S. 2865, Unemployment Insurance Improvement Act
Summary
S. 2865, the Unemployment Insurance Improvement Act, is a bill introduced in the Senate on September 27, 2021 by Mr. Wyden and referred to the Committee on Finance. Its stated purpose is to improve the unemployment insurance program. The table of contents lists sections on a floor on the number of weeks, base period, minimum level of prior employment, part-time work, and access to benefits. Section 2 amends section 3304(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 to add a requirement that the minimum duration of benefits is at least 26 weeks. The final provision states that the Secretary of Labor shall notify a State agency that further payments will not be made until the Secretary is satisfied that there is no longer any such failure.
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Cite this document
“S. 2865, Unemployment Insurance Improvement Act.”
Original at www.govinfo.gov. Archived at Pandemic Darlings, https://pandemicdarlings.com/source-documents/bills-bills-117s2865is-bills-117s2865is/
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II
117TH CONGRESS
1ST SESSION
S. 2865
To improve the unemployment insurance program.
IN THE SENATE OF THE UNITED STATES
SEPTEMBER 27, 2021
Mr. WYDEN introduced the following bill; which was read twice and referred
to the Committee on Finance
A BILL
To improve the unemployment insurance program.
1 Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representa-
2 tives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,
3 SECTION 1. SHORT TITLE; TABLE OF CONTENTS.
4 (a) SHORT TITLE.—This Act may be cited as the
5 ‘‘Unemployment Insurance Improvement Act’’.
6 (b) TABLE OF CONTENTS.—The table of contents of
7 this Act is as follows:
Sec. 1. Short title; table of contents.
Sec. 2. Floor on the number of weeks.
Sec. 3. Base period.
Sec. 4. Minimum level of prior employment.
Sec. 5. Part-time work.
Sec. 6. Access to benefits.
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1 SEC. 2. FLOOR ON THE NUMBER OF WEEKS.
2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3304(a) of the Internal
3 Revenue Code of 1986 is amended—
4 (1) in paragraph (18), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the
5 end;
6 (2) by redesignating paragraph (19) as para-
7 graph (20); and
8 (3) by inserting after paragraph (18) the fol-
9 lowing new paragraph:
10 ‘‘(19) the minimum duration of benefits is at
11 least 26 weeks and no variable duration formula
12 that provides for maximum weeks of benefits of
13 fewer than 26 weeks is used, or, in the case of a
14 State that uses a maximum benefit entitlement, an
15 individual’s maximum benefit entitlement may not
16 be less than 26 times the individual’s weekly benefit
17 amount; and’’.
18 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
19 subsection (a) shall apply to weeks of unemployment be-
20 ginning on or after the earlier of—
21 (1) the date the State changes its statutes, reg-
22 ulations, or policies in order to comply with such
23 amendments; or
24 (2) January 1, 2024.
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1 SEC. 3. BASE PERIOD.
2 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3304(a) of the Internal
3 Revenue Code of 1986, as amended by section 2, is
4 amended—
5 (1) in paragraph (19), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the
6 end;
7 (2) by redesignating paragraph (20) as para-
8 graph (21); and
9 (3) by inserting after paragraph (19) the fol-
10 lowing new paragraphs:
11 ‘‘(20) the State law—
12 ‘‘(A) uses a base period that consists of at
13 least 4 completed calendar quarters preceding
14 the effective date of the claim and includes the
15 most recently completed calendar quarter before
16 the start of the benefit year for purposes of de-
17 termining eligibility for unemployment com-
18 pensation; or
19 ‘‘(B) provides that, in the case of an indi-
20 vidual who would not otherwise be eligible for
21 unemployment compensation under the State
22 law because of the use of a base period that
23 does not meet the requirements described in
24 subparagraph (A), eligibility is determined
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25 using a base period that consists of at least 4
26 completed calendar quarters preceding the ef-
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1 fective date of the claim and includes the most
2 recently completed calendar quarter before the
3 start of the benefit year; and’’.
4 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
5 subsection (a) shall apply to weeks of unemployment be-
6 ginning on or after the earlier of—
7 (1) the date the State changes its statutes, reg-
8 ulations, or policies in order to comply with such
9 amendments; or
10 (2) January 1, 2024.
11 SEC. 4. MINIMUM LEVEL OF PRIOR EMPLOYMENT.
12 (a) REQUIREMENT.—
13 (1) IN GENERAL.—Section 3304(a) of the In-
14 ternal Revenue Code of 1986, as amended by sec-
15 tions 2 and 3, is amended—
16 (A) in paragraph (20), by striking ‘‘and’’
17 at the end;
18 (B) by redesignating paragraph (21) as
19 paragraph (22); and
20 (C) by inserting after paragraph (20) the
21 following new paragraph:
22 ‘‘(21) compensation is not denied to an other-
23 wise eligible individual if the individual earned at
24 least $1,000 in covered wages during the highest
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1 quarter of the base period and at least $1,500 in
2 covered wages during the base period; and’’.
3 (2) STATE MAY REDUCE MINIMUM THRESH-
4 OLDS.—Nothing in paragraph (21) of section
5 3304(a) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as
6 added by paragraph (1), shall preclude a State from
7 reducing the dollar thresholds described in such
8 paragraph (22).
9 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
10 subsection (a) shall apply to weeks of unemployment be-
11 ginning on or after the earlier of—
12 (1) the date the State changes its statutes, reg-
13 ulations, or policies in order to comply with such
14 amendments; or
15 (2) January 1, 2024.
16 SEC. 5. PART-TIME WORK.
17 (a) IN GENERAL.—Section 3304(a) of the Internal
18 Revenue Code of 1986, as amended by sections 2, 3, and
19 4, is amended—
20 (1) in paragraph (21), by striking ‘‘and’’ at the
21 end;
22 (2) by redesignating paragraph (22) as para-
23 graph (25); and
24 (3) by inserting after paragraph (21) the fol-
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25 lowing new paragraphs:
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1 ‘‘(22) an individual is not denied unemployment
2 compensation under any State law provisions relat-
3 ing to ability to work, availability for work, active
4 search for work, or refusal to accept work, solely on
5 the basis of the number of hours of work such indi-
6 vidual is seeking, provided that the individual is
7 seeking at least the lesser of—
8 ‘‘(A) 20 hours of work per week; or
9 ‘‘(B) a number of hours of work per week
10 equal to at least one half of the typical number
11 of hours worked per week in the individual’s
12 base period;
13 ‘‘(23) an individual may claim benefits for a
14 week of partial unemployment, including in cir-
15 cumstances where an individual has had their hours
16 reduced or performs part-time work while continuing
17 to search for additional part-time or full-time work,
18 if their earnings are less than the individual’s weekly
19 benefit amount;
20 ‘‘(24) when determining the weekly benefit
21 amount for an individual claiming a benefit for a
22 week of partial unemployment, the State disregards,
23 at a minimum, earnings equal to 1⁄3 of the individ-
24 ual’s weekly benefit amount in computing the indi-
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1 vidual’s weekly benefit for partial unemployment;
2 and’’.
3 (b) EFFECTIVE DATE.—The amendments made by
4 subsection (a) shall apply to weeks of unemployment be-
5 ginning on or after the earlier of—
6 (1) the date the State changes its statutes, reg-
7 ulations, or policies in order to comply with such
8 amendments; or
9 (2) January 1, 2024.
10 SEC. 6. ACCESS TO BENEFITS.
11 Section 303 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C.
12 503) is amended by adding at the end the following new
13 subsection:
14 ‘‘(n) ACCESS TO BENEFITS.—
15 ‘‘(1) IN GENERAL.—Not later than January 1,
16 2024, the State agency charged with the administra-
17 tion of the State law shall, in accordance with stand-
18 ards established by the Secretary—
19 ‘‘(A) require that employers in the State
20 provide information regarding claim-filing for
21 unemployment compensation to employees upon
22 separation from employment;
23 ‘‘(B) have in place methods for employers
24 to notify the State workforce agency of employ-
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25 ees who may apply for unemployment com-
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1 pensation due to short-term layoffs, business
2 shutdowns, partial unemployment, and short-
3 time compensation;
4 ‘‘(C) ensure that any online claim-filing
5 system used by the State—
6 ‘‘(i) can be readily understood and
7 used by the vast majority of applicants and
8 claimants, including individuals with lim-
9 ited English proficiency, individuals with
10 disabilities, older individuals, and individ-
11 uals with literacy challenges;
12 ‘‘(ii) is available in any language spo-
13 ken by more than 1 percent of the State’s
14 population (with such translations com-
15 pleted by human translators rather than
16 translation software);
17 ‘‘(iii) is accessible and optimized for
18 all commonly used desktop computers, tab-
19 lets, and mobile devices and operating sys-
20 tems such that any features of the online
21 claim filing component (such as the ability
22 to upload documentation) that are avail-
23 able in the desktop version of the online
24 claim filing component are also available in
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25 the tablet and mobile versions;
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1 ‘‘(iv) allows for electronic submission
2 of documentation required to support a
3 claim, including the ability of applicants
4 and claimants to scan or photograph and
5 submit documentation using a tablet or
6 mobile device;
7 ‘‘(v) is available 24 hours a day, 7
8 days a week, with the exception of sched-
9 uled and emergency maintenance that shall
10 be conducted, to the extent practicable, at
11 nonpeak hours;
12 ‘‘(vi) provides self-service account re-
13 covery that can be completed online; and
14 ‘‘(vii) deploys multiple methods of
15 communication with applicants and claim-
16 ants, such as short message service (SMS)
17 message, email, postal mail, live chat, or
18 chatbots; and
19 ‘‘(D) ensure that alternate means of claim
20 filing are available for individuals who are un-
21 able to file through the State’s online claim-fil-
22 ing system.
23 ‘‘(2) ENFORCEMENT.—Whenever the Secretary
24 of Labor, after reasonable notice and opportunity for
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25 hearing to the State agency charged with the admin-
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1 istration of the State law, finds that there is a fail-
2 ure to comply substantially with the requirements of
3 paragraph (1), the Secretary of Labor shall notify
4 such State agency that further payments will not be
5 made to the State until the Secretary of Labor is
6 satisfied that there is no longer any such failure.
7 Until the Secretary of Labor is so satisfied, such
8 Secretary shall make no future certification to the
9 Secretary of the Treasury with respect to the
10 State.’’.
Æ
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