26 U.S.C. § 3304 : US Code - Section 3304: Approval of State laws

Search 26 U.S.C. § 3304 : US Code - Section 3304: Approval of State laws

(a) Requirements
The Secretary of Labor shall approve any State law submitted to
him, within 30 days of such submission, which he finds provides
that -
(1) all compensation is to be paid through public employment
offices or such other agencies as the Secretary of Labor may
approve;
(2) no compensation shall be payable with respect to any day of
unemployment occurring within 2 years after the first day of the
first period with respect to which contributions are required;
(3) all money received in the unemployment fund shall (except
for refunds of sums erroneously paid into such fund and except
for refunds paid in accordance with the provisions of section
3305(b)) immediately upon such receipt be paid over to the
Secretary of the Treasury to the credit of the Unemployment Trust
Fund established by section 904 of the Social Security Act (42
U.S.C. 1104);
(4) all money withdrawn from the unemployment fund of the State
shall be used solely in the payment of unemployment compensation,
exclusive of expenses of administration, and for refunds of sums
erroneously paid into such fund and refunds paid in accordance
with the provisions of section 3305(b); except that -
(A) an amount equal to the amount of employee payments into
the unemployment fund of a State may be used in the payment of
cash benefits to individuals with respect to their disability,
exclusive of expenses of administration;
(B) the amounts specified by section 903 (c)(2) or 903(d)(4)
of the Social Security Act may, subject to the conditions
prescribed in such section, be used for expenses incurred by
the State for administration of its unemployment compensation
law and public employment offices;
(C) nothing in this paragraph shall be construed to prohibit
deducting an amount from unemployment compensation otherwise
payable to an individual and using the amount so deducted to
pay for health insurance, or the withholding of Federal, State,
or local individual income tax, if the individual elected to
have such deduction made and such deduction was made under a
program approved by the Secretary of Labor;
(D) amounts may be deducted from unemployment benefits and
used to repay overpayments as provided in section 303(g) of the
Social Security Act;
(E) amounts may be withdrawn for the payment of short-time
compensation under a plan approved by the Secretary of Labor;
and
(F) amounts may be withdrawn for the payment of allowances
under a self-employment assistance program (as defined in
section 3306(t));
(5) compensation shall not be denied in such State to any
otherwise eligible individual for refusing to accept new work
under any of the following conditions:
(A) if the position offered is vacant due directly to a
strike, lockout, or other labor dispute;
(B) if the wages, hours, or other conditions of the work
offered are substantially less favorable to the individual than
those prevailing for similar work in the locality;
(C) if as a condition of being employed the individual would
be required to join a company union or to resign from or
refrain from joining any bona fide labor organization;
(6)(A) compensation is payable on the basis of service to which
section 3309(a)(1) applies, in the same amount, on the same
terms, and subject to the same conditions as compensation payable
on the basis of other service subject to such law; except that -
(i) with respect to services in an instructional, research,
or principal administrative capacity for an educational
institution to which section 3309(a)(1) applies, compensation
shall not be payable based on such services for any week
commencing during the period between two successive academic
years or terms (or, when an agreement provides instead for a
similar period between two regular but not successive terms,
during such period) to any individual if such individual
performs such services in the first of such academic years (or
terms) and if there is a contract or reasonable assurance that
such individual will perform services in any such capacity for
any educational institution in the second of such academic
years or terms,
(ii) with respect to services in any other capacity for an
educational institution to which section 3309(a)(1) applies -
(I) compensation payable on the basis of such services may
be denied to any individual for any week which commences
during a period between 2 successive academic years or terms
if such individual performs such services in the first of
such academic years or terms and there is a reasonable
assurance that such individual will perform such services in
the second of such academic years or terms, except that
(II) if compensation is denied to any individual for any
week under subclause (I) and such individual was not offered
an opportunity to perform such services for the educational
institution for the second of such academic years or terms,
such individual shall be entitled to a retroactive payment of
the compensation for each week for which the individual filed
a timely claim for compensation and for which compensation
was denied solely by reason of subclause (I),
(iii) with respect to any services described in clause (i) or
(ii), compensation payable on the basis of such services shall
be denied to any individual for any week which commences during
an established and customary vacation period or holiday recess
if such individual performs such services in the period
immediately before such vacation period or holiday recess, and
there is a reasonable assurance that such individual will
perform such services in the period immediately following such
vacation period or holiday recess,
(iv) with respect to any services described in clause (i) or
(ii), compensation payable on the basis of services in any such
capacity shall be denied as specified in clauses (i), (ii), and
(iii) to any individual who performed such services in an
educational institution while in the employ of an educational
service agency, and for this purpose the term "educational
service agency" means a governmental agency or governmental
entity which is established and operated exclusively for the
purpose of providing such services to one or more educational
institutions,
(v) with respect to services to which section 3309(a)(1)
applies, if such services are provided to or on behalf of an
educational institution, compensation may be denied under the
same circumstances as described in clauses (i) through (iv),
and
(vi) with respect to services described in clause (ii),
clauses (iii) and (iv) shall be applied by substituting "may be
denied" for "shall be denied", and
(B) payments (in lieu of contributions) with respect to service
to which section 3309(a)(1) applies may be made into the State
unemployment fund on the basis set forth in section 3309(a)(2);
(7) an individual who has received compensation during his
benefit year is required to have had work since the beginning of
such year in order to qualify for compensation in his next
benefit year;
(8) compensation shall not be denied to an individual for any
week because he is in training with the approval of the State
agency (or because of the application, to any such week in
training, of State law provisions relating to availability for
work, active search for work, or refusal to accept work);
(9)(A) compensation shall not be denied or reduced to an
individual solely because he files a claim in another State (or a
contiguous country with which the United States has an agreement
with respect to unemployment compensation) or because he resides
in another State (or such a contiguous country) at the time he
files a claim for unemployment compensation;
(B) the State shall participate in any arrangements for the
payment of compensation on the basis of combining an individual's
wages and employment covered under the State law with his wages
and employment covered under the unemployment compensation law of
other States which are approved by the Secretary of Labor in
consultation with the State unemployment compensation agencies as
reasonably calculated to assure the prompt and full payment of
compensation in such situations. Any such arrangement shall
include provisions for (i) applying the base period of a single
State law to a claim involving the combining of an individual's
wages and employment covered under two or more State laws, and
(ii) avoiding duplicate use of wages and employment by reason of
such combining;
(10) compensation shall not be denied to any individual by
reason of cancellation of wage credits or total reduction of his
benefit rights for any cause other than discharge for misconduct
connected with his work, fraud in connection with a claim for
compensation, or receipt of disqualifying income;
(11) extended compensation shall be payable as provided by the
Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970;
(12) no person shall be denied compensation under such State
law solely on the basis of pregnancy or termination of pregnancy;
(13) compensation shall not be payable to any individual on the
basis of any services, substantially all of which consist of
participating in sports or athletic events or training or
preparing to so participate, for any week which commences during
the period between two successive sport seasons (or similar
periods) if such individual performed such services in the first
of such seasons (or similar periods) and there is a reasonable
assurance that such individual will perform such services in the
later of such seasons (or similar periods);
(14)(A) compensation shall not be payable on the basis of
services performed by an alien unless such alien is an individual
who was lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time
such services were performed, was lawfully present for purposes
of performing such services, or was permanently residing in the
United States under color of law at the time such services were
performed (including an alien who was lawfully present in the
United States as a result of the application of the provisions of
section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act),
(B) any data or information required of individuals applying
for compensation to determine whether compensation is not payable
to them because of their alien status shall be uniformly required
from all applicants for compensation, and
(C) in the case of an individual whose application for
compensation would otherwise be approved, no determination by the
State agency that compensation to such individual is not payable
because of his alien status shall be made except upon a
preponderance of the evidence;
(15) the amount of compensation payable to an individual for
any week which begins after March 31, 1980, and which begins in a
period with respect to which such individual is receiving a
governmental or other pension, retirement or retired pay,
annuity, or any other similar periodic payment which is based on
the previous work of such individual shall be reduced (but not
below zero) by an amount equal to the amount of such pension,
retirement or retired pay, annuity, or other payment, which is
reasonably attributable to such week except that -
(A) the requirements of this paragraph shall apply to any
pension, retirement or retired pay, annuity, or other similar
periodic payment only if -
(i) such pension, retirement or retired pay, annuity, or
similar payment is under a plan maintained (or contributed
to) by a base period employer or chargeable employer (as
determined under applicable law), and
(ii) in the case of such a payment not made under the
Social Security Act or the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974
(or the corresponding provisions of prior law), services
performed for such employer by the individual after the
beginning of the base period (or remuneration for such
services) affect eligibility for, or increase the amount of,
such pension, retirement or retired pay, annuity, or similar
payment, and
(B) the State law may provide for limitations on the amount
of any such a reduction to take into account contributions made
by the individual for the pension, retirement or retired pay,
annuity, or other similar periodic payment;
(16)(A) wage information contained in the records of the agency
administering the State law which is necessary (as determined by
the Secretary of Health and Human Services in regulations) for
purposes of determining an individual's eligibility for
assistance, or the amount of such assistance, under a State
program funded under part A of title IV of the Social Security
Act, shall be made available to a State or political subdivision
thereof when such information is specifically requested by such
State or political subdivision for such purposes,
(B) wage and unemployment compensation information contained in
the records of such agency shall be furnished to the Secretary of
Health and Human Services (in accordance with regulations
promulgated by such Secretary) as necessary for the purposes of
the National Directory of New Hires established under section
453(i) of the Social Security Act, and
(C) such safeguards are established as are necessary (as
determined by the Secretary of Health and Human Services in
regulations) to insure that information furnished under
subparagraph (A) or (B) is used only for the purposes authorized
under such subparagraph;
(17) any interest required to be paid on advances under title
XII of the Social Security Act shall be paid in a timely manner
and shall not be paid, directly or indirectly (by an equivalent
reduction in State unemployment taxes or otherwise) by such State
from amounts in such State's unemployment fund;
(18) Federal individual income tax from unemployment
compensation is to be deducted and withheld if an individual
receiving such compensation voluntarily requests such deduction
and withholding; and
(19) all the rights, privileges, or immunities conferred by
such law or by acts done pursuant thereto shall exist subject to
the power of the legislature to amend or repeal such law at any
time.
(b) Notification
The Secretary of Labor shall, upon approving such law, notify the
governor of the State of his approval.
(c) Certification
On October 31 of each taxable year the Secretary of Labor shall
certify to the Secretary of the Treasury each State whose law he
has previously approved, except that he shall not certify any State
which, after reasonable notice and opportunity for hearing to the
State agency, the Secretary of Labor finds has amended its law so
that it no longer contains the provisions specified in subsection
(a) or has with respect to the 12-month period ending on such
October 31 failed to comply substantially with any such provision
in such subsection. No finding of a failure to comply substantially
with any provision in paragraph (5) of subsection (a) shall be
based on an application or interpretation of State law (1) until
all administrative review provided for under the laws of the State
has been exhausted, or (2) with respect to which the time for
judicial review provided by the laws of the State has not expired,
or (3) with respect to which any judicial review is pending. On
October 31 of any taxable year, the Secretary of Labor shall not
certify any State which, after reasonable notice and opportunity
for hearing to the State agency, the Secretary of Labor finds has
failed to amend its law so that it contains each of the provisions
required by law to be included therein (including provisions
relating to the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation
Act of 1970 (or any amendments thereto) as required under
subsection (a)(11)), or has, with respect to the twelve-month
period ending on such October 31, failed to comply substantially
with any such provision.
(d) Notice of noncertification
If at any time the Secretary of Labor has reason to believe that
a State whose law he has previously approved may not be certified
under subsection (c), he shall promptly so notify the governor of
such State.
(e) Change of law during 12-month period
Whenever -
(1) any provision of this section, section 3302, or section
3303 refers to a 12-month period ending on October 31 of a year,
and
(2) the law applicable to one portion of such period differs
from the law applicable to another portion of such period,
then such provision shall be applied by taking into account for
each such portion the law applicable to such portion.
(f) Definition of institution of higher education
For purposes of subsection (a)(6), the term "institution of
higher education" means an educational institution in any State
which -
(1) admits as regular students only individuals having a
certificate of graduation from a high school, or the recognized
equivalent of such a certificate;
(2) is legally authorized within such State to provide a
program of education beyond high school;
(3) provides an educational program for it which awards a
bachelor's or higher degree, or provides a program which is
acceptable for full credit toward such a degree, or offers a
program of training to prepare students for gainful employment in
a recognized occupation; and
(4) is a public or other nonprofit institution.