Bill Text: MI SB0666 | 2017-2018 | 99th Legislature | Introduced

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Bill Title: Employment security; benefits; disqualification from receiving benefits when leaving employment; create exception for domestic violence victim. Amends secs. 17 & 29 of 1936 (Ex Sess) PA 1 (MCL 421.17 & 421.29) & adds sec. 29a.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2017-11-28 - Referred To Committee On Commerce [SB0666 Detail]

Download: Michigan-2017-SB0666-Introduced.html

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SENATE BILL No. 666

 

 

November 28, 2017, Introduced by Senators HOPGOOD, WARREN, HERTEL, KNEZEK,

     ANANICH, BIEDA, JOHNSON, GREGORY, YOUNG and HOOD and referred to the

     Committee on Commerce.

 

 

 

     A bill to amend 1936 (Ex Sess) PA 1, entitled

 

"Michigan employment security act,"

 

by amending sections 17 and 29 (MCL 421.17 and 421.29), section 17

 

as amended by 2011 PA 269 and section 29 as amended by 2013 PA 146,

 

and by adding section 29a.

 

THE PEOPLE OF THE STATE OF MICHIGAN ENACT:

 

     Sec. 17. (1) The unemployment agency shall maintain in the

 

unemployment compensation fund a nonchargeable benefits account and

 

a separate experience account for each employer as provided in this

 

section. This act does not give an employer or individuals in the

 

employer's service prior claims or rights to the amount paid by the

 

employer to the unemployment compensation fund. All contributions

 

to that fund shall must be pooled and available to pay benefits to

 

any individual entitled to the benefits under this act,

 

irrespective of the source of the contributions.

     (2) The nonchargeable benefits account shall be credited with

 

the following:

 

     (a) All net earnings received on money, property, or

 

securities in the fund.

 

     (b) Any positive balance remaining in the employer's

 

experience account as of the second June 30 computation date

 

occurring after the employer has ceased to be subject to this act

 

or after the employer has elected to change from a contributing

 

employer to a reimbursing employer.

 

     (c) The proceeds of the nonchargeable benefits component of

 

employers' contribution rates determined as provided in section

 

19(a)(5).

 

     (d) All reimbursements received under section 11(c).

 

     (e) All amounts that may be paid or advanced by the federal

 

government under section 903 or section 1201 of the social security

 

act, 42 USC 1103 and 1321, to the account of the state in the

 

federal unemployment trust fund.

 

     (f) All benefits improperly paid to claimants that have been

 

recovered and that were previously charged to an employer's

 

account.

 

     (g) Any benefits forfeited by an individual by application of

 

section 62(b).

 

     (h) The amount of any benefit check, any employer refund

 

check, any claimant restitution refund check, or other payment duly

 

issued that has not been presented for payment within 1 year after

 

the date of issue.

 

     (i) Any other unemployment fund income not creditable to the

experience account of any employer.

 

     (j) Any negative balance transferred to an employer's new

 

experience account pursuant to this section.

 

     (k) Amounts transferred from the contingent fund under section

 

10.

 

     (3) The nonchargeable benefits account shall be charged with

 

the following:

 

     (a) Any negative balance remaining in an employer's experience

 

account as of the second June 30 computation date occurring after

 

the employer has ceased to be subject to this act or has elected to

 

change from a contributing employer to a reimbursing employer.

 

     (b) Refunds of amounts erroneously collected due to the

 

nonchargeable benefits component of an employer's contribution

 

rate.

 

     (c) All training benefits paid under section 27(g) not

 

reimbursable by the federal government and based on service with a

 

contributing employer.

 

     (d) Any positive balance credited or transferred to an

 

employer's new experience account under this subsection.

 

     (e) Repayments to the federal government of amounts advanced

 

by it under section 1201 of the social security act, 42 USC 1321,

 

to the unemployment compensation fund established by this act.

 

     (f) The amounts received by the unemployment compensation fund

 

under section 903 of the social security act, 42 USC 1103, that may

 

be appropriated to the unemployment agency in accordance with

 

subsection (8).

 

     (g) All benefits determined to have been improperly paid to

claimants that have been credited to employers' accounts in

 

accordance with section 20(a).

 

     (h) The amount of any substitute check or other payment issued

 

to replace an uncashed benefit check, employer refund check,

 

claimant restitution refund check, or other payment previously

 

credited to this account.

 

     (i) The amount of any benefit check or other payment issued

 

that would be chargeable to the experience account of an employer

 

who has ceased to be subject to this act, and who has had a balance

 

transferred from the employer's experience account to the solvency

 

or nonchargeable benefits account.

 

     (j) All benefits that become nonchargeable to an employer

 

under section 19(b) or (c), 29(1)(a)(ii) or (iii) 29(1)(a)(i) to

 

(iv) or (3), or 42a.

 

     (k) For benefit years beginning before October 1, 2000, with

 

benefits allocated under section 20(e)(2) for a week of

 

unemployment in which a claimant earns remuneration with a

 

contributing employer that equals or exceeds the amount of benefits

 

allocated to that contributing employer, and for benefit years

 

beginning on or after October 1, 2000, with benefits allocated

 

under section 20(f) for a week of unemployment in which a claimant

 

earns remuneration with a contributing employer that equals or

 

exceeds the amount of benefits allocated to that contributing

 

employer.

 

     (l) Benefits that are nonchargeable to an employer's account

 

in accordance with section 20(i) or (j).

 

     (m) Benefits otherwise chargeable to the account of an

employer when the benefits are payable solely on the basis of

 

combining wages paid by a Michigan employer with wages paid by a

 

non-Michigan employer under the interstate arrangement for

 

combining employment and wages under 20 CFR 616.1 to 616.11.

 

     (4) All contributions paid by an employer shall must be

 

credited to the unemployment compensation fund, and, except as

 

otherwise provided with respect to the proceeds of the

 

nonchargeable benefits component of employers' contribution rates

 

by section 19(a)(5), to the employer's experience account, as of

 

the date when paid. However, those the contributions paid during

 

any July shall be credited as of the immediately preceding June 30.

 

Additional contributions paid by an employer as the result of a

 

retroactive contribution rate adjustment, solely for the purpose of

 

this subsection, shall must be credited to the employer's

 

experience account as if paid when due, if the payment is received

 

within 30 days after the issuance of the initial assessment that

 

results from the contribution rate adjustment and a written request

 

for the application is filed by the employer during this period.

 

     (5) If an employer who has ceased to be subject to this act,

 

and who has had a positive or negative balance transferred as

 

provided in subsection (2) or (3) from the employer's experience

 

account to the solvency or nonchargeable benefits account as of the

 

second computation date after the employer has ceased to be subject

 

to this act, becomes subject to this act again within 6 years after

 

that computation date, the unemployment agency shall transfer the

 

positive or negative balance, adjusted by the debits and credits

 

that are made after the date of transfer, to the employer's new

experience account.

 

     (6) If an employer's status as a reimbursing employer is

 

terminated within 6 years after the date the employer's experience

 

account as a prior contributing employer was transferred to the

 

solvency or nonchargeable benefits account as provided in

 

subsection (2) or (3) and the employer continues to be subject to

 

this act as a contributing employer, any positive or negative

 

balance in the employer's experience account as a prior

 

contributing employer , which that was transferred to the solvency

 

or nonchargeable benefits account , shall must be transferred to

 

the employer's new experience account. However, an employer who is

 

delinquent with respect to any reimbursement payments in lieu of

 

contributions for which the employer may be liable shall must not

 

have a positive balance transferred during the delinquency.

 

     (7) If a balance is transferred to an employer's new account

 

under subsection (5) or (6), the employer shall is not be

 

considered a "qualified employer" until the employer has again been

 

subject to this act for the period set forth in section 19(a)(1).

 

     (8) All money credited under section 903 of the social

 

security act, 42 USC 1103, to the account of the state in the

 

federal unemployment trust fund shall must immediately be credited

 

by the unemployment agency to the fund's nonchargeable benefits

 

account. There is authorized to be appropriated to the unemployment

 

agency from the money credited to the nonchargeable benefits

 

account under this subsection, an amount determined to be necessary

 

for the proper and efficient administration by the unemployment

 

agency of this act for purposes for which federal grants under

title 3 of the social security act, 42 USC 501 to 504, 505, and the

 

Wagner-Peyser act, 29 USC 49 to 49l-2, are not available or are

 

insufficient. The appropriation shall expire expires not more than

 

2 years after the date of enactment and shall must provide that any

 

unexpended balance shall then be is credited to the nonchargeable

 

benefits account. An appropriation shall not be made under this

 

subsection for an amount that exceeds must not exceed the "adjusted

 

balance" of the nonchargeable benefits account on the most recent

 

computation date. Appropriations made under this subsection shall

 

must limit the total amount that may be obligated by the

 

unemployment agency during a fiscal year to an amount that does not

 

exceed the amount by which the aggregate of the amounts credited to

 

the nonchargeable benefits account under this subsection during the

 

fiscal year and the 24 preceding fiscal years, exceeds the

 

aggregate of the amounts obligated by the unemployment agency by

 

appropriation under this subsection and charged against the amounts

 

thus credited to the nonchargeable benefits account during any of

 

the 25 fiscal years and any amounts credited to the nonchargeable

 

benefits account that have been used for the payment of benefits.

 

     Sec. 29. (1) Except as provided in subsection (5), an

 

individual is disqualified from receiving benefits if he or she:

 

     (a) Left work voluntarily without good cause attributable to

 

the employer or employing unit. An individual who left work is

 

presumed to have left work voluntarily without good cause

 

attributable to the employer or employing unit. An individual who

 

is absent from work for a period of 3 consecutive work days or more

 

without contacting the employer in a manner acceptable to the

employer and of which the individual was informed at the time of

 

hire shall be is considered to have voluntarily left work without

 

good cause attributable to the employer. An individual who becomes

 

unemployed as a result of negligently losing a requirement for the

 

job of which he or she was informed at the time of hire shall be is

 

considered to have voluntarily left work without good cause

 

attributable to the employer. An individual claiming benefits under

 

this act has the burden of proof to establish that he or she left

 

work involuntarily or for good cause that was attributable to the

 

employer or employing unit. An individual claiming to have left

 

work involuntarily for medical reasons must have done all of the

 

following before the leaving: secured a statement from a medical

 

professional that continuing in the individual's current job would

 

be harmful to the individual's physical or mental health;

 

unsuccessfully attempted to secure alternative work with the

 

employer; and unsuccessfully attempted to be placed on a leave of

 

absence with the employer to last until the individual's mental or

 

physical health would no longer be harmed by the current job.

 

However, if any of the following conditions is are met, the leaving

 

does not disqualify the individual:

 

     (i) The individual has an established benefit year in effect

 

and during that benefit year leaves unsuitable work within 60 days

 

after the beginning of that work. Benefits paid after a leaving

 

under this subparagraph shall must not be charged to the experience

 

account of the employer the individual left, but shall must be

 

charged instead to the nonchargeable benefits account.

 

     (ii) The individual is the spouse of a full-time member of the

United States armed forces, and the leaving is due to the military

 

duty reassignment of that member of the United States armed forces

 

to a different geographic location. Benefits paid after a leaving

 

under this subparagraph shall must not be charged to the experience

 

account of the employer the individual left, but shall must be

 

charged instead to the nonchargeable benefits account.

 

     (iii) The individual is concurrently working part-time for an

 

employer or employing unit and for another employer or employing

 

unit and voluntarily leaves the part-time work while continuing

 

work with the other employer. The portion of the benefits paid in

 

accordance with this subparagraph that would otherwise be charged

 

to the experience account of the part-time employer that the

 

individual left shall must not be charged to the account of that

 

employer, but shall must be charged instead to the nonchargeable

 

benefits account.

 

     (iv) The individual is a victim of domestic violence who meets

 

the requirements in section 29a. Benefits paid after a leaving

 

under this subparagraph must not be charged to the experience

 

account of the employer the individual left, but must be charged

 

instead to the nonchargeable benefits account.

 

     (b) Was suspended or discharged for misconduct connected with

 

the individual's work or for intoxication while at work.

 

     (c) Failed without good cause to apply diligently for

 

available suitable work after receiving notice from the

 

unemployment agency of the availability of that work or failed to

 

apply for work with employers that could reasonably be expected to

 

have suitable work available.

     (d) Failed without good cause while unemployed to report to

 

the individual's former employer or employing unit within a

 

reasonable time after that employer or employing unit provided

 

notice of the availability of an interview concerning available

 

suitable work with the former employer or employing unit.

 

     (e) Failed without good cause to accept suitable work offered

 

to the individual or to return to the individual's customary self-

 

employment, if any, when directed by the employment office or the

 

unemployment agency. An employer that receives a monetary

 

determination under section 32 may notify the unemployment agency

 

regarding the availability of suitable work with the employer on

 

the monetary determination or other form provided by the

 

unemployment agency. Upon receipt of the notice of the availability

 

of suitable work, the unemployment agency shall notify the claimant

 

of the availability of suitable work. Until 1 year after the

 

effective date of the amendatory act that added this sentence, an

 

individual is considered to have refused an offer of suitable work

 

if the prospective employer requires as a condition of the offer a

 

drug test that is subject to the same terms and conditions as a

 

drug test administered under subdivision (m), and the employer

 

withdraws the conditional offer after either of the following:

 

     (i) The individual tests positive for a controlled substance

 

and lacks a valid, documented prescription, as defined in section

 

17708 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.17708, for

 

the controlled substance issued to the individual by his or her

 

treating physician.

 

     (ii) The individual refuses without good cause to submit to

the drug test.

 

     (f) Lost his or her job due to absence from work resulting

 

from a violation of law for which the individual was convicted and

 

sentenced to jail or prison. This subdivision does not apply if

 

conviction of an individual results in a sentence to county jail

 

under conditions of day parole as provided in 1962 PA 60, MCL

 

801.251 to 801.258, or if the conviction was for a traffic

 

violation that resulted in an absence of less than 10 consecutive

 

work days from the individual's place of employment.

 

     (g) Is discharged, whether or not the discharge is

 

subsequently reduced to a disciplinary layoff or suspension, for

 

participation in either of the following:

 

     (i) A strike or other concerted action in violation of an

 

applicable collective bargaining agreement that results in

 

curtailment of work or restriction of or interference with

 

production.

 

     (ii) A wildcat strike or other concerted action not authorized

 

by the individual's recognized bargaining representative.

 

     (h) Was discharged for an act of assault and battery connected

 

with the individual's work.

 

     (i) Was discharged for theft connected with the individual's

 

work.

 

     (j) Was discharged for willful destruction of property

 

connected with the individual's work.

 

     (k) Committed a theft after receiving notice of a layoff or

 

discharge, but before the effective date of the layoff or

 

discharge, resulting in loss or damage to the employer who would

otherwise be chargeable for the benefits, regardless of whether the

 

individual qualified for the benefits before the theft.

 

     (l) Was employed by a temporary help firm, which as used in

 

this section means an employer whose primary business is to provide

 

a client with the temporary services of 1 or more individuals under

 

contract with the employer, to perform services for a client of

 

that firm if each of the following conditions is met:

 

     (i) The temporary help firm provided the employee with a

 

written notice before the employee began performing services for

 

the client stating in substance both of the following:

 

     (A) That within 7 days after completing services for a client

 

of the temporary help firm, the employee is under a duty to notify

 

the temporary help firm of the completion of those services.

 

     (B) That a failure to provide the temporary help firm with

 

notice of the employee's completion of services pursuant to sub-

 

subparagraph (A) constitutes a voluntary quit that will affect the

 

employee's eligibility for unemployment compensation should if the

 

employee seek seeks unemployment compensation following completion

 

of those services.

 

     (ii) The employee did not provide the temporary help firm with

 

notice that the employee had completed his or her services for the

 

client within 7 days after completion of his or her services for

 

the client.

 

     (m) Was discharged for illegally ingesting, injecting,

 

inhaling, or possessing a controlled substance on the premises of

 

the employer; refusing to submit to a drug test that was required

 

to be administered in a nondiscriminatory manner; or testing

positive on a drug test, if the test was administered in a

 

nondiscriminatory manner. If the worker disputes the result of the

 

testing, and if a generally accepted confirmatory test has not been

 

administered on the same sample previously tested, then a generally

 

accepted confirmatory test shall must be administered on that

 

sample. If the confirmatory test also indicates a positive result

 

for the presence of a controlled substance, the worker who is

 

discharged as a result of the test result will be disqualified

 

under this subdivision. A report by a drug testing facility showing

 

a positive result for the presence of a controlled substance is

 

conclusive unless there is substantial evidence to the contrary. As

 

used in this subdivision: and subdivision (e):

 

     (i) "Controlled substance" means that term as defined in

 

section 7104 of the public health code, 1978 PA 368, MCL 333.7104.

 

     (ii) "Drug test" means a test designed to detect the illegal

 

use of a controlled substance.

 

     (iii) "Nondiscriminatory manner" means administered

 

impartially and objectively in accordance with a collective

 

bargaining agreement, rule, policy, a verbal or written notice, or

 

a labor-management contract.

 

     (n) Theft from the employer that resulted in the employee's

 

conviction, within 2 years of the date of the discharge, of theft

 

or a lesser included offense.

 

     (2) A disqualification under subsection (1) begins the week in

 

which the act or discharge that caused the disqualification occurs

 

and continues until the disqualified individual requalifies under

 

subsection (3).

     (3) After the week in which the disqualifying act or discharge

 

described in subsection (1) occurs, an individual who seeks to

 

requalify for benefits is subject to all of the following:

 

     (a) For benefit years established before October 1, 2000, the

 

individual shall must complete 6 requalifying weeks if he or she

 

was disqualified under subsection (1)(c), (d), (e), (f), (g), or

 

(l), or 13 requalifying weeks if he or she was disqualified under

 

subsection (1)(h), (i), (j), (k), or (m). A requalifying week

 

required under this subdivision is each week in which the

 

individual does any of the following:

 

     (i) Earns or receives remuneration in an amount at least equal

 

to an amount needed to earn a credit week, as that term is defined

 

in section 50.

 

     (ii) Otherwise meets all of the requirements of this act to

 

receive a benefit payment if the individual were not disqualified

 

under subsection (1).

 

     (iii) Receives a benefit payment based on credit weeks

 

subsequent to the disqualifying act or discharge.

 

     (b) For benefit years established before October 1, 2000, if

 

the individual is disqualified under subsection (1)(a) or (b), he

 

or she shall must requalify, after the week in which the

 

disqualifying discharge occurred by earning in employment for an

 

employer liable under this act or the unemployment compensation act

 

of another state an amount equal to, or in excess of, 7 times the

 

individual's potential weekly benefit rate, calculated on the basis

 

of employment with the employer involved in the disqualification,

 

or by earning in employment for an employer liable under this act

or the unemployment compensation act of another state an amount

 

equal to, or in excess of, 40 times the state minimum hourly wage

 

times 7, whichever is the lesser amount.

 

     (c) For benefit years established before October 1, 2000, a

 

benefit payable to an individual disqualified under subsection

 

(1)(a) or (b) shall must be charged to the nonchargeable benefits

 

account, and not to the account of the employer with whom the

 

individual was involved in the disqualification.

 

     (d) For benefit years beginning on or after October 1, 2000,

 

after the week in which the disqualifying act or discharge

 

occurred, an individual shall must complete 13 requalifying weeks

 

if he or she was disqualified under subsection (1)(c), (d), (e),

 

(f), (g), or (l), or 26 requalifying weeks if he or she was

 

disqualified under subsection (1)(h), (i), (j), (k), (m), or (n). A

 

requalifying week required under this subdivision is each week in

 

which the individual does any of the following:

 

     (i) Earns or receives remuneration in an amount equal to at

 

least 1/13 of the minimum amount needed in a calendar quarter of

 

the base period for an individual to qualify for benefits, rounded

 

down to the nearest whole dollar.

 

     (ii) Otherwise meets all of the requirements of this act to

 

receive a benefit payment if the individual was not disqualified

 

under subsection (1).

 

     (e) For benefit years beginning on or after October 1, 2000

 

and beginning before April 26, 2002, if the individual is

 

disqualified under subsection (1)(a) or (b), he or she shall must

 

requalify, after the week in which the disqualifying act or

discharge occurred by earning in employment for an employer liable

 

under this act or the unemployment compensation law of another

 

state at least the lesser of the following:

 

     (i) Seven times the individual's weekly benefit rate.

 

     (ii) Forty times the state minimum hourly wage times 7.

 

     (f) For benefit years beginning on or after April 26, 2002, if

 

the individual is disqualified under subsection (1)(a), he or she

 

shall must requalify, after the week in which the disqualifying act

 

or discharge occurred by earning in employment for an employer

 

liable under this act or the unemployment compensation law of

 

another state at least 12 times the individual's weekly benefit

 

rate.

 

     (g) For benefit years beginning on or after April 26, 2002, if

 

the individual is disqualified under subsection (1)(b), he or she

 

shall must requalify, after the week in which the disqualifying act

 

or discharge occurred by earning in employment for an employer

 

liable under this act or the unemployment compensation law of

 

another state at least 17 times the individual's weekly benefit

 

rate.

 

     (h) A benefit payable to the individual disqualified or

 

separated under disqualifying circumstances under subsection (1)(a)

 

or (b), shall must be charged to the nonchargeable benefits

 

account, and not to the account of the employer with whom the

 

individual was involved in the separation. Benefits payable to an

 

individual determined by the unemployment agency to be separated

 

under disqualifying circumstances shall must not be charged to the

 

account of the employer involved in the disqualification for any

period after the employer notifies the unemployment agency of the

 

claimant's possible ineligibility or disqualification. However, an

 

individual filing a new claim for benefits who reports the reason

 

for separation from a base period employer as a voluntary leaving

 

shall be is presumed to have voluntarily left without good cause

 

attributable to the employer and shall be is disqualified unless

 

the individual provides substantial evidence to rebut the

 

presumption. If a disqualifying act or discharge occurs during the

 

individual's benefit year, any benefits that may become payable to

 

the individual in a later benefit year based on employment with the

 

employer involved in the disqualification shall must be charged to

 

the nonchargeable benefits account.

 

     (4) The maximum amount of benefits otherwise available under

 

section 27(d) to an individual disqualified under subsection (1) is

 

subject to all of the following conditions:

 

     (a) For benefit years established before October 1, 2000, if

 

the individual is disqualified under subsection (1)(c), (d), (e),

 

(f), (g), or (l) and the maximum amount of benefits is based on

 

wages and credit weeks earned from an employer before an act or

 

discharge involving that employer, the amount shall must be reduced

 

by an amount equal to the individual's weekly benefit rate as to

 

that employer multiplied by the lesser of either of the following:

 

     (i) The number of requalifying weeks required of the

 

individual under this section.

 

     (ii) The number of weeks of benefit entitlement remaining with

 

that employer.

 

     (b) If the individual has insufficient or no potential benefit

entitlement remaining with the employer involved in the

 

disqualification in the benefit year in existence on the date of

 

the disqualifying determination, a reduction of benefits described

 

in this subsection applies in a succeeding benefit year with

 

respect to any benefit entitlement based upon credit weeks earned

 

with the employer before the disqualifying act or discharge.

 

     (c) For benefit years established before October 1, 2000, an

 

individual disqualified under subsection (1)(h), (i), (j), (k), or

 

(m) is not entitled to benefits based on wages and credit weeks

 

earned before the disqualifying act or discharge with the employer

 

involved in the disqualification.

 

     (d) The benefit entitlement of an individual disqualified

 

under subsection (1)(a) or (b) is not subject to reduction as a

 

result of that disqualification.

 

     (e) A denial or reduction of benefits under this subsection

 

does not apply to benefits based upon multiemployer credit weeks.

 

     (f) For benefit years established on or after October 1, 2000,

 

if the individual is disqualified under subsection (1)(c), (d),

 

(e), (f), (g), or (l), the maximum number of weeks otherwise

 

applicable in calculating benefits for the individual under section

 

27(d) shall must be reduced by the lesser of the following:

 

     (i) The number of requalifying weeks required of the

 

individual under this section.

 

     (ii) The number of weeks of benefit entitlement remaining on

 

the claim.

 

     (g) For benefit years beginning on or after October 1, 2000,

 

the benefits of an individual disqualified under subsection (1)(h),

(i), (j), (k), (m), or (n) shall must be reduced by 13 weeks and

 

any weekly benefit payments made to the claimant thereafter shall

 

must be reduced by the portion of the payment attributable to base

 

period wages paid by the base period employer involved in a

 

disqualification under subsection (1)(h), (i), (j), (k), (m), or

 

(n).

 

     (5) If an individual leaves work to accept permanent full-time

 

work with another employer or to accept a referral to another

 

employer from the individual's union hiring hall and performs

 

services for that employer, or if an individual leaves work to

 

accept a recall from a former employer, all of the following apply:

 

     (a) Subsection (1) does not apply.

 

     (b) Wages earned with the employer whom the individual last

 

left, including wages previously transferred under this subsection

 

to the last employer, for the purpose of computing and charging

 

benefits, are wages earned from the employer with whom the

 

individual accepted work or recall, and benefits paid based upon

 

those wages shall must be charged to that employer.

 

     (c) When issuing a determination covering the period of

 

employment with a new or former employer described in this

 

subsection, the unemployment agency shall advise the chargeable

 

employer of the name and address of the other employer, the period

 

covered by the employment, and the extent of the benefits that may

 

be charged to the account of the chargeable employer.

 

     (6) In determining whether work is suitable for an individual,

 

the unemployment agency shall consider the degree of risk involved

 

to the individual's health, safety, and morals, the individual's

physical fitness and prior training, the individual's length of

 

unemployment and prospects for securing local work in the

 

individual's customary occupation, and the distance of the

 

available work from the individual's residence. Additionally, the

 

unemployment agency shall consider the individual's experience and

 

prior earnings, but an unemployed individual who refuses an offer

 

of work determined to be suitable under this section shall must be

 

denied benefits if the pay rate for that work is at least 70% of

 

the gross pay rate he or she received immediately before becoming

 

unemployed. Beginning January 15, 2012, after an individual has

 

received benefits for 50% of the benefit weeks in the individual's

 

benefit year, work shall is not be considered unsuitable because it

 

is outside of the individual's training or experience or unsuitable

 

as to pay rate if the pay rate for that work meets or exceeds the

 

minimum wage; is at least the prevailing mean wage for similar work

 

in the locality for the most recent full calendar year for which

 

data are available as published by the department of technology,

 

management, and budget as "wages by job title", by standard

 

metropolitan statistical area; and is 120% or more of the

 

individual's weekly benefit amount.

 

     (7) Work is not suitable and benefits shall must not be denied

 

under this act to an 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 remuneration, 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 a bona fide labor organization.

 

     (8) All of the following apply to an individual who seeks

 

benefits under this act:

 

     (a) An individual is disqualified from receiving benefits for

 

a week in which the individual's total or partial unemployment is

 

due to either of the following:

 

     (i) A labor dispute in active progress at the place at which

 

the individual is or was last employed, or a shutdown or start-up

 

operation caused by that labor dispute.

 

     (ii) A labor dispute, other than a lockout, in active progress

 

or a shutdown or start-up operation caused by that labor dispute in

 

any other establishment within the United States that is both

 

functionally integrated with the establishment described in

 

subparagraph (i) and operated by the same employing unit.

 

     (b) An individual's disqualification imposed or imposable

 

under this subsection is terminated if the individual performs

 

services in employment with an employer in at least 2 consecutive

 

weeks falling wholly within the period of the individual's total or

 

partial unemployment due to the labor dispute, and in addition

 

earns wages in each of those weeks in an amount equal to or greater

 

than the individual's actual or potential weekly benefit rate.

 

     (c) An individual is not disqualified under this subsection if

 

the individual is not directly involved in the labor dispute. An

 

individual is not directly involved in a labor dispute unless any

of the following are established:

 

     (i) At the time or in the course of a labor dispute in the

 

establishment in which the individual was then employed, the

 

individual in concert with 1 or more other employees voluntarily

 

stopped working other than at the direction of the individual's

 

employing unit.

 

     (ii) The individual is participating in, financing, or

 

directly interested in the labor dispute that causes the

 

individual's total or partial unemployment. The payment of regular

 

union dues, in amounts and for purposes established before the

 

inception of the labor dispute, is not financing a labor dispute

 

within the meaning of this subparagraph.

 

     (iii) At any time a labor dispute in the establishment or

 

department in which the individual was employed does not exist, and

 

the individual voluntarily stops working, other than at the

 

direction of the individual's employing unit, in sympathy with

 

employees in some other establishment or department in which a

 

labor dispute is in progress.

 

     (iv) The individual's total or partial unemployment is due to

 

a labor dispute that was or is in progress in a department, unit,

 

or group of workers in the same establishment.

 

     (d) As used in this subsection, "directly interested" shall

 

must be construed and applied so as not to disqualify individuals

 

unemployed as a result of a labor dispute the resolution of which

 

may not reasonably be expected to affect their wages, hours, or

 

other conditions of employment, and to disqualify individuals whose

 

wages, hours, or conditions of employment may reasonably be

expected to be affected by the resolution of the labor dispute. A

 

"reasonable expectation" of an effect on an individual's wages,

 

hours, or other conditions of employment exists, in the absence of

 

a substantial preponderance of evidence to the contrary, in any of

 

the following situations:

 

     (i) If it is established that there is in the particular

 

establishment or employing unit a practice, custom, or contractual

 

obligation to extend within a reasonable period to members of the

 

individual's grade or class of workers in the establishment in

 

which the individual is or was last employed changes in terms and

 

conditions of employment that are substantially similar or related

 

to some or all of the changes in terms and conditions of employment

 

that are made for the workers among whom there exists the labor

 

dispute that has caused the individual's total or partial

 

unemployment.

 

     (ii) If it is established that l of the issues in or purposes

 

of the labor dispute is to obtain a change in the terms and

 

conditions of employment for members of the individual's grade or

 

class of workers in the establishment in which the individual is or

 

was last employed.

 

     (iii) If a collective bargaining agreement covers both the

 

individual's grade or class of workers in the establishment in

 

which the individual is or was last employed and the workers in

 

another establishment of the same employing unit who are actively

 

participating in the labor dispute, and that collective bargaining

 

agreement is subject by its terms to modification, supplementation,

 

or replacement, or has expired or been opened by mutual consent at

the time of the labor dispute.

 

     (e) In determining the scope of the grade or class of workers,

 

evidence of the following is relevant:

 

     (i) Representation of the workers by the same national or

 

international organization or by local affiliates of that national

 

or international organization.

 

     (ii) Whether the workers are included in a single, legally

 

designated, or negotiated bargaining unit.

 

     (iii) Whether the workers are or within the past 6 months have

 

been covered by a common master collective bargaining agreement

 

that sets forth all or any part of the terms and conditions of the

 

workers' employment, or by separate agreements that are or have

 

been bargained as a part of the same negotiations.

 

     (iv) Any functional integration of the work performed by those

 

workers.

 

     (v) Whether the resolution of those issues involved in the

 

labor dispute as to some of the workers could directly or

 

indirectly affect the advancement, negotiation, or settlement of

 

the same or similar issues in respect to the remaining workers.

 

     (vi) Whether the workers are currently or have been covered by

 

the same or similar demands by their recognized or certified

 

bargaining agent or agents for changes in their wages, hours, or

 

other conditions of employment.

 

     (vii) Whether issues on the same subject matter as those

 

involved in the labor dispute have been the subject of proposals or

 

demands made upon the employing unit that would by their terms have

 

applied to those workers.

     (9) Notwithstanding subsections (1) to (8), if the employing

 

unit submits notice to the unemployment agency of possible

 

ineligibility or disqualification beyond the time limits prescribed

 

by unemployment agency rule and the unemployment agency concludes

 

that benefits should not have been paid, the claimant shall repay

 

the benefits paid during the entire period of ineligibility or

 

disqualification. The unemployment agency shall not charge interest

 

on repayments required under this subsection.

 

     (10) An individual is disqualified from receiving benefits for

 

any week or part of a week in which the individual has received, is

 

receiving, or is seeking unemployment benefits under an

 

unemployment compensation law of another state or of the United

 

States. If the appropriate agency of the other state or of the

 

United States finally determines that the individual is not

 

entitled to unemployment benefits, the disqualification described

 

in this subsection does not apply.

 

     Sec. 29a. (1) Notwithstanding any other provision of this act,

 

an otherwise eligible individual, as described in section

 

29(1)(a)(iv), is not disqualified from receiving benefits if the

 

individual demonstrates to the commission that the reason for the

 

individual's leaving work is due to domestic violence, including 1

 

or more of the following:

 

     (a) The individual's reasonable fear of future domestic

 

violence at or en route to or from the individual's place of

 

employment.

 

     (b) The individual's need to relocate to another geographic

 

area to avoid future domestic violence.

     (c) The individual's need to address the physical,

 

psychological, or legal effects of domestic violence.

 

     (d) The individual's need to leave employment as a condition

 

of receiving services or shelter from an agency that provides

 

support services or shelter to victims of domestic violence.

 

     (e) The individual's reasonable belief that termination of

 

employment is necessary for the future safety of the individual or

 

the individual's family because of domestic violence.

 

     (2) An individual may demonstrate to the unemployment agency

 

the existence of domestic violence by providing 1 or more

 

documents, including, but not limited to, the following:

 

     (a) A restraining order or other documentation of equitable

 

relief issued by a court of competent jurisdiction in a domestic

 

violence case.

 

     (b) A police record documenting domestic violence.

 

     (c) Documentation that the perpetrator of the domestic

 

violence against the individual making a claim for benefits under

 

this act has been convicted of a crime involving domestic violence.

 

     (d) Medical documentation of domestic violence.

 

     (e) A statement provided on business or organization

 

letterhead by a counselor, social worker, health worker, member of

 

the clergy, shelter worker, attorney, or other professional who has

 

assisted the individual in addressing the effects of the domestic

 

violence on the individual or the individual's family.

 

     (3) The unemployment agency shall not disclose evidence of

 

domestic violence experienced by an individual, including the

 

individual's statement or corroborating evidence.

     (4) As used in this section:

 

     (a) "Domestic violence" means any of the following that are

 

not acts of self-defense:

 

     (i) Causing or attempting to cause physical or mental harm to

 

a family or household member.

 

     (ii) Placing a family or household member in fear of physical

 

or mental harm.

 

     (iii) Causing or attempting to cause a family or household

 

member to engage in involuntary sexual activity by force, threat of

 

force, or duress.

 

     (iv) Engaging in activity toward a family or household member

 

that would cause a reasonable person to feel terrorized,

 

frightened, intimidated, threatened, harassed, or molested.

 

     (b) "Family or household member" includes any of the

 

following:

 

     (i) A spouse or former spouse.

 

     (ii) An individual with whom the person resides or has

 

resided.

 

     (iii) An individual with whom the person has or has had a

 

dating relationship.

 

     (iv) An individual with whom the person is or has engaged in a

 

sexual relationship.

 

     (v) An individual to whom the person is related or was

 

formerly related by marriage.

 

     (vi) An individual with whom the person has a child in common.

 

     (vii) The minor child of an individual described in

 

subparagraphs (i) to (vi).

     Enacting section 1. This amendatory act takes effect 90 days

 

after the date it is enacted into law.