 66 10 4,000 4,250 68 11 4,250 4,500 70 12 4,500 4,750 72 13 4,750 5,000 74 14 5,000 5,250 76 15 5,250 5,500 78 16 5,500 5,750 80 17 5,750 6,000 82 18 6,000 6,250 84 19 6,250 6,500 86 20 6,500 6,750 88 21 6,750 7,000 90 22 7,000 7,250 92 23 7,250 7,500 94 24 7,500 7,750 96 25 7,750 8,000 98 26 8,000 8,250 100 27 8,250 8,500 102 28 8,500 8,750 104 29 8,750 9,000 106 30 9,000 9,250 108 31 9,250 9,500 110
01 9,500 9,750 112 02 9,750 10,000 114 03 10,000 10,250 116 04 10,250 10,500 118 05 10,500 10,750 120 06 10,750 11,000 122 07 11,000 11,250 124 08 11,250 11,500 126 09 11,500 11,750 128 10 11,750 12,000 130 11 12,000 12,250 132 12 12,250 12,500 134 13 12,500 12,750 136 14 12,750 13,000 138 15 13,000 13,250 140 16 13,250 13,500 142 17 13,500 13,750 144 18 13,750 14,000 146 19 14,000 14,250 148 20 14,250 14,500 150 21 14,500 14,750 152 22 14,750 15,000 154 23 15,000 15,250 156 24 15,250 15,500 158 25 15,500 15,750 160 26 15,750 16,000 162 27 16,000 16,250 164 28 16,250 16,500 166 29 16,500 16,750 168 30 16,750 17,000 170 31 17,000 17,250 172
01 17,250 17,500 174 02 17,500 17,750 176 03 17,750 18,000 178 04 18,000 18,250 180 05 18,250 18,500 182 06 18,500 18,750 184 07 18,750 19,000 186 08 19,000 19,250 188 09 19,250 19,500 190 10 19,500 19,750 192 11 19,750 20,000 194 12 20,000 20,250 196 13 20,250 20,500 198 14 20,500 20,750 200 15 20,750 21,000 202 16 21,000 21,250 204 17 21,250 21,500 207 [206] 18 21,500 21,750 209 [208] 19 21,750 22,000 212 [210] 20 22,000 22,250 214 [212] 21 22,250 22,500 216 [214] 22 22,500 22,750 219 [216] 23 22,750 23,000 221 [218] 24 23,000 23,250 224 [220] 25 23,250 23,500 226 [222] 26 23,500 23,750 228 [224] 27 23,750 24,000 231 [226] 28 24,000 24,250 233 [228] 29 24,250 24,500 236 [230] 30 24,500 24,750 238 [232] 31 24,750 25,000 240 [234]
01 25,000 25,250 243 [236] 02 25,250 25,500 245 [238] 03 25,500 25,750 248 [240] 04 25,750 26,000 250 [242] 05 26,000 26,250 252 [244] 06 26,250 26,500 255 [246] 07 26,500 26,750 257 [248] 08 26,750 27,000 260 [250] 09 27,000 27,250 262 [252] 10 27,250 27,500 264 [254] 11 27,500 27,750 267 [256] 12 27,750 28,000 269 [258] 13 28,000 28,250 272 [260] 14 28,250 28,500 274 [262] 15 28,500 28,750 276 [264] 16 28,750 29,000 279 [266] 17 29,000 29,250 281 [268] 18 29,250 29,500 284 [270] 19 29,500 29,750 286 [272] 20 29,750 30,000 288 [274] 21 30,000 30,250 291 [276] 22 30,250 30,500 293 [278] 23 30,500 30,750 296 [280] 24 30,750 31,000 298 [282] 25 31,000 31,250 300 [284] 26 31,250 31,500 303 [286] 27 31,500 31,750 305 [288] 28 31,750 32,000 308 [290] 29 32,000 32,250 310 [292] 30 32,250 32,500 313 [294] 31 32,500 32,750 315 [296]
01 32,750 33,000 317 [298] 02 33,000 33,250 320 [300] 03 33,250 33,500 322 [302] 04 33,500 33,750 325 [304] 05 33,750 34,000 327 [306] 06 34,000 34,250 329 [308] 07 34,250 34,500 332 [310] 08 34,500 34,750 334 [312] 09 34,750 35,000 337 [314] 10 35,000 35,250 339 [316] 11 35,250 35,500 341 [318] 12 35,500 35,750 344 [320] 13 35,750 36,000 346 [322] 14 36,000 36,250 349 [324] 15 36,250 36,500 351 [326] 16 36,500 36,750 353 [328] 17 36,750 37,000 356 [330] 18 37,000 37,250 358 [332] 19 37,250 37,500 361 [334] 20 37,500 37,750 363 [336] 21 37,750 38,000 365 [338] 22 38,000 38,250 368 [340] 23 38,250 38,500 370 [342] 24 38,500 38,750 373 [344] 25 38,750 39,000 375 [346] 26 39,000 39,250 377 [348] 27 39,250 39,500 380 [350] 28 39,500 39,750 382 [352] 29 39,750 40,000 385 [354] 30 40,000 40,250 387 [356] 31 40,250 40,500 389 [358]
01 40,500 40,750 392 [360] 02 40,750 41,000 394 [362] 03 41,000 41,250 397 [364] 04 41,250 41,500 399 [366] 05 41,500 41,750 401 [368] 06 41,750 42,000 404 [370] 07 42,000 42,250 406 08 42,250 42,500 409 09 42,500 42,750 411 10 42,750 43,000 413 11 43,000 43,250 416 12 43,250 43,500 418 13 43,500 43,750 421 14 43,750 44,000 423 15 44,000 44,250 425 16 44,250 44,500 428 17 44,500 44,750 430 18 44,750 45,000 433 19 45,000 45,250 435 20 45,250 45,500 438 21 45,500 45,750 440 22 45,750 46,000 442 23 46,000 46,250 445 24 46,250 46,500 447 25 46,500 46,750 450 26 46,750 47,000 452 27 47,000 47,250 454 28 47,250 47,500 457 29 47,500 47,750 459 30 47,750 48,000 462 31 48,000 48,250 464
01 48,250 48,500 466 02 48,500 48,750 469 03 48,750 49,000 471 04 49,000 49,250 474 05 49,250 49,500 476 06 49,500 49,750 478 07 49,750 50,000 481 08 50,000 50,250 483 09 50,250 50,500 486 10 50,500 50,750 488 11 50,750 51,000 490 12 51,000 51,250 493 13 51,250 51,500 495 14 51,500 51,750 498 15 51,750 52,000 500 16 52,000 52,250 502 17 52,250 52,500 505 18 52,500 52,750 507 19 52,750 53,000 510 20 53,000 53,250 512 21 53,250 53,500 514 22 53,500 53,750 517 23 53,750 54,000 519 24 54,000 54,250 522 25 54,250 54,500 524 26 54,500 54,750 526 27 54,750 55,000 529 28 55,000 55,250 531 29 55,250 55,500 534 30 55,500 55,750 536 31 55,750 56,000 538
01 56,000 56,250 541 02 56,250 56,500 543 03 56,500 56,750 546 04 56,750 57,000 548 05 57,000 57,250 550 06 57,250 57,500 553 07 57,500 57,750 555 08 57,750 58,000 558 09 58,000 58,250 560 10 58,250 58,500 563 11 58,500 58,750 565 12 58,750 59,000 567 13 59,000 59,250 570 14 59,250 59,500 572 15 59,500 59,750 575 16 59,750 60,000 577 17 60,000 60,250 579 18 60,250 60,500 582 19 60,500 60,750 584 20 60,750 61,000 587 21 61,000 61,250 589 22 61,250 61,500 591 23 61,500 61,750 594 24 61,750 62,000 596 25 62,000 62,250 599 26 62,250 62,500 601 27 62,500 62,750 603 28 62,750 63,000 606 29 63,000 63,250 608 30 63,250 63,500 611 31 63,500 63,750 613
01 63,750 64,000 615 02 64,000 64,250 618 03 64,250 64,500 620 04 64,500 64,750 623 05 64,750 65,000 625 06 65,000 65,250 627 07 65,250 65,500 630 08 65,500 65,750 632 09 65,750 66,000 635 10 66,000 66,250 637 11 66,250 66,500 639 12 66,500 66,750 642 13 66,750 67,000 644 14 67,000 67,250 647 15 67,250 67,500 649 16 67,500 67,750 651 17 67,750 68,000 654 18 68,000 68,250 656 19 68,250 68,500 659 20 68,500 68,750 661 21 68,750 69,000 663 22 69,000 69,250 666 23 69,250 69,500 668 24 69,500 69,750 671 25 69,750 70,000 673 26 70,000 70,250 675 27 70,250 70,500 678 28 70,500 70,750 680 29 70,750 71,000 683 30 71,000 71,250 685 31 71,250 71,500 688
01 71,500 71,750 690 02 71,750 72,000 692 03 72,000 72,250 695 04 72,250 72,500 697 05 72,500 72,750 700 06 72,750 73,000 702 07 73,000 73,250 704 08 73,250 73,500 707 09 73,500 73,750 709 10 73,750 74,000 712 11 74,000 74,250 714 12 74,250 74,500 716 13 74,500 74,750 719 14 74,750 75,000 721 15 75,000 75,250 724 16 75,250 75,500 726 17 75,500 75,750 728 18 75,750 76,000 731 19 76,000 76,250 733 20 76,250 76,500 736 21 76,500 76,750 738 22 76,750 77,000 740 23 77,000 77,250 743 24 77,250 77,500 745 25 77,500 77,750 748 26 77,750 78,000 750 27 78,000 78,250 752 28 78,250 78,500 755 29 78,500 78,750 757 30 78,750 79,000 760 31 79,000 79,250 762
01 79,250 79,500 764 02 79,500 79,750 767 03 79,750 80,000 769 04 80,000 80,250 772 05 80,250 80,500 774 06 80,500 80,750 776 07 80,750 81,000 779 08 81,000 81,250 781 09 81,250 81,500 784 10 81,500 81,750 786 11 81,750 82,000 788 12 82,000 82,250 791 13 82,250 82,500 793 14 82,500 82,750 796 15 82,750 83,000 798 16 83,000 83,250 800 17 83,250 83,500 803 18 83,500 83,750 805 19 83,750 84,000 808 20 84,000 84,250 810 21 84,250 84,500 813 22 84,500 84,750 815 23 84,750 85,000 817 24 85,000 817 [370]. 25 * Sec. 6. AS 23.20.350(f) is amended to read: 26 (f) An individual who establishes a benefit year is eligible for an allowance for 27 dependents in addition to the individual's weekly benefit amount. The department may 28 require an individual claiming or receiving an allowance for dependents to produce 29 income tax returns, birth certificates, notices of adoption or custody, social security 30 account number of spouse, verification of support documents, or other information 31 necessary to verify that the allowance is payable to the individual. The allowance for
01 dependents 02 (1) is $72 [$24] per week for each dependent, except that the total 03 allowance for dependents paid to an individual may not exceed $216 [$72] for each 04 week of unemployment; 05 (2) is payable beginning with the week during the benefit year in 06 which the individual claims an allowance for the dependent and is payable for the 07 remainder of the individual's eligibility for regular, extended, or supplemental 08 payments during the benefit year; 09 (3) may not be claimed for a new dependent after the end of the benefit 10 year or after the exhaustion of regular benefits in the benefit year [; 11 (4) REPEALED 12 (5) REPEALED]. 13 * Sec. 7. AS 23.20.350 is amended by adding a new subsection to read: 14 (h) On January 1 of each year, the department shall increase the maximum 15 base period wages in (d) of this section and the allowance for eligible dependents 16 under (f) of this section by a percentage equal to the average percentage of increase 17 over the first three of the preceding four calendar years in all items of the Consumer 18 Price Index for all urban consumers for urban Alaska prepared by the United States 19 Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, and calculate new weekly benefit 20 amounts accordingly. The new base period wage amount shall be rounded to the 21 nearest $250. The department may not decrease the base period wage amount or the 22 allowance for eligible dependents. 23 * Sec. 8. AS 25.27.020(a) is amended to read: 24 (a) The agency shall 25 (1) seek enforcement of child support orders of the state in other 26 jurisdictions and shall obtain, enforce, and administer the orders in this state; 27 (2) adopt regulations to carry out the purposes of this chapter and 28 AS 25.25, including regulations that establish 29 (A) procedures for hearings conducted under AS 25.27.170 and 30 for administrative enforcement of support orders; 31 (B) subject to AS 25.27.025 and to federal law, a uniform rate
01 of interest on arrearages of support that shall be charged the obligor upon 02 notice if child support payments are 10 or more days overdue or if payment is 03 made by a check backed by insufficient funds; however, an obligor may not be 04 charged interest on late payment of a child support obligation, other than a 05 payment on arrearages, if the obligor is 06 (i) employed and income is being withheld from the 07 obligor's wages under an income withholding order; 08 (ii) receiving unemployment compensation and child 09 support obligations are being withheld from the obligor's 10 unemployment payments under AS 23.20.401; [OR] 11 (iii) receiving compensation for disabilities under 12 AS 23.30 and child support obligations are being withheld from the 13 obligor's compensation payments; or 14 (iv) receiving paid parental leave under 15 AS 23.10.770 and child support obligations are being withheld 16 from the obligor's compensation payments; 17 (C) procedures for establishing and disestablishing paternity 18 under AS 25.27.165 and 25.27.166, including procedures for hearings; and 19 (D) procedures under which the agency shall enter into 20 contracts or agreements with financial institutions, including brokerage houses, 21 insurance companies, and other companies providing individual investment, 22 transaction, or deposit accounts, doing business in the state to develop and 23 operate an automated data match system as required by 42 U.S.C. 666(a)(17); 24 the agency may pay a reasonable fee to a financial institution for conducting a 25 data match under a contract or agreement under this subparagraph; the fee may 26 not exceed the actual costs incurred by the financial institution for conducting 27 the data match; 28 (3) administer and enforce AS 25.25 (Uniform Interstate Family 29 Support Act); 30 (4) establish, enforce, and administer child support obligations 31 administratively under this chapter;
01 (5) administer the state plan required under 42 U.S.C. 651 - 669 (Title 02 IV-D, Social Security Act) as amended; 03 (6) disburse support payments collected by the agency to the obligee, 04 together with interest charged under (2)(B) of this subsection; 05 (7) establish and enforce administratively under this chapter, or 06 through the superior courts of the state, child support orders from other jurisdictions 07 pertaining to obligors within the state; 08 (8) enforce and administer spousal support orders if a spousal support 09 obligation has been established with respect to the spouse and if the support obligation 10 established with respect to the child of that spouse is also being administered; 11 (9) obtain a medical support order that meets the requirements of 12 AS 25.27.060(c) and 25.27.063; 13 (10) act on behalf of the Department of Health in the enforcement of 14 AS 47.07.025(b); 15 (11) establish or disestablish, administratively under AS 25.27.165 - 16 25.27.166 or through court action, the paternity of a child; 17 (12) promptly provide to the Bureau of Vital Statistics, in a format 18 approved by the bureau, any final agency decision administratively establishing or 19 disestablishing the paternity of a child born in this state; and 20 (13) act as the central registry for all child support orders and exchange 21 information as required by federal law. 22 * Sec. 9. AS 37.05.146(c) is amended by adding a new paragraph to read: 23 (88) parental leave fund account (AS 23.10.705). 24 * Sec. 10. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 25 read: 26 COMMENCEMENT OF PAID PARENTAL LEAVE. Eligible employees may 27 receive paid parental leave beginning January 1, 2027, for qualifying purposes that occur on 28 or after January 1, 2027. 29 * Sec. 11. The uncodified law of the State of Alaska is amended by adding a new section to 30 read: 31 TRANSITION: ACTUARIAL STUDIES. The commissioner of labor and workforce
01 development shall submit to the governor the first actuarial study required by AS 23.10.780, 02 enacted by sec. 1 of this Act, on December 1, 2026.