Unemployment Insurance Improvement Act
This bill expands the list of requirements a state unemployment compensation system must follow to be compliant under federal law.
Specifically, the bill requires the maximum benefit period available to an individual be at least 26 weeks. The base period used to determine unemployment eligibility must consist of at least four completed calendar quarters preceding the claim and must include the most recently completed calendar quarter. Further, compensation must not be denied to an otherwise eligible individual who earns at least $1,000 during the highest quarter and at least $1,500 during the entire base period. Finally, compensation must not be denied under an ability to work, active search for work, or refusal to accept work provision solely on the basis of the number of hours of work the individual is seeking, so long as the individual is seeking at least 20 hours of work or half the hours the individual typically worked.
Employers that pay unemployment taxes to a noncompliant state system cannot claim amounts paid into the state system as a credit against federal unemployment tax due.
The bill also requires states to meet specified online claim system accessibility requirements and to ensure that offline means of filing are available. A state that does not comply cannot receive federal funds for administration of its state unemployment system.
[Congressional Bills 117th Congress]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office]
[H.R. 5507 Introduced in House (IH)]
<DOC>
117th CONGRESS
1st Session
H. R. 5507
To improve the unemployment insurance program.
_______________________________________________________________________
IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES
October 8, 2021
Mr. Beyer (for himself, Ms. Ocasio-Cortez, Ms. Bush, Ms. Sherrill, Mr.
Gomez, and Mr. Peters) introduced the following bill; which was
referred to the Committee on Ways and Means
_______________________________________________________________________
A BILL
To improve the unemployment insurance program.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the
United States of America in Congress assembled,
SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
(a) Short Title.--This Act may be cited as the ``Unemployment
Insurance Improvement Act''.
(b) Table of Contents.--The table of contents of this Act is as
follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Floor on the number of weeks.
Sec. 3. Base period.
Sec. 4. Minimum level of prior employment.
Sec. 5. Part-time work.
Sec. 6. Access to benefits.
SEC. 2. FLOOR ON THE NUMBER OF WEEKS.
(a) In General.--Section 3304(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986 is amended--
(1) in paragraph (18), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) by redesignating paragraph (19) as paragraph (20); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (18) the following new
paragraph:
``(19) the minimum duration of benefits is at least 26
weeks and no variable duration formula that provides for
maximum weeks of benefits of fewer than 26 weeks is used, or,
in the case of a State that uses a maximum benefit entitlement,
an individual's maximum benefit entitlement may not be less
than 26 times the individual's weekly benefit amount; and''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall
apply to weeks of unemployment beginning on or after the earlier of--
(1) the date the State changes its statutes, regulations,
or policies in order to comply with such amendments; or
(2) January 1, 2024.
SEC. 3. BASE PERIOD.
(a) In General.--Section 3304(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, as amended by section 2, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (19), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) by redesignating paragraph (20) as paragraph (21); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (19) the following new
paragraphs:
``(20) the State law--
``(A) uses a base period that consists of at least
4 completed calendar quarters preceding the effective
date of the claim and includes the most recently
completed calendar quarter before the start of the
benefit year for purposes of determining eligibility
for unemployment compensation; or
``(B) provides that, in the case of an individual
who would not otherwise be eligible for unemployment
compensation under the State law because of the use of
a base period that does not meet the requirements
described in subparagraph (A), eligibility is
determined using a base period that consists of at
least 4 completed calendar quarters preceding the
effective date of the claim and includes the most
recently completed calendar quarter before the start of
the benefit year; and''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall
apply to weeks of unemployment beginning on or after the earlier of--
(1) the date the State changes its statutes, regulations,
or policies in order to comply with such amendments; or
(2) January 1, 2024.
SEC. 4. MINIMUM LEVEL OF PRIOR EMPLOYMENT.
(a) Requirement.--
(1) In general.--Section 3304(a) of the Internal Revenue
Code of 1986, as amended by sections 2 and 3, is amended--
(A) in paragraph (20), by striking ``and'' at the
end;
(B) by redesignating paragraph (21) as paragraph
(22); and
(C) by inserting after paragraph (20) the following
new paragraph:
``(21) compensation is not denied to an otherwise eligible
individual if the individual earned at least $1,000 in covered
wages during the highest quarter of the base period and at
least $1,500 in covered wages during the base period; and''.
(2) State may reduce minimum thresholds.--Nothing in
paragraph (21) of section 3304(a) of the Internal Revenue Code
of 1986, as added by paragraph (1), shall preclude a State from
reducing the dollar thresholds described in such paragraph
(22).
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall
apply to weeks of unemployment beginning on or after the earlier of--
(1) the date the State changes its statutes, regulations,
or policies in order to comply with such amendments; or
(2) January 1, 2024.
SEC. 5. PART-TIME WORK.
(a) In General.--Section 3304(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of
1986, as amended by sections 2, 3, and 4, is amended--
(1) in paragraph (21), by striking ``and'' at the end;
(2) by redesignating paragraph (22) as paragraph (25); and
(3) by inserting after paragraph (21) the following new
paragraphs:
``(22) an individual is not denied unemployment
compensation under any State law provisions relating to ability
to work, availability for work, active search for work, or
refusal to accept work, solely on the basis of the number of
hours of work such individual is seeking, provided that the
individual is seeking at least the lesser of--
``(A) 20 hours of work per week; or
``(B) a number of hours of work per week equal to
at least one half of the typical number of hours worked
per week in the individual's base period;
``(23) an individual may claim benefits for a week of
partial unemployment, including in circumstances where an
individual has had their hours reduced or performs part-time
work while continuing to search for additional part-time or
full-time work, if their earnings are less than the
individual's weekly benefit amount;
``(24) when determining the weekly benefit amount for an
individual claiming a benefit for a week of partial
unemployment, the State disregards, at a minimum, earnings
equal to \1/3\ of the individual's weekly benefit amount in
computing the individual's weekly benefit for partial
unemployment; and''.
(b) Effective Date.--The amendments made by subsection (a) shall
apply to weeks of unemployment beginning on or after the earlier of--
(1) the date the State changes its statutes, regulations,
or policies in order to comply with such amendments; or
(2) January 1, 2024.
SEC. 6. ACCESS TO BENEFITS.
Section 303 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 503) is amended
by adding at the end the following new subsection:
``(n) Access to Benefits.--
``(1) In general.--Not later than January 1, 2024, the
State agency charged with the administration of the State law
shall, in accordance with standards established by the
Secretary--
``(A) require that employers in the State provide
information regarding claim-filing for unemployment
compensation to employees upon separation from
employment;
``(B) have in place methods for employers to notify
the State workforce agency of employees who may apply
for unemployment compensation due to short-term
layoffs, business shutdowns, partial unemployment, and
short-time compensation;
``(C) ensure that any online claim-filing system
used by the State--
``(i) can be readily understood and used by
the vast majority of applicants and claimants,
including individuals with limited English
proficiency, individuals with disabilities,
older individuals, and individuals with
literacy challenges;
``(ii) is available in any language spoken
by more than 1 percent of the State's
population (with such translations completed by
human translators rather than translation
software);
``(iii) is accessible and optimized for all
commonly used desktop computers, tablets, and
mobile devices and operating systems such that
any features of the online claim filing
component (such as the ability to upload
documentation) that are available in the
desktop version of the online claim filing
component are also available in the tablet and
mobile versions;
``(iv) allows for electronic submission of
documentation required to support a claim,
including the ability of applicants and
claimants to scan or photograph and submit
documentation using a tablet or mobile device;
``(v) is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a
week, with the exception of scheduled and
emergency maintenance that shall be conducted,
to the extent practicable, at nonpeak hours;
``(vi) provides self-service account
recovery that can be completed online; and
``(vii) deploys multiple methods of
communication with applicants and claimants,
such as short message service (SMS) message,
email, postal mail, live chat, or chatbots; and
``(D) ensure that alternate means of claim filing
are available for individuals who are unable to file
through the State's online claim-filing system.
``(2) Enforcement.--Whenever the Secretary of Labor, after
reasonable notice and opportunity for hearing to the State
agency charged with the administration of the State law, finds
that there is a failure to comply substantially with the
requirements of paragraph (1), the Secretary of Labor shall
notify such State agency that further payments will not be made
to the State until the Secretary of Labor is satisfied that
there is no longer any such failure. Until the Secretary of
Labor is so satisfied, such Secretary shall make no future
certification to the Secretary of the Treasury with respect to
the State.''.
<all>
Introduced in House
Introduced in House
Referred to the House Committee on Ways and Means.
Referred to the Subcommittee on Worker and Family Support.
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