LEGISLATIVE COMMITTEES;

You asked for a summary of Labor and Public Employee Committee bills referred to the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee.

S. B. No. 846, An Act Concerning Interest on Fraudulent Unemployment Compensation Overpayments and a Fee for Failure by Contributing Employers to File Timely Unemployment Compensation Quarterly Returns

This bill (1) authorizes the Department of Labor (DOL) to charge interest on fraudulent overpayments of unemployment compensation and (2) creates a $ 25 late fee for employers who do not file the required quarterly employee wage reports on time. It also lowers the minimum forfeiture penalty from two weeks of benefits to one week in cases of fraudulent claims. DOL’s Employment Security Division already recovers fraudulent overpayments of unemployment compensation, and the bill would allow the division to calculate an interest charge of 1% per month for the overpaid amount. It also allows the division to pursue the interest through deduction from the person’s wages (something already allowed to collect overpayments).

It specifies that the interest provision is to be triggered only when the state cannot regain the overpayment by an offset from the recipient’s ongoing unemployment benefits (i. e. the individual is no longer receiving benefits).

S. B. No. 874, An Act Preserving the Apprentice Training Program Within the Labor Department

This bill creates fees for apprentices and for employers who sponsor apprentice programs. It requires each apprentice to pay an annual $ 20 fee to DOL. Each employer sponsoring an apprentice program registered with the DOL pays (1) $ 100 a year if they employ from 10 to 24 employees (excluding apprentices) and (2) $ 200 a year if they employ more than 25 employees (excluding apprentices). The fees collected will be deposited in the General Fund and credited to a separate nonlapsing appropriation to DOL to employ personnel, as the commissioner deems necessary, to administer the apprentice program.

H. B. No. 6638, An Act Increasing Penalties for Violations of Apprentice Permit and Occupational Licensing Laws

This bill increases the amount of civil fines that can be imposed on those performing, or willfully employing others in, construction work without the appropriate license or apprenticeship permit. It increases the fines as follows: (1) first offense goes from a maximum of $ 1,000 to a maximum of $ 2,000, (2) second offense from $ 1,500 to $ 3,000, and (3) each subsequent violation increase from $ 3,000 to $ 6,000.

JM: eh