|
MANNER IN WHICH REGULATIONS BECAME EFFECTIVE |
| Arkansas Department of Workforce Services Regulation No. 1 is hereby rescinded. |
| This recision shall be in full force and effect on and after January 1, 1988. |
|
CASH VALUE OF CERTAIN REMUNERATIONS |
||
| The following regulation is hereby promulgated and adopted by the Director, Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, pursuant to Arkansas Code 11-10-215: | ||
| (A) | The Director of the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services shall determine or approve the cash value of any payment in kind, considered as payment for service performed by an individual, which is in addition to, or in lieu of, money wages and such values shall be reported as wages. | |
| (B) | A money value for payment in kind furnished to a worker agreed upon by the worker and his employing unit shall be deemed the cash value of such payment in kind unless it is less than rates specially determined by the Director or, in the case of board and lodging, less than the rates prescribed in Paragraph (C), below. | |
| (C) | Board and/or lodging furnished an individual in addition to, or in lieu of, money or wages, shall be reported as wages and shall be deemed to have not less than the following values: | |
| Full board and room weekly . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 40.00 | ||
| Meals per week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22.50 | ||
| Meals per day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.75 | ||
| Each meal . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .1.50 | ||
| Lodging per week . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .21.00 | ||
| Lodging per day . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3.50 | ||
| (D) | Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (C), above, if the cost of meals furnished an individual in addition to, or in lieu of, money or wages exceeds the amounts set forth in Paragraph (C), the employer may value meals so provided on the basis of their cost to the employer. | |
This amended regulation shall take effect and be in full force on and after July 1, 1987. |
||
|
EXCLUSION OF EXPENSE ALLOWANCES AND |
| The following regulation is hereby amended, promulgated and adopted by the Director, Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, pursuant to Arkansas Code 11-10-215: |
| Any allowances or reimbursements for traveling or other expenses made by an employer to any traveling salesman or other individual shall constitute wages unless: (a) allowances are identified as such and are for bona fide, ordinary and necessary expenses normally incurred, or reasonably expected to be incurred, by the individual while conducting business on behalf of his employer; or, (b) reimbursements for expenses incurred do not exceed those amounts accounted for by the individual to his employer. |
This amended regulation shall take effect and be in full force on and after January 1, 1988. |
|
IDENTIFICATION OF COVERED WORKERS |
||||
| The Director prescribes: | ||||
| (A) | That, each employer shall secure the Social Security number of each worker employed by him in employment subject to the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services Law. | |||
| (B) | That, the employer shall report the worker's Social Security number in making any report required by the Department of Workforce Services with respect to a worker. | |||
| This regulation shall take effect and be in full force on and after July 1, 1971. |
||||
|
IDENTIFICATION OF COVERED WORKERS |
||||
| This Regulation is hereby amended, promulgated and adopted by the Director, Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, pursuant to Arkansas Code 11-10-520, to read as follows: | ||||
| (A) | Every employing unit which is, or becomes an employer, under the provisions of the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services Law (Law) shall post, on a continuing basis, a printed notice informing his workers that he is an employer under the Law and that, in the event of their unemployment, they may be eligible for unemployment benefits. | |||
| (B) | The notices shall be maintained in locations readily accessible to the employer's workers. | |||
| (C) | The notices shall not be posted by any employing unit that has not been determined to be, or who has ceased to be, an employer under the Law. | |||
| (D) | The Director shall supply notices to employing units for posting when they are determined to be employers under the Law or upon request. | |||
| (E) | Any Lessor Employing Unit will provide individual, written notice to each employee specifying the appropriate Department of Workforce Services account number and employer name to be used for the purpose of applying for unemployment insurance benefits. | |||
| This amended regulation shall take effect and be in full force on and after July 1, 2003. |
||||
|
CONTRIBUTION PAYMENTS AND REPORTS, |
|||
| The following regulation is hereby amended, promulgated and adopted by the Director, Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, pursuant to 11-10-701, 11-10-713, 11-10-401-403, 11-10-318 and 11-10-716: : | |||
| (A) | (1) | Except as otherwise provided in this Paragraph (A), each employing unit, which is or becomes an employer under the provisions of the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services Law, including those who elect to make payments in lieu of contributions under Section 11-10-713 of the law, shall file with the Department of Workforce Services an Employer's Quarterly Contribution and Wage Report on report forms provided by the Department of Workforce Services, either on its own initiative or at the request of such employing unit. The report shall be filed on a quarterly basis in accordance with the due dates specified in paragraph B, below. The report shall contain: | |
| (a) | The employer's name, Department of Workforce Services account number, and address at which payroll records are kept. | ||
| (b) | The name and Social Security number of each worker employed by the employer during the calendar quarter. | ||
| (c) | The total wages, as defined in Arkansas Code 11-10-215, paid to each individual in his employ with respect to the calendar quarter designated on the report form. | ||
| (d) | Any other information that may be requested on the form. | ||
| (2) | Employers may submit their quarterly contribution and wage reports on their own paper provided each sheet is no larger than 8 ½” by 11” in size, that it contains all of the information required under Paragraph (A) (1), above, and that it is in the same format as the report form prescribed by the Department of Workforce Services. | ||
| (3) | All employers required to report W-2 copy A information on magnetic media tape to the Social Security Administration, pursuant to 26 CFR Section 301.6011-2, are likewise required to report quarterly wage information to the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services on 3 ½” diskette or CD effective January 1, 2008, and, after proper notification, Electronic Data Interchange via Internet access. Employers not required to report by tape or diskette by the Social Security Administration may do so as an option. These employers may also report via Internet access. | ||
| (4) | All employing units that are employers by virtue of the fact that they are care recipients receiving personal care services pursuant to an Arkansas Medicaid program and that have less than three years of benefit risk may have the required information reported by an entity under contract with the State to provide fiscal/employer agent services for Arkansas Medicaid programs. The information may be reported under a single account number established by the fiscal/employer agent. The fiscal/employer agent shall be liable for all contributions, penalties, and interest related to the account. The fiscal/employer agent shall maintain separate records for each employer for which it reports on the account. | ||
| (B) | With respect to wages paid for employment for any calendar year, contributions shall become due and payable on a calendar quarter basis. The contribution payment together with the quarterly Contribution and Wage Report shall be due and payable in the following manner: | ||
| (1) | The first calendar quarter shall be due and payable during the month of April of the calendar year. | ||
| (2) | The second calendar quarter shall be due and payable during the month of July of the calendar year. | ||
| (3) | The third calendar quarter shall be due and payable during the month of October of the calendar year. | ||
| (4) | The fourth calendar quarter shall be due and payable during the month of January of the next calendar year. | ||
| (5) | An employer as defined in (A) (3) above may, after January 1, 1998, and after proper notification, be required to submit contribution payments to this agency by electronic funds transfer. | ||
| (6) | An employer, effective July 1, 2003, and after proper notification, may submit contribution payments by a credit card approved by the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services. | ||
| (C) | All contribution payments and reports shall include all contributions with respect to wages paid for employment in all pay periods ending within the calendar quarter to which the payment and report has reference. | ||
| (D) | Wages earned for employment, the exact amount of which, or the person to whom payable was not determined during any previous pay period shall, for the purposes of this regulation, be reported in the pay period in which they are actually paid. | ||
| (E) | The receipt date of any contribution payment or report shall be the day on which it is received either by the Department of Workforce Services in the State Administrative Office at Little Rock, Arkansas, or by a field representative of the Department of Workforce Services, except that the receipt date of any contribution payment or report mailed to the Department of Workforce Services shall be the day it was postmarked as received in the mails by the United States Postal Service. The receipt date of any contribution payment by electronic funds transfer shall be the date that the remittance is transferred to the Department. | ||
| (F) | Upon the written request of any employer filed with the Director on or before the due date of any contribution payment, the Director, for good cause shown, may grant in writing an extension of time for the filing of a Quarterly Contribution and Wage Report and the payment of the contribution due thereon, but--- | ||
| (1) | no extension for the filing of the contribution report and the payment of the contribution due thereon shall exceed thirty (30) days; and | ||
| (2) | no extension shall postpone the filing of the contribution report and the payment of the contribution due thereon beyond the fifteenth day preceding the last day for filing tax returns under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act | ||
| If any employer who has been granted an extension fails to file his Quarterly Contribution and Wage Report within the extension period, the penalty provision of the Law shall apply, and, if any employer fails to pay the contribution due on the report within the extension period, interest shall be payable from the original due date as if no extension has been granted. | |||
| (G) | The first contribution payment, together with the contribution report of any employing unit who becomes an employer under this Law, shall be due and payable during the calendar month next following the close of the calendar quarter in which he becomes an employer. | ||
| (H) | The certification on each Employer's Quarterly contribution and Wage Report shall be signed by: | ||
| (1) | the individual, if the employer is an individual, or | ||
| (2) | the president, vice president, or other principal officer, if the employer is a corporation, or | ||
| (3) | a responsible and duly authorized agent having knowledge of its affairs, if the employer is an individual partnership, other unincorporated organization, governmental employing unit, or a group account. | ||
| (I) | Whenever the Director finds the collection of contributions from any particular employer may be jeopardized because of bankruptcy or removal or other factors, he may advance the due date of such employer's contributions to such date, succeeding the period with respect to which they have accrued, as he deems advisable, or may in his discretion, upon such finding or upon the request of an employer, prescribe payment of contributions from such employer monthly rather than quarterly. | ||
| (J) | At the end of each calendar quarter, or as soon thereafter as possible, the Department of Workforce Services shall send to each employing unit, which makes payments in lieu of contributions, except State government employing units, a quarterly listing of benefit charges showing the amount of regular and extended benefits paid to claimants during such quarter based on wages paid by such employing unit and charged to such employing unit. | ||
(K) |
Refunds of excess advance payments made by reimbursable employers under Arkansas Code 11-10-713 shall be made if the employing unit requests the refund within thirty (30) days after the date on which the Director mails or otherwise delivers the overpayment notice to the employing unit at the end of a calendar year. | ||
| (L) | At the end of each calendar quarter, or as soon thereafter as possible, the Director shall bill the Department of Finance and Administration of the State of Arkansas for all regular and extended benefits chargeable to State government employing units. The Department of Finance and Administration shall pay such billings within thirty (30) days after the date the Director mails or otherwise delivers such billings to the Department of Finance and Administration. | ||
| This amended regulation shall take effect and be in full force on and after January 1, 2008. |
|||
|
TRANSFER OF EXPERIENCE TO SUCCESSORS |
| Department of Workforce Services Regulation No. 7 is hereby rescinded. |
| This recision shall be in full force and effect on and after January 1, 1998. |
|
TERMINATION OF COVERAGE |
||||
| This regulation is hereby amended, promulgated, and adopted by the Director, Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, pursuant to Arkansas Code 11-10-402: | ||||
| (A) | Except as otherwise provided in Arkansas Code 11-10-403 of the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services Law, the following employing units shall cease to be employers subject to said Law, either upon approval by the Director of their application for termination of coverage or upon determination of the facts and decision by the Director on his own initiative: | |||
| (1) | Any employing unit having its base of operations or point of control either within or without this State, but which has not had any individuals in employment throughout a period of two complete calendar quarters and does not anticipate having individuals in employment in the State. | |||
| (2) | Any employing unit, the base of operations or point of control of which is either within or without this State, and which terminates its business for any reason whatsoever, or sells its business or assets to another. | |||
| (B) | Each employing unit so ceasing to be an employer shall render a report of such cessation promptly to the Director, in accordance with Regulation No. 13, and shall likewise promptly notify the Director in case of any resumption of business. | |||
| This amended regulation shall take effect and be in full force on and after January 1, 1988. |
||||
|
SEASONAL INDUSTRIES, EMPLOYER |
||||
| This regulation is hereby amended, promulgated and adopted by the Director, Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, pursuant to Arkansas Code 11-10-506, to read as follows: | ||||
| (A) | DEFINITIONS – As used in this regulation, unless the context clearly requires otherwise: | |||
| (1) | ‘Industry' is all of that group of employers classified under the same four (4) digit Industrial Classification Code of the Social Security Board, except that when the Director finds that any such industry includes one (1) or more groups of employers who are distinct in nature from the remainder of employers in such industry, and that these groups are sufficiently large and homogenous, the Director may set up appropriate subclassifications within such industry and treat such subclassifications as a separate industry. The Director shall notify the Department of Workforce Services Advisory Council quarterly of any request for change in subclassification status. | |||
| (2) | ‘Seasonal employment' is employment by an employer within the normal seasonal period of operation of an industry subsequent to that industry having been determined by the Director to be a seasonal industry. | |||
| (3) | ‘Seasonal earnings' are wages paid in seasonal employment as above defined. | |||
| (4) | ‘Seasonal benefits' are unemployment insurance benefits based on seasonal earnings as above defined. | |||
| (5) | ‘Nonseasonal employment' is employment by an employer in an industry which had not previously been determined by the Director to be a seasonal industry; or employment outside the normal seasonal period of operations of an industry subsequent to that industry's having been determined by the Director to be a seasonal industry. | |||
| (6) | ‘Nonseasonal earnings' are wages paid in nonseasonal employment as above defined. | |||
| (7) | ‘Nonseasonal benefits' are unemployment insurance benefits based on nonseasonal earnings as above defined. | |||
| (B) | DETERMINATIONS OF SEASONAL INDUSTRY | |||
| (1) | A determination on a seasonal industry and its normal seasonal period of operations shall apply to each employer in the industry; each employer shall be promptly notified of any determination affecting his industry; each employer in an industry determined seasonal shall keep posted conspicuously a notice provided by the Department of Workforce Services notifying employees of the determination and informing them that their benefit rights are subject to the restrictions imposed by the determination and by this regulation. | |||
| (2) | Upon the initiation of a study to determine whether an industry should continue to be classified as seasonal, the Director shall notify all active employers within that industry of the study. The Director shall, as part of the study, schedule a hearing to consider the continuation of the seasonal classification and shall notify all of the active employers in the industry of the time and place for such hearing, thereby affording the opportunity to attend and participate in the hearing. Such hearing notification shall be posted by the employer with other notice(s) provided by the Department of Workforce Services as stated in Paragraph (B)(1), above. | |||
| (C) | SEASONAL EMPLOYER REPORTS | |||
| Each employer in a seasonal industry shall keep separate account of wages paid to employees within and without the normal seasonal period of operations, and shall report these wages on a special seasonal quarterly report form provided by the Department of Workforce Services. | ||||
| (D) | PAYMENT OF BENEFITS TO SEASONAL WORKERS | |||
| (1) | The weekly benefit amount and the maximum benefit amount of any claimant who is a seasonal worker shall be calculated in the usual manner as prescribed by Law, but seasonal benefit rights shall be used in the payment of such worker's benefits only when the benefits accrue during weeks of unemployment within the normal seasonal operating period of the industry. A week of unemployment shall be deemed to be ‘in', ‘within', or ‘during' the normal seasonal period if four (4) or more days of the week are included therein. | |||
| (2) | In calculating any benefit determination for a seasonal worker as provided in paragraph (D)(1) of this regulation, there shall be stated, in addition to the weekly and maximum benefit amounts, the amount of ‘seasonal' benefits which may be payable only for unemployment occurring within the normal seasonal period of a seasonal industry, and the amount of ‘non-seasonal' benefits, if any. Seasonal benefits and non-seasonal benefits may be payable to a seasonal worker in an aggregate amount equal to his maximum benefit amount for weeks of unemployment occurring during the normal seasonal operating period of the industry, provided that non-seasonal benefits shall be payable to such worker for unemployment in such period only if his seasonal benefits have previously been exhausted. Non-seasonal benefits shall be payable to a seasonal worker for weeks of unemployment occurring outside such period but shall be based only on wages paid in non-seasonal employment and shall not be payable in an aggregate amount greater than the seasonal worker's maximum benefit amount determined according to Arkansas Code Annotated §11-10-501 through §11-10-505, less the amounts of any benefits which have previously been paid such worker during the same benefit year. | |||
| (3) | Benefits paid to a seasonal worker shall be charged to a employer's experience rating account in the following manner: | |||
| (a) | Seasonal benefits paid shall be prorated only on the basis of seasonal base period wages and charged in the manner prescribed in Arkansas Code Annotated §11-10-703, to the separate account(s) of the base period employer(s) that paid the seasonal wages; and | |||
| (b) | Non-seasonal benefits paid shall be prorated only on the basis of non-seasonal, base period wages and charged in the manner prescribed in Arkansas Code Annotated §11-10-703, to the separate account(s) of the base period employer(s) that paid the non-seasonal wages. | |||
| (4) | No wages shall be deemed ‘seasonal' if earned prior to the effective date of the determination of such industry as seasonal by the Director. | |||
| This amended regulation shall take effect and be in full force on and, after July 1, 1989. |
||||
|
GROUP ACCOUNTS |
||||
| The following regulation is hereby amended, promulgated and adopted by the Director, Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, pursuant to Arkansas Code 11-10-713: | ||||
| (A) | An application for a group account shall show: | |||
| (1) | Name, address, and established Arkansas Department of Workforce Services account number of member employing units. | |||
| (2) | Name and address of the authorized group representative. | |||
| (3) | Signatures of each employing unit member. | |||
| (4) | An authorization for the representative named by the group | |||
| (a) | to act for the group, and | |||
| (b) | to allocate the determined legal liability to each member of the group. | |||
| (B) | A group account shall be terminated upon request received not less than one (1) calendar quarter prior to the proposed effective date or at the discretion of the Director. | |||
| (C) | The Department of Workforce Services shall issue a quarterly listing within thirty (30) days after the close of a calendar quarter, or as soon thereafter as possible, for each group account with respect to the combined benefit charges of all members of the group and shall mail such listing to the last known address of the authorized representative of the group. | |||
| (D) | An active employing unit which is a member of a continuing group account may withdraw from such group provided that: | |||
| (1) | If there are two (2) or more employers remaining in the group, the authorized representative submits an amended application notifying the Department of Workforce Services of such intention not less than one (1) calendar quarter prior to the effective date of withdrawal. | |||
| (2) | If the withdrawal will eliminate the group account, the authorized representative shall file an amended application to terminate the group status, not later than one (1) quarter prior to the effective date of such application. |
|||
| (E) | An active employer may be added to an existing authorized group account provided that the authorized representative submits an amended application to the Department of Workforce Services for approval no later than one (1) calendar quarter prior to the effective date of the proposed amended group account. | |||
| This amended regulation shall take effect and be in full force on and after January 1, 1988. |
||||
|
CONTRIBUTION RATES, VOLUNTARY PAYMENTS |
|
| This regulation is hereby amended, promulgated and adopted by the Director, Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, pursuant to Arkansas Code 11-10-218 and 219; and 11-10-704, 705, 707 and 708 to read as follows: | |
| (A) | Pending a redetermination of the rate of contribution payable by an employer where an application for a review and redetermination has been filed, the employer shall be liable for the payment of contributions at the rate as determined by the Department of Workforce Services. If the contribution rate is changed by reason of this review and redetermination, the Department of Workforce Services shall, without application by the employer, make an adjustment thereof in connection with subsequent contribution payments. |
| (B) | All voluntary payments to the Fund made by an employer under Arkansas Code 11-10-705 shall be so identified by the employer when the payment is made. |
| (C) | Any employer who has been subject to three (3) or more years of benefit risk immediately preceding the computation date, and who voluntarily elects to use as his average annual payroll the total taxable wages paid by him during the preceding calendar year, shall for each rate year give written notice of such election to the Department of Workforce Services not later than July 31 immediately preceding the rate year. |
This regulation shall take effect and be in full force on and after January 1, 1988. |
|
|
EMPLOYING UNIT RECORDS |
|||
| This regulation is hereby amended, promulgated and adopted by the Director, Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, pursuant to Arkansas Code 11-10-318 to read as follows: | |||
| (A) | Each employing unit shall keep payroll records regarding any individual employed by it so that from an inspection thereof it shall be possible to determine with respect to each worker in his employ: | ||
| (1) | The pay period covered by any payroll. | ||
| (2) | The Social Security number of each worker employed during any pay period. | ||
| (3) | The full name of each worker employed during any pay period. | ||
| (4) | The place of employment. | ||
| (5) | The date each worker was hired, rehired, or returned to work after a temporary lay-off. | ||
| (6) | All remuneration including commissions and bonuses paid to each worker for personal services with respect to any day of work, in each case showing separately: | ||
| (a) | Cash remuneration; | ||
| (b) | The reasonable value of a remuneration in any medium other than cash; and | ||
| (c) | Special payments, such as bonuses, gifts, prizes, etc., showing separately those paid in cash and those paid in any medium other than cash. | ||
| (7) | Amounts paid the worker as allowance or reimbursement for traveling or other business expenses, dates of payment, and the amounts of such expenditures actually incurred and accounted for by him. | ||
| (8) | With respect to pay periods in which he performs both employment and non-subject work, the number of: | ||
| (a) | Hours spent in employment; and/or | ||
| (b) | Hours spent in non-subject work. | ||
| (B) | The place of employment of any worker shall be the county within Arkansas: | ||
| (1) | In which he performs his work; or | ||
| (2) | In which he has his base of operations, if he performs his work in more than one (1) county in Arkansas; or | ||
| (3) | From which he received his principal or immediate direction or control, if he has no base of operations in Arkansas; or | ||
| (4) | In which he resides, if the place from which he received his principal direction or control is outside of Arkansas. | ||
| (C) | It shall be the responsibility of the employing unit to make such records available for inspection at a specified location in the state of Arkansas. If the location is not at the employer's principal place of business, it shall be subject to approval by the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services. | ||
| (D) | All employer records designated in this regulation shall be preserved and made available for purposes of inspection for a period of not less than five (5) years from the end of the month next following the end of the calendar quarter to which such records pertain. | ||
This amended regulation shall take effect and be in full force on and after January 1, 1988. |
|||
|
EMPLOYING UNIT RECORDS |
||
| This regulation is hereby amended, promulgated and adopted by the Director, Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, pursuant to Arkansas Code 11-10-318 to read as follows: | ||
| Information requested in report forms provided by the Department of Workforce Services shall be provided by the employing unit in accordance with instructions accompanying the forms. | ||
| Every individual or legal entity which becomes an employing unit as defined in Arkansas Code 11-10-208 shall, on or before the last day of the month next following the month during which it became an employing unit, file with the Department of Workforce Services an initial Report To Determine Liability form and such additional reports as the Director may require for the purpose of determining whether it is an employer as defined in Arkansas Code 11-10-209. | ||
| Any employing unit that employs workers during any calendar year which considers that it is not an employer as defined in Arkansas Code 11-10-209 must establish such proof by submitting contracts, reports, and/or other documents with the Report To Determine Liability form. | ||
| Any employer: | ||
| Who terminates his business for any reason whatsoever, or transfers or sells all or a substantial part of the assets of his organization, trade, or business to another or changes the trade name of such business or address shall, within ten (10) days after such termination, transfer, or change of name or address, give notice in writing to the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services of that fact. He shall set forth in such notice the former name and address of the business, the new name and address of the business, the name of any new owner, and his own name and present address. | ||
| Shall immediately notify the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services of the commencement of any receivership or similar proceedings, or of any assignment for benefit of creditors or any order of court under the laws of Arkansas with respect to the foregoing or of the filing of any voluntary or involuntary petition in bankruptcy or other proceedings under the Federal Bankruptcy Act. | ||
This regulation shall take effect and be in full force on and after January 1, 1988. |
||
|
WEEK OF UNEMPLOYMENT WITHIN A BENEFIT YEAR |
| This regulation is hereby amended, promulgated and adopted by the Director, Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, pursuant to Arkansas Code 11-10-203 and 11-10-214 to read as follows: |
| A week shall be deemed to be within that benefit year which includes four (4) or more days of such week. |
This regulation shall take effect and be in full force on and after January 1, 1988. |
|
CLAIM FILING |
|
| The following regulation is hereby promulgated and adopted by the Director, Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, pursuant to Arkansas Code 11-10-507 of the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services Law: | |
| (A) | All claims for benefits shall be filed either by telephone, electronically via the Internet, by mail, or in person, except as may otherwise be provided herein, at a local employment office of the Department of Workforce Services (Agency) on standard claim forms prescribed by the Agency. |
| (B) | All claims must be completed with the individual's social security number(s) and all other items of information requested on the standard form prescribed by the Agency. In addition, each claim shall bear the individual's signed certification that the information entered on the form is true, complete and correct. Provided however, when filing by telephone, Internet or other electronic means a claimant's assigned “pin number” or electronic signature satisfies the requirement for a signature. The claimant must comply with the telephone, Internet and other electronic filing procedures determined by the Department. If an individual submits an incomplete claim form, the Agency may either require the individual to report to the local employment office to complete the claim form or may return the claim form to him by mail or electronic means for completion. An individual shall report to, or complete and submit the claim form to, the local employment office, as directed, within 10 days following the date the Agency mails the notice to report or returns the incomplete claim form to the individual unless good cause for failing to do so is shown by the individual. An individual may be required to present his social security card to verify his social security number. |
| (C) | To establish a benefit year and to obtain a determination of his monetary entitlement to benefits, an individual shall file an initial claim either by telephone, electronically via the Internet, in person, or by mail with a local employment office on the standard initial claim form prescribed by the Agency. A new benefit year may not be established by the filing of an initial claim unless and until any current benefit year which an individual may have established has expired. |
| (D) | To reestablish his claim when intervening employment causes a break of one week or more in an individual's claim series during an existing benefit year or other period of eligibility, he shall file, either by telephone, electronically via the Internet, in person, or by mail, an additional claim for benefits with a local office of the Agency on the standard additional claim form prescribed by the Agency in order to reactivate his claim. |
| (E) | To reestablish (reopen) his claim when a break of one week or more in an individual's claim series occurs during an existing benefit year or other period of eligibility but not as a result of intervening employment, he shall complete another standard initial claim form and file it either by telephone, electronically via the Internet, in person, or by mail with a local office of the Agency. |
| (F) | To claim a waiting week, a compensable week, or a noncompensable week of unemployment, an individual who has established or has filed an initial claim to establish a current benefit year shall file either by telephone, electronically via the Internet, in person, or by mail, a continued claim on the standard continued claim form prescribed by the Agency. All continued claims shall be filed either by telephone, electronically via the Internet, in person, or if filed by mail, postmarked not later than the seventh day following the last day of the calendar week for which benefits are claimed. A valid non-compensable week of unemployment, when properly claimed, may be used by an individual in partial satisfaction of a disqualification. |
| (G) | An initial, additional, reopened or continued claim, if filed either by telephone, electronically via the Internet or, in person, shall be considered to have been filed on the date it is received by the Agency. If mailed, such claim shall be considered to be been filed on the date of its postmark. Except that, if it is determined by the Agency that a delay in the filing of any claim was due to good cause, it may be considered to have been filed on a date no earlier than fourteen (14) days prior to the date the claim, if filed in person or, by telephone, or electronically via the Internet, was received by the Agency or, if filed by mail, was postmarked. Provided however, the Director, at his discretion, may waive the restrictions in this Paragraph (G) if he finds that extraordinary circumstances exist and equity and justice require such waiver. All such waivers shall be reported to the Department of Workforce Services Advisory Council.
Provided further, upon determination by the Agency that a delay in the filing of a claim at an Agency local office which provides services to claimants only on a periodic or intermittent basis was due to good cause, such claim may be considered to have been filed on a date no earlier than seven (7) days from the date of the most previous regularly scheduled day such office was open for service. If a claimant files an initial claim for unemployment compensation against another state and fails to establish a valid claim, is faced with an indefinite postponement of benefits, or withdraws from a wage combining arrangement, his subsequent Arkansas initial claim for benefits shall be considered to have been filed on the date his original initial claim was filed against the other state. |
| (H) | An initial or additional claim (except a shared work claim) for less than total unemployment, which is based on partial unemployment, shall be filed either by telephone, electronically via the Internet, in person, or by mail on the form prescribed by the Agency and shall be considered to have been filed on a date which will permit the claimant to claim a week of partial unemployment within fourteen (14) days of the date wages were paid for such partial unemployment. An individual shall be considered partially unemployed when he is working less than full-time and wages payable to him are less than one hundred forty percent (140%) of his weekly benefit amount. |
| (I) | A continued claim for a week of partial unemployment as defined in the Department of Workforce Services Law Arkansas Code 11-10-214 may be considered to be timely if it is filed within fourteen (14) days of the date wages were paid for such week of partial unemployment. |
| (J) | For the purpose of this Regulation 14(b), an individual shall be considered to be working less than full-time, or partially unemployed, if he is working fewer than forty (40) hours in a calendar week. |
| (K) | Subject to the implementation of an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) or telephone claims system, the requirements of this Regulation 14(b) are to be interpreted consistent with the Department's telephone claims taking procedure. |
This amended regulation shall take effect and be in full force on and after July 1, 2003. |
|
|
REGISTRATION AND REPORTING |
||
| This regulation is hereby amended, promulgated, and adopted by the Director, Department of Workforce Services, pursuant to Arkansas Code 11-10-507 to read as follows: | ||
| (A) | An individual shall be ineligible to receive benefits, waiting period credit or noncompensable week credit under Arkansas Code 11-10-507 of the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services Law for any week in which he fails to report to a Department of Workforce Services office in person, by telephone, or by other means on the assigned date and time as directed by the Department of Workforce Services unless it is determined by said Agency that he had good cause for failing to so report. | |
| (B) | The filing of an initial, additional or reopened claim for unemployment benefits either by telephone, electronically via the Internet or, on the standard claim form prescribed by the Department of Workforce Services shall constitute registration for work for any and all individuals EXCEPT: | |
| (1) | Those claimants who are entered into the Eligibility Review and Reemployment Assistance Program because they are having, or may have, difficulty in obtaining employment and who live within commuting distance of the nearest local office of the Department of Workforce Services, and, | |
| (2) | Those who are claiming any form of extended benefits. | |
| (3) | Those who are required to search for work pursuant to Regulation 14(d). Such individuals shall be required to complete an application with the employment service at the nearest local office of the Department of Workforce Services. | |
This amended regulation shall take effect and be in full force and effect on and after July 1, 2003. |
||
|
WORK SEARCH |
|||
| The following regulation is hereby promulgated and adopted by the Director, Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, pursuant to Arkansas Code 11-10-507: | |||
| (A) | The Department of Workforce Services (Agency) shall advise each claimant who establishes a benefit year or who files an additional or reopened claim what he must do to meet the work search requirements of Arkansas Code 11-10-507. In so advising the claimant, the Agency shall take into consideration the claimant's knowledge, skills and abilities, his past work experience and the condition of the labor market in which the claimant is seeking employment.
To each such claimant, the Agency shall provide the number of job search contacts (contacts with potential employers for the purpose of securing work) he must make during each week that he claims benefits in order to be considered to be doing those things which a reasonably prudent person would be expected to do to secure work. At the claimant's request, or upon its own motion, the Agency may provide written and/or oral information and assistance to the claimant on how, when, where and in what manner to look for and apply for work. |
||
| (B) | In order to meet the job search requirements of Arkansas Code 11-10-507, claimants who live in a metropolitan statistical area, as the term is defined by the U.S. Department of Commerce, Bureau of the Census, shall be required to make at least three (3), but no more than five (5), job contacts during each week that he claims unemployment benefits. Claimants residing in other labor market areas shall be required to make at least two (2), but no more than four (4), job contacts during each week for which they claim benefits in order to meet this job search requirement. Provided that if, for good cause shown, a claimant fails to make the number of job contacts required by this Paragraph, he shall not be disqualified for that reason. | ||
| (C) | Except as elsewhere provided in this Regulation 14(d), each claimant who claims benefits for a week of unemployment must show that he has made, at least, the number of job contacts set forth for him by the Agency in order to fulfill the work search requirements of Arkansas Code 11-10-507. In order for a job contact to be considered bona fide, beginning with the thirteenth compensable week of unemployment the claimant must submit in writing the name of each employer contacted, the date of each contact, the kind of work sought or applied for, the method of his contact, and the results of the contact. The Agency shall provide a form for the claimant's use in providing such evidence. Provided that if, for good cause shown, a claimant fails to obtain any item of information required by this Paragraph (C), he shall not be disqualified for that reason. | ||
| (D) | The claimant must make at least one of the required job contacts in person unless he normally gets his jobs by telephone or through correspondence, or unless his job contacts were made to employers outside the labor market area of his place of residence. Other efforts to secure work shall count as a job contact if done for the purposes of securing employment. Such efforts other than those enumerated in Paragraph (C) and in this Paragraph (D) shall count, collectively for no more than one bona fide job contact per week. | ||
| (E) | Notwithstanding the provisions of Paragraph (B), above, the Agency shall periodically review the claimant's job search efforts and may change the minimum number of weekly job contacts required as the claimant's length of unemployment increases or as labor market conditions change or warrant. An intrastate claimant shall not be required to submit written documentation of his job contacts until his nineteenth compensable week of unemployment if he is residing in a county or he last worked in a county which had an average unemployment rate, as computed by the Agency, equal to or greater than eight and one-half percent (8 ½%) during the preceding six-month period of June through November for benefit years established during the six-month period beginning on January 1 and during the preceding six-months period of December through May for benefit years established during the six-month period beginning on July 1. For purposes of applying this provision, the average unemployment rate for the appropriate six-month period for the Arkansas county in which the claim was filed or for the Arkansas county in which he last worked shall be used for out-of-state residents filing claims in an Agency office. Interstate claimants shall not be required to provide written documentation of job search contacts until their nineteenth compensable week of unemployment when the Arkansas, state-wide, average unemployment rate is equal to or greater than eight and one-half percent (8 ½%) during the appropriate six-month period. All claimants, however, must continue to do those things a reasonably prudent individual would be expected to do under the circumstances to secure work. | ||
| (F) | A union member claimant's authorized union hiring hall representative may make such claimant's job contacts for him as his agent. In such instances, the claimant shall provide the Agency with the name, address and local number of the union of which he is a member and with evidence that he is a union member, that his union dues are currently paid, that his union local maintains a full-time hiring hall, the name and address of such hiring hall, and the name and address of the union hiring hall official who will act as his agent. The claimant shall remain responsible for the timely provision of evidence, as required by the Agency, of job contacts made by the union hiring hall official acting as his agent for such purpose. The Agency shall provide the claimant with a form for use in providing such evidence of work search efforts. | ||
| (G) | For the purpose of fulfilling the job search requirements of Arkansas Code 11-10-507 as prescribed in Paragraph (B), above, the following types of job contacts shall be treated in the manner specified for each: | ||
| (1) | Contacts with the Agency's job placement service. | ||
| (a) | An initial registration for work or the renewal of a registration for work shall be counted one (1) time for each continuous period of unemployment. | ||
| (b) | Each instance of reporting to the employment office in response to a call-in by the job service shall be counted as a job contact. | ||
| (c) | Any and all other contacts with the job service during any month shall be counted but only as one job contact during each calendar month. | ||
| (2) | Contacts with Exclusive Hiring Agreement Employers. Job contacts with employers whose names appear on a list, provided by the Agency to the individual claimant, of employers who hire exclusively through the Agency shall not be counted as a job contact. | ||
| (3) | Contacts with Private Employment Agencies. Registration with a private employment agency shall be counted as one job contact for each such agency but shall be counted only one time in any one continuous period of unemployment. Each job contact made as a result of a referral by a private employment agency shall be counted as a job contact for purposes of Paragraph C. For the purpose of this Paragraph (G), a continuous period of unemployment shall begin when an individual files an initial, additional, or reopened claim for benefits and shall continue thereafter for as long as he files weekly claims for benefits on a continued week basis. |
||
| (H) | A claimant shall be presumed to be available for work as required by Arkansas Code 11-10-507 and shall not be required to make any further search for work when any of the following circumstances prevail: | ||
| (1) | The claimant's hours of work have been reduced from full-time to part-time by this employer who has given the claimant an assurance that he will be returned to full-time employment within ten (10) weeks after his last week of full-time employment. | ||
| (2) | The claimant's hours of work have been reduced by his employer from full-time to part-time and he works at least eight (8) hours for that employer during the week for which he claims benefits. | ||
| (3) | The claimant has a definite promise of employment to begin within ten (10) weeks after the date of receipt of such promise of employment, provided, at the time he files his claim for unemployment benefits, he provides a written statement from his prospective employer evidencing such promise of employment. | ||
| (I) | A claimant's work search efforts shall be subject to verification which may include, but not be limited to, obtaining relevant information from potential employers reported as having been contacted by the claimant. | ||
| (J) | Notwithstanding the provisions of any other paragraph of this Regulation 14(d), the Director of the Department of Workforce Services may reduce or eliminate any of the requirements of said Regulation 14(d) if such change would be warranted by labor market conditions and would not be contrary to the work search provisions contained in Arkansas Code 11-10-507. | ||
| (K) | This Regulation 14(d) shall not be applicable with respect to individuals claiming extended benefits. | ||
| (L) | Subject to implementation of an Interactive Voice Response (IVR) or telephone claims system, the requirements of this Regulation 14(d) are to be interpreted consistent with the Department's telephone claims taking procedure. The work search requirements for telephone claims are to report the number of job contacts as required by Paragraphs (B), (C) and (E). Documentation of such job contacts shall be maintained by a claimant for the appropriate weeks claimed (i.e., beginning the 13th or 19th week for possible eligibility or verification purposes). | ||
This amended regulation shall take effect and be in full force on and after July 1, 1999. |
|||
|
NOTICE OF CLAIMS FILED AND BENEFITS CHARGED, EMPLOYER RESPONSE, AND NONCHARGE RIGHTS |
||||
| This regulation is hereby amended, promulgated and adopted by the Director of the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, pursuant to Arkansas Code 11-10-521, 11-10-522, 11-10-703, 11-10-707, 11-10-318, and 11-10-313 to read as follows: | ||||
| (A) | Notice of an initial or additional claim filed shall be mailed or otherwise provided by the Department of Workforce Services to the employing unit known to the claimant as his last employer. This notice shall request that the employer immediately furnish pertinent information to the Department of Workforce Services. The last employer shall have seven (7) days from the date the notice was mailed or otherwise provided by the Department of Workforce Services to file his response. If mailed, a response shall be considered to have been filed as of the date of the postmark on the envelope. Provided that if it is determined by the Director of the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services that the response was not filed within the seven-day period as a result of circumstances beyond the last employer's control, such response may be considered as having been timely filed. | |||
| (B) | Notice to base period employer of an initial claim filed shall be mailed or otherwise provided to each affected base period employer who is not also a last employer. This notice shall request that the employer furnish the Department of Workforce Services pertinent information. The requested information shall be filed with the Agency immediately but no later than fifteen (15) days after the date the notice was originally mailed or otherwise provided by the Department of Workforce Services. If mailed, the response shall be considered to have been filed as of the date of the postmark on the envelope. Provided that if it is determined by the Director of the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services that the response was not filed within the fifteen (15) day period as a result of circumstances beyond the employer's control, such response may be considered as having been timely filed. | |||
| (C) | Upon commencement of a labor dispute, the affected employer shall, upon request, promptly furnish the nearest Department of Workforce Services office a list, in duplicate, showing the names and Social Security numbers of the unemployed workers, and the last day of employment for each worker, with the further information that the unemployment is due to a labor dispute at the factory, establishment, or other premises where the workers were last employed. | |||
| (D) | An employer, upon request, shall furnish to the Department of Workforce Services wage information for workers filing claims in another state under an approved Interstate Wage-Combining Plan when such wages are in the base period of the paying state but have not yet been reported on a quarterly wage report. An employer shall furnish such information within seven (7) days from the date the request is mailed. Whenever an employer fails to provide wage information as requested for an Interstate Wage-Combining claim within the required seven (7) days from the time the request is mailed, the Department of Workforce Services will establish the claimant's wage credits on the basis of the claimant's written statement of wages received for such employment with said employer supplemented by such other evidence as may be available and satisfactory to the Department of Workforce Services. Except, as provided under Arkansas Code 11-10-106 of the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services Law, if it is determined that the wage information supplied by the claimant is erroneous, no penalty shall be imposed on the claimant. A report of wages made on the basis of the claimant's written statement shall be adjusted, if necessary, upon receipt of information from an employer and such adjusted report will be delivered to the paying state for the appropriate adjustment of further benefits, if any, payable to the claimant under the approved Interstate Wage-Combining Plan on the basis of such wage credits. | |||
| (E) | Except as hereinafter provided, a last employer shall not be eligible for the noncharge provisions authorized in subsection 11-10-703 of the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services Law unless he has timely responded in compliance with paragraph (A) of this regulation. It shall be assumed that any last employer who fails to respond in compliance with paragraph (A) of this regulation agrees that the reason for separation as given by the claimant is correct; his failure to respond shall not affect his noncharge rights if the reason for separation given by the claimant would have otherwise resulted in the non-charging of benefits to the employer's account. His failure to timely respond, however, shall constitute a waiver of any right he may have to protest charges to his experience rating account of benefits paid as a result of such nonmonetary determination. | |||
| (F) | An affected base period employer not also a last employer shall not be eligible for the noncharge provisions authorized in Arkansas Code 11-10-703 of the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services Law unless he has timely responded in accordance with paragraph (B) of this regulation. In addition, any employer seeking to qualify for noncharging under the Part Time Proviso of Arkansas Code 11-10-703 of the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services Law shall provide such information on wages and hours of work as the Director of the Arkansas Department of Workforce Services shall request. | |||
| (G) | For purposes of this Regulation 15, Third Party (Agent) Representatives under contract to respond to notices to last and/or base period employers are required to observe the time periods for response and, in addition, must provide factual information to the local office requesting such response. The response must contain factual information sufficient to determine the basis of the separation of the former employee from the employer. Without such factual information, such response may be considered as untimely and the employer would not be entitled to protest charges which may result. | |||
This amended regulation shall take effect and be in full force on and after May 1, 2005. |
||||
|
EXTENDED BENEFITS |
||
| This regulation is hereby amended, promulgated and adopted by the Director, Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, pursuant to Arkansas Code 11-10-534 and 535 to read as follows: | ||
| (A) | If a claimant who has been paid extended benefits for week(s) of unemployment is determined eligible for additional regular benefits for those same weeks of unemployment as a result of a redetermination or an appeal, the extended benefits already paid shall be considered to be regular benefits up to the amount paid. The Department of Workforce Services shall make the necessary adjustments between the Federal and State accounts. | |
| (B) | The following provisions of the Law relating to regular benefits are inconsistent with the extended benefit provisions and, therefore, are not applicable to extended benefits: | |
| (1) | Waiting period week. | |
| (2) | Monetary qualifying and requalifying requirements. | |
| (3) | Computation of weekly and maximum benefit amounts. | |
| (4) | Charging of benefits paid as applicable to any tax paying employer. | |
| (5) | Notice to last employer of claim filed, except when there has been intervening employment since exhaustion of regular benefits and the last employer has not been notified of a claim filed. | |
This amended regulation shall take effect and be in full force on and after January 1, 1988. |
||
|
MONETARY DETERMINATION NOTICE |
| This regulation is hereby amended, promulgated and adopted by the Director, Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, pursuant to Arkansas Code 11-10-522 to read as follows: |
| Each Monetary Benefit Determination issued to a claimant by the Department of Workforce Services shall include a notice of the claimant's right to request a redetermination or to appeal the determination. The notice shall clearly state the place and manner for making an appeal and the period within which such appeal must be made. |
This amended regulation shall take effect and be in full force on and after January 1, 1988. |
|
PAYMENT OF BENEFITS TO INTERSTATE CLAIMANTS |
|||
| This regulation is hereby amended, promulgated and adopted by the Director, Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, pursuant to Arkansas Code 11-10-313 to read as follows: | |||
| (A) | As used in this regulation, unless the context clearly requires otherwise: | ||
| (1) | “Interstate benefit payment plan” means the plan approved by the National Association of State Workforce Agencies under which benefits shall be payable to unemployed individuals absent from the state (or states) in which benefit credits have been accumulated.
An interstate claim shall be serviced in accordance with the law of the paying state. | ||
| (2) | “Interstate claimant” means an individual who claims benefits under the unemployment insurance law of one or more liable states through the facilities of an agent state. The term “interstate claimant” shall not include any individual who customarily commutes from a residence in an agent state to work in a liable state unless the liable state finds that this exclusion would create undue hardship on such claimants in specified areas. | ||
| (3) | “State” includes, in addition to the states of the United States of America, Puerto Rico, the District of Columbia, and the Virgin Islands. | ||
| (4) | “Paying State” means either (i) the state in which a claimant files a claim after qualifying in that state on the basis of combined employment and wages; or, (ii) if a claimant files a claim in a state that is not the paying state under the criterion set forth in (i) or files a claim in Canada, then the paying state shall be that state in which the Combined-Wage claimant was last employed in covered employment among the states in which the claimant qualifies for unemployment benefits on the basis of combined employment and wages. | ||
| (5) | “Agent state” means any state in which an individual files a claim for benefits from another state. | ||
| (6) | “Liable state” means any state against which an individual files, through another state, a claim for benefits. | ||
| (7) | “Interstate benefits” means the compensation payable to an individual with respect to his unemployment under the unemployment insurance law of any state. | ||
| (8) | “Week of unemployment” includes any week of unemployment as defined in the law of the liable state from which benefits with respect to such week are claimed. | ||
| (B) | (1) | Each interstate claimant shall be registered for work, through any public employment office in the agent state when and as required by the law, regulations and procedures of the agent state. Such registration shall be accepted as meeting the registration requirements of the liable state. | |
| (2) | Each agent state shall duly report to the liable state in question, whether each interstate claimant meets the registration requirements of the agent state. | ||
| (C) | (1) | If a claimant files a claim against any state, and it is determined by such state that the claimant has available benefit credits in such state, then claims shall be filed only against such state as long as benefit credits are available in that state. Thereafter, the claimant may file claims against any other state in which there are available benefit credits. | |
| (2) | For the purpose of this regulation, benefit credits shall be deemed to be unavailable whenever benefits have been exhausted, terminated, or postponed for an indefinite period or for the entire period in which benefits would otherwise be payable, or whenever benefits are affected by the application of a seasonal restriction. | ||
| (D) | (1) | Claims for benefits or waiting period credit shall be filed by interstate claimants on uniform interstate claim forms, electronically via the Internet or by telephone and in accordance with uniform procedures developed pursuant to the Interstate Benefit Payment Plan. Claims shall be filed in accordance with the type of week in use in the agent state. Any adjustments required to fit the type of week used by the liable state shall be made by the liable state on the basis of consecutive claims filed. | |
| (2) | Claims shall be filed in accordance with agent state regulations for interstate claims in local employment offices, electronically via the Internet, by telephone, or at an itinerant point, or by mail. | ||
| (i) | With respect to claims for weeks of unemployment in which an individual was not working for his regular employer, the liable state shall, under circumstances which it considers good cause, accept a continued claim filed up to one (1) week, or one (1) reporting period late. If a claimant files more than one (1) reporting period late, an initial claim must be used to begin a claim series and no continued claim for a past period shall be accepted. | ||
| (ii) | With respect to weeks of unemployment during which an individual is attached to his regular employer, the liable state shall accept any claim which is filed within the time limit applicable to such claims under the law of the agent state. | ||
| (E) | (1) | The agent state shall, in connection with each claim filed by an interstate claimant, ascertain and report to the liable state in question such facts relating to the claimant's availability for work and eligibility for benefits as are readily determinable in and by the agent state. | |
| (2) | The agent state's responsibility and authority in connection with the determination of interstate claims shall be limited to investigation and reporting of relevant facts. The agent state shall not refuse to take an interstate claim. | ||
| (F) | (1) | The agent state shall afford all reasonable cooperation in the taking of evidence and the holding of hearings in connection with appealed interstate benefit claims. | |
| (2) | With respect to the time limits imposed by the law of a liable state upon the filing of an appeal in connection with a disputed benefit claim, an appeal made by an interstate claimant shall be deemed to have been made and communicated to the liable state on the date when it is received by any qualified officer of the agent state. | ||
| (G) | This regulation shall apply in all its provisions to claims taken in and for Canada. | ||
This amended regulation shall take effect and be in full force on and after July 1, 2001. |
|||
|
DISQUALIFICATION UNDER SUBSECTION 5(a) AND UNDER SUBSECTION 5(d) |
| Arkansas Department of Workforce Services Regulation No. 19 is hereby rescinded. |
This recision shall be in full force and effect on and after January 1, 1988. |
|
LESSOR EMPLOYING UNITS |
|
| The following regulation is hereby promulgated and adopted by the Director, Arkansas Department of Workforce Services pursuant to Arkansas Code 11-10-717(e): | |
| (1) | Any lessor employing unit desiring to post a bond with the Department of Workforce Services (Agency) in accordance with Arkansas Code 11-10-717(e), shall also execute a Security Bond prepared, or approved, by the Agency and shall provide the Agency with any information necessary to prepare this bond. Any bond not prepared by the Agency shall be submitted to the Agency for approval prior to its being executed. |
| (2) | Any lessor employing unit depositing cash or securities with the Department of Workforce Services in accordance with said Arkansas Code 11-10-717(e) shall also execute an Assignment and Escrow Agreement prepared by the Department of Workforce Services and shall provide the Department of Workforce Services with any information necessary to prepare the agreement. This agreement shall contain a provision which the lessor employing unit consents to an audit of its records prior to the release or cancellation of the securities tendered with the agreement. |
| (3) | Any securities deposited with the Department of Workforce Services pursuant to said Arkansas Code 11-10-717(e) shall be accompanied by the signed statement of a licensed broker identifying each security and setting forth its current market value. Thereafter, on or before the tenth day of each month, the lessor employing unit shall submit: (1) a statement signed by a licensed broker setting forth the market value on the first business day of that month of each security so deposited and (2) an attestation by said broker stating that he has no interest in and is not affiliated in any way with the lessor employer or the corporations that issued the stocks included in the said market value statement. Should the combined value of those deposited securities be less than the required amount, the lessor employing unit shall immediately deposit additional securities to raise the value to the required amount. |
| (4) | By the end of February each year, the Director of the Department of Workforce Services shall notify any lessor employing unit who has posted a corporate surety bond or deposited marketable securities with the Department of Workforce Services of the dollar amount required for that year to comply with the provisions of said Arkansas Code 11-10-717(e). |
| (5) | The obligation for payment, and/or the bond securing payment, of unemployment contributions pursuant to Arkansas Code 11-10-717(e) shall not be released until the Department of Workforce Services is satisfied, either by audit or otherwise, that all contributions liability on account of the bond has been paid. This paragraph of this regulation shall not be construed to increase the liability of the surety in excess of the face amount of the bond regardless of the period of time the bond remains in effect, nor shall it be construed to affect the right of any surety to terminate the bond in accordance with the terms of the bond. |
This regulation shall be in full force and effect on and after January 1, 1998. |
|
|
CANCELLATION AND REISSUANCE OF BENEFIT CHECKS |
|
| This regulation is hereby amended, promulgated and adopted by the Director, Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, pursuant to Arkansas Code Annotated §11-10-501 to read as follows: | |
| (A) | Any check issued in payment of benefits returned “undelivered” to the Department of Workforce Services by the United States Postal Service, shall be canceled immediately. Upon receipt of the payee's correct mailing address, the Department of Workforce Services will recertify for payment the week for which the original check was issued. |
| (B) | Each month, upon receipt of a current outstanding benefit check register, the Department of Workforce Services shall cause to be canceled each benefit check which, at that time, has been outstanding longer than sixty (60) days. In the event the claimant files a written inquiry concerning such a canceled check, the Department of Workforce Services, after determination, may recertify for payment the week for which the original check was issued. |
| (C) | In the event a check issued in payment of benefits is lost, mutilated, or destroyed, the payee shall file a statement to that effect in affidavit form with the Department of Workforce Services. Upon receipt of such properly executed affidavit and after determination, the Department of Workforce Services may issue a duplicate check to the payee. |
| (D) | In the event the original check has been negotiated by someone other than the payee, the payee whose endorsement was forged shall furnish satisfactory evidence of forgery by filing an Affidavit as to Forgery form with the Department of Workforce Services. Upon receipt of such evidence, the Department of Workforce Services may file the original check and the Affidavit as to Forgery form with the bank on which such check was drawn. Upon receipt of the refund, or proper credit, from the bank, for the check, the Department of Workforce Services shall then proceed to issue a replacement check to the payee. |
| (E) | At the time of cancellation of such outstanding check(s), if a base period employer has been charged with benefits represented by such check(s), his account shall be credited with the amount of the check(s) so canceled, the credit to be effective in the period in which the check(s) was canceled.
If no charge to the employer's account has yet been made at the time of cancellation of the check(s), no charge representing the amount of the canceled check(s) shall be made to such account. |
| (F) | If reissuance of any benefit check canceled in accordance with paragraphs (A) and (B) of this regulation can affect an employer's account as stated in paragraph (E) of this regulation, such employer's account shall be recharged in the proper amount, giving effect to the date of reissuance of the check. |
This amended regulation shall take effect and be in full force on and after July 1, 1989. |
|
|
DISCLOSURE OF INFORMATION |
| Arkansas Department of Workforce Services Regulation No. 22 is hereby rescinded. |
The recision shall be in full force and effect on and after July 1, 1989. |
|
DESTRUCTION OF DEPARTMENT OF |
| This regulation is hereby amended, promulgated and adopted by the Director, Arkansas Department Of Workforce Services, pursuant to Arkansas Code 11-10-306 to read as follows: |
| The Director of the Department of Workforce Services is hereby authorized to destroy or dispose of any files, records, or other papers, in accordance with applicable law, at any time after same have been retained in the Department of Workforce Services files five (5) years and which are, in his opinion, no longer of any value to the Director, and to make or cause to be made such summaries or compilations, photographs, duplications, or reproductions as he may deem advisable to preserve necessary information in connection with employer contribution payments, employer payrolls, benefit charges and employer contribution rates. Provided, however, the benefit claims records may be destroyed three (3) years after the end of the benefit year to which they pertain. Administrative Fund records may be destroyed two (2) years after they have been audited and approved by federal auditors, and wage records may be destroyed after they have been retained in Department of Workforce Services files four (4) years. |
This regulation shall take effect and be in full force on and after January 1, 1988. |
|
REASONABLE ASSURANCE DEFINED |
| Arkansas Department of Workforce Services Regulation No. 24 is hereby rescinded. |
This recision shall be in full force and effect on and after January 1, 1988. |
|
NONRESIDENT ALIENS |
| Arkansas Department of Workforce Services Regulation No. 25 is hereby rescinded. |
This recision shall be in full force and effect on and after January 1, 1988. |
|
DETERMINATION OF EMPLOYER WHEN SICKNESS OR ACCIDENT |
|
| The following regulation is hereby promulgated and adopted by the Director, Arkansas Department of Workforce Services, pursuant to Arkansas Code 11-10-215): | |
| (1) | Any third party making a payment, on account of sickness or accident disability which payment is not excluded from the term “wages” under Arkansas Code 11-10-215(2)(B) shall be treated as the employer with respect to such wages, except as may be provided in paragraphs (2) and (3) below. Accordingly, such third party must pay the contributions or make payments in lieu of contributions as imposed on employers by, and in accorda |