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General Assembly Raised Bill No. 7239
January Session, 2019
LCO No. 4898
Referred to Committee on LABOR AND PUBLIC EMPLOYEES
Introduced by:
(LAB)
AN ACT CONCERNING TH E UNEMPLOYMENT INSURAN CE FUND.
Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives in General
Assembly convened:
Section 1. Subsection (b) of section 31-222 of the general statutes is 1
repealed and the following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective 2
October 1, 2019): 3
(b) (1) "Total wages" means all remuneration for employment and 4
dismissal payments, including the cash value of all remuneration paid 5
in any medium other than cash except the cash value of any 6
remuneration paid for agricultural labor or domestic service in any 7
medium other than cash. 8
(2) "Taxable wages" means total wages except: 9
(A) That part of the remuneration (i) in excess of seven thousand 10
one hundred dollars paid by an employer to an individual during any 11
calendar year commencing on or after January 1, 1983, (ii) in excess of 12
nine thousand dollars paid by an employer to an individual during the 13
calendar year commencing on January 1, 1994, (iii) in excess of an 14 Raised Bill No. 7239
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amount equal to the taxable wages for the prior year increased by one 15
thousand dollars so paid during any calendar year commencing on or 16
after January 1, 1995, but prior to January 1, 1999, [or] (iv) in excess of 17
fifteen thousand dollars for any calendar year commencing on or after 18
January 1, 1999. This subsection shall not apply to wages paid in whole 19
or in part from federal funds after January 1, 1976, to employees of 20
towns, cities and other political and governmental subdivisions and 21
shall not operate to reduce an individual's benefit rights. 22
Remuneration paid to an individual by an employer with respect to 23
employment in another state or states upon which contributions were 24
required of and paid by such employer under an unemployment 25
compensation law of such other state or states shall be included as a 26
part of remuneration equal to the maximum limitation herein referred 27
to, or (v) in excess of seventeen thousand five hundred dollars paid by 28
an employer to an individual during any calendar year commencing 29
on or after January 1, 2020, except that on January 1, 2021, and not later 30
than each January first thereafter, an adjustment to said amount shall 31
be made that is equal to the percentage increase between the last- 32
completed calendar year and the preceding calendar year in the 33
consumer price index for urban wage earners and clerical workers in 34
the northeast urban area of New York-Northern New Jersey-Long 35
Island, NY-NJ-CT-PA, with no seasonal adjustment, as calculated by 36
the United States Department of Labor's Bureau of Labor Statistics; 37
(B) Dismissal payments which the employer who is not subject to 38
the Federal Unemployment Tax Act is not legally required to make; 39
(C) Payments which the employer is not legally required to make to 40
employees on leave of absence for military training; 41
(D) The payment by an employer, without deduction from the 42
remuneration of the employee, of the tax imposed upon an employee 43
under Section 3101 of the Federal Internal Revenue Code with respect 44
to remuneration paid to the employee for domestic service in a private 45
home of the employer or for agricultural labor; 46 Raised Bill No. 7239
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(E) The amount of any payment excluded from "wages", as defined 47
in Section 3306(b) of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, that is made 48
to, or on behalf of, an employee under a plan or system established by 49
an employer which makes provision for his employees generally or for 50
a class or classes of his employees, including any amount paid by an 51
employer for insurance or annuities, or into a fund, to provide for any 52
such payment, on account of (i) retirement, or (ii) sickness or accident 53
disability, or (iii) medical and hospitalization expenses in connection 54
with sickness or accident disability, or (iv) death. Whenever tips or 55
gratuities are paid directly to an employee by a customer of an 56
employer, the amount thereof which is accounted for by the employee 57
to the employer shall be considered wages for the purposes of this 58
chapter; 59
(F) If an employer has acquired all or substantially all the assets, 60
organization, trade or business of another employer liable for 61
contributions under this chapter and has assumed liability for unpaid 62
contributions, if any, due from such other employer, remuneration 63
paid by both employers shall be deemed paid by a single employer for 64
the purposes of this chapter; 65
(G) Payment to an employee by a stock corporation, partnership, 66
association or other business entity in which fifty per cent or more of 67
the proprietary interest is owned by such employee or his son, 68
daughter, spouse, father or mother or any combination of such 69
persons, unless the tax imposed by the Federal Unemployment Tax 70
Act is payable with respect to such payment; 71
(H) Any remuneration paid by any town, city or other political 72
subdivision to an individual for service performed in lieu of payment 73
of delinquent taxes. 74
(3) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this subsection, wages 75
shall include all remuneration for services with respect to which a tax 76
is required to be paid under any federal law imposing a tax against 77
which credit may be taken for contributions required to be paid into a 78 Raised Bill No. 7239
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state unemployment fund or which as a condition for full tax credit 79
against the tax imposed by the Federal Unemployment Tax Act are 80
required to be included under this chapter. 81
Sec. 2. Section 31-231a of the general statutes is repealed and the 82
following is substituted in lieu thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 83
(a) For a construction worker identified pursuant to regulations 84
adopted in accordance with subsection (c) of this section, the total 85
unemployment benefit rate for the individual's benefit year 86
commencing (1) on or after April 1, 1996, shall be an amount equal to 87
one twenty-sixth, rounded to the next lower dollar, of his total wages 88
paid during that quarter of his current benefit year's base period in 89
which wages were the highest but not less than fifteen dollars nor 90
more than the maximum benefit rate as provided in subsection (b) of 91
this section, and (2) on or after the first Sunday in October, 2019, shall 92
be an amount equal to one twenty-sixth, rounded to the next lower 93
dollar, of his total wages paid during that quarter of his current benefit 94
year's base period in which wages were the highest but not less than 95
forty dollars nor more than the maximum benefit rate as provided in 96
subsection (b) of this section. 97
(b) For an individual not included in subsection (a) of this section, 98
the individual's total unemployment benefit rate for his benefit year 99
commencing after September 30, 1967, shall be an amount equal to one 100
twenty-sixth, rounded to the next lower dollar, of the average of his 101
total wages, as defined in subdivision (1) of subsection (b) of section 102
31-222, as amended by this act, paid during the two quarters of his 103
current benefit year's base period in which such wages were highest 104
but not less than (1) fifteen dollars nor more than one hundred fifty-six 105
dollars in any benefit year commencing on or after the first Sunday in 106
July, 1982, nor more than [(1)] (A) sixty per cent rounded to the next 107
lower dollar of the average wage of production and related workers in 108
the state in any benefit year commencing on or after the first Sunday in 109
October, 1983, and [(2)] (B) fifty per cent rounded to the next lower 110
dollar of the average wage of all workers in the state in any benefit 111 Raised Bill No. 7239
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year commencing on or after the first Sunday in October, 2018, and (2) 112
forty dollars nor more than fifty per cent rounded to the next lower 113
dollar of the average wage of all workers in the state in any benefit 114
year commencing on or after the first Sunday in October, 2019, and 115
provided the maximum benefit rate in any benefit year commencing 116
on or after the first Sunday in October, 1988, shall not increase more 117
than eighteen dollars in any benefit year, such increase to be effective 118
as of the first Sunday in October of such year, and provided further the 119
maximum benefit rate shall not increase in any benefit year 120
commencing on or after the first Sunday in October, 2019, and before 121
the first Sunday in October, 2022. The average wage of all workers in 122
the state shall be determined by (A) the administrator, on or before 123
August fifteenth annually, as of the year ended the previous March 124
thirty-first to be effective during the benefit year commencing on or 125
after the first Sunday of the following October, and (B) the Connecticut 126
Quarterly Census of Employment and Wages or by such other method, 127
as determined by the administrator, that accurately reflects the average 128
wage of all workers in the state. 129
(c) The administrator shall adopt regulations pursuant to the 130
provisions of chapter 54 to implement the provisions of this section. 131
Such regulations shall specify the National Council on Compensation 132
Insurance employee classification codes which identify construction 133
workers covered by subsection (a) of this section and specify the 134
manner and format in which employers shall report the identification 135
of such workers to the administrator. 136
Sec. 3. Subdivision (4) of subsection (a) of section 31-236 of the 137
general statutes is repealed and the following is substituted in lieu 138
thereof (Effective October 1, 2019): 139
(4) During any week with respect to which the individual has 140
received or is about to receive remuneration in the form of (A) wages 141
in lieu of notice or dismissal payments, including severance or 142
separation payment by an employer to an employee beyond the 143
employee's wages upon termination of the employment relationship, 144 Raised Bill No. 7239
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[unless the employee was required to waive or forfeit a right or claim 145
independently established by statute or common law, against the 146
employer as a condition of receiving the payment,] or any payment by 147
way of compensation for loss of wages, or any other state or federal 148
unemployment benefits, except mustering out pay, terminal leave pay 149
or any allowance or compensation granted by the United States under 150
an Act of Congress to an ex-serviceperson in recognition of the ex-151
serviceperson's former military service, or any service-connected pay 152
or compensation earned by an ex-serviceperson paid before or after 153
separation or discharge from active military service, or (B) 154
compensation for temporary disability under any workers' 155
compensation law; 156
This act shall take effect as follows and shall amend the following
sections:
Section 1 October 1, 2019 31-222(b)
Sec. 2 October 1, 2019 31-231a
Sec. 3 October 1, 2019 31-236(a)(4)
Statement of Purpose:
To implement the recommendations of the Employment Security
Advisory Board regarding unemployment insurance.
[Proposed deletions are enclosed in brackets. Proposed additions are indicated by underline,
except that when the entire text of a bill or resolution or a section of a bill or resolution is new, it is
not underlined.]