You asked for a brief summary of the bills that the Labor and Public Employees Committee reported to the Finance, Revenue and Bonding Committee.

HB 5058, 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 to charge 1% interest per month on fraudulent unemployment compensation overpayments and (2) creates a $ 25 late fee for employers who do not file the required quarterly employee wage reports on time. It requires the interest payments and fees to be deposited in the Employment Security Administration Fund. It also reduces the minimum forfeiture penalty in cases of fraudulent claims from two weeks of unemployment benefits to one week.

Effective date: July 1, 2004

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