SS#2 SCS HCS HB 1456 -- EMPLOYMENT SECURITY

This bill changes the laws regarding unemployment compensation.
In its main provisions, the bill:

(1)  Allows the owner and operator of a motor vehicle which is
leased or contracted with a driver to a for-hire common or
contract motor vehicle carrier to operate under a certificate
issued by the Department of Transportation;

(2)  Specifies that for any calendar year after 2008, the state
taxable wage base will be determined by the average balance of
the four preceding quarters less principle, interest, and certain
administrative expenses.  The maximum taxable wage base will be
increased from $12,000 to $12,500 in calendar year 2008;

(3)  Specifies that the maximum weekly benefit amount for initial
unemployment compensation claims filed during calendar years 2006
and 2007 will be 4% of the wages paid to the worker during the
highest quarter of the worker's base period;

(4)  Specifies that the maximum weekly benefit amount for initial
unemployment compensation claims filed during or after calendar
year 2008 will be 4% of the average quarterly wages paid to the
worker during the two highest quarters of the worker's base
period;

(5)  Specifies that the maximum weekly benefit amount for initial
claims filed during calendar year 2006 will not exceed $270; not
exceed $280 in calendar year 2007; and not exceed $320 in
calendar year 2008;

(6)  Requires the directors of the Division of Employment
Security within the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations
and the Division of Workforce Development within the Department
of Economic Development to submit to the Governor, Speaker of the
House of Representatives, and President Pro Tem of the Senate by
October 15, 2006, a report on recommendations for improving work
search verification and claimant re-employment activities.  The
recommendations will include how to best utilize the
greathires.org web site and reduce the average duration of
unemployment compensation claims.  For each succeeding year, the
report will be due by December 31;

(7)  Specifies that the test for alcohol or controlled substances
be included as evidence in the administrative record if the test
was conducted by a laboratory certified by the United States
Department of Health and Human Services or another certification
organization whose minimum standards meet the same standards;

(8)  Expands the ways by which an employer may notify employees
that a positive test for alcohol or controlled substances may
result in the suspension or termination of employment;

(9)  Specifies that an employer may require a pre-employment test
for alcohol or controlled substances as a condition of employment
and the results of the test and any future tests will be
admissible if the employer's policy clearly states that an
employee may be subject to random, pre-employment, reasonable
suspicion, or post-accident testing;

(10)  Specifies that all methods of testing, criteria for
testing, chain of custody for samples or specimens, and due
process for employee notification procedures do not apply to a
claimant subject to the provisions of any collective bargaining
agreement if the minimum standards of the conducting laboratory
meet or exceed the minimum standards of the United States
Department of Health and Human Services;

(11)  Requires that a confirmation test include a split specimen
test to determine employee misconduct;

(12)  Specifies that when applying the provisions of the laws
regarding employment security, it is the intent of the General
Assembly to reject and abrogate previous case law interpretations
of "misconduct connected with work" requiring a finding of
evidence of impaired work performance;

(13)  Specifies that an order to apply for or accept available
suitable work may be issued by a deputy of the Division of
Employment Security or the designated staff of an employment
office;

(14)  Requires a claimant who is disqualified from receiving
unemployment benefits on a second or subsequent occasion within
the base period or within a subsequent base period to earn wages
at least six times the claimant's weekly benefit amount for each
disqualification;

(15)  Specifies that absenteeism or tardiness alone may
constitute a rebuttable presumption of misconduct if the
discharge was the result of the employer's attendance policy and
the employee was aware of the policy prior to being absent or
tardy upon which the discharge was based;

(16)  Requires the division to cross-check unemployment
compensation applicants and recipients with the federal Social
Security Administration's data at least weekly;

(17)  Specifies that an employer may be assessed an amount solely
for the repayment of interest due on federal advances to the
Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund;

(18)  Assesses an employer a credit instrument and financing
agreement repayment surcharge calculated as a percentage of the
total statewide contributions collected during the previous
calendar year;

(19)  Specifies that each employer's proportionate share will be
the calculated percentage of the total statewide contributions
collected during the previous calendar year multiplied by the
employer's contribution due for each filing period during the
preceding calendar year;

(20)  Allows the division to use the services of collection
agencies to collect any debts;

(21)  Allows any party to a case the right to enter a motion to
reconsider a determination by the appeals tribunal;

(22)  Increases the maximum maturity time period of a credit
instrument or a financial agreement offered by the Board of Fund
Financing from three years to 10 years after issuance;

(23)  Requires the division to recover overpayments of benefits
through billings, setoffs against state and federal income tax
refunds, and intercepts of lottery winnings; and

(24)  Specifies that shared-work benefits may not be denied in
any week containing a holiday for which the holiday earnings are
paid by the employer unless the shared-work benefits are for the
same hours in the same day as the holiday earnings.

The bill also adds provisions regarding the war on terror veteran
employment rights and benefits.  In its main provisions, the
bill:

(1)  Defines a "war on terror veteran" as a member of the
National Guard or a United States armed forces reserve unit who
was deployed after September 11, 2001; employed either full or
part time prior to deployment; and was unemployed either during
deployment or within 30 days after the completion of his or her
deployment;

(2)  Specifies that a war on terror veteran is entitled to a
maximum weekly benefit equal to 8% of the wages earned during the
highest earnings quarter of the five quarters prior to the
veteran's deployment.  The maximum weekly benefit amount may not
exceed $1,153.64 adjusted annually by the federal Consumer Price
Index.  A veteran may receive benefits for a maximum of 26 weeks;

(3)  Requires an employer who is found by a court to have
terminated, demoted, or taken an adverse employment action
against a war on terror veteran due to the veteran's absence
while deployed to be subject to an administrative penalty of
$25,000; however, the Director of the Division of Employment
Security is required to review judgments in suits brought under
the federal Uniform Service Employment and Reemployment Rights
Act, 38 U.S.C. 4301, and may recognize a judgment as the
employer's penalty and waive the $25,000 administrative penalty;

(4)  Specifies that a veteran will not be considered to have
voluntarily quit if he or she is not offered the same wages,
benefits, and similar work schedule upon his or her return to
work;

(5)  Creates the War on Terror Unemployment Compensation Fund
which will consist of administrative penalties paid by employers
found in violation of these provisions; and

(6)  Specifies that moneys in the fund will be used solely for
the administration of the provisions regarding the war on terror
veteran unemployment compensation.

The bill becomes effective October 1, 2006.

Missouri House of Representatives
93rd General Assembly, 2nd Regular Session
Last Updated November 29, 2006 at 9:43 am