Proyectos de ley › 89.ª Asamblea General
HSB 631
Dónde está ahora
- Hecho: Presentado31 de enero de 2022
- Hecho: Subcomité31 de enero de 2022
- Hecho: Comité de la Cámara3 de febrero de 2022
- Se saltó: Lo aprueba la CámaraSigue como HF 2279
- Sigue: Comité del Senado
- Sigue: Lo aprueba el Senado
- Sigue: A gobernador(a)
- Sigue: Firmado como ley
Ahora es HF 2279 → Sigue avanzando con el número nuevo. Ir a HF 2279 ¿Qué es el embudo (funnel)?
Qué contiene
La explicación oficial está en inglés; todavía no hay resumen en palabras sencillas.
This bill relates to matters under the purview of the state, including unemployment benefits and civil torts. DIVISION I —— UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE. This division of the bill amends the Iowa employment security law concerning state unemployment insurance benefits.2 concerning guidance for interpreting Code chapter 96. The bill changes the default maximum benefits payable to an individual eligible to receive unemployment compensation to the lesser of total wage credits accrued to the individual’s account during the individual’s base period or times the individual’s weekly benefit amount.
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Under current law, the default maximum is the lesser of total wage credits accrued to the individual’s account during the individual’s base period or times the individual’s weekly benefit amount. _____ wage credits accrued to the individual’s account or times the individual’s weekly benefit amount. Under current law, the maximum is the lesser of total wage credits accrued to the individual’s account or times the individual’s weekly benefit amount. The bill requires an individual to first satisfy a single one-week waiting period during the individual’s benefit year prior to receiving unemployment compensation. To satisfy the waiting period, the individual, with respect to the week in question, must otherwise be eligible for unemployment benefits from this state, must not have received or have payable unemployment benefits from this state, and must not be eligible for unemployment benefits from another state. The bill defines “misconduct” for the purposes of unemployment benefit determinations as a deliberate act or omission by an employee that constitutes a material breach of the duties and obligations arising out of the employee’s contract of employment. “Misconduct” is limited to conduct evincing such willful or wanton disregard of an employer’s interest as is found in deliberate violation or disregard of standards of behavior which the employer has the right to expect of employees, or in carelessness or negligence of such degree of recurrence as to manifest equal culpability, wrongful intent or evil design, or to show an intentional and substantial disregard of the employer’s interests or of the employee’s duties and obligations to the employer. The bill also provides several examples of what constitutes “misconduct” by an individual. The bill modifies the percentages of an individual’s average weekly wage for insured work paid to the individual during the quarter of the individual’s base period in which the individual’s wages were highest, which the gross weekly wages for new work by the individual must equal or exceed for the new work to be considered suitable. _____ or accept suitable work, the individual is disqualified from eligibility for unemployment benefits. The percentages under current law are 100 percent for work offered during the first five weeks of unemployment; percent for work offered during the sixth through the twelfth week of unemployment; percent for work offered during the thirteenth through the eighteenth week of unemployment; and percent for work offered after the eighteenth week of unemployment. Under the bill, the percentages are 100 percent for work offered during the first week of unemployment; percent for work offered during the second through the third week of unemployment; percent for work offered during the fourth through the fifth week of unemployment; percent for work offered during the sixth through the eighth week of unemployment; and percent for work offered after the eighth week of unemployment. The bill provides that a decision of an administrative law judge may be appealed by any party to the unemployment appeal board or directly to the district court. Under current law, such appeals may only be made to the employment appeal board and then to the district court. The bill strikes language providing that a finding of fact or law, judgment, conclusion, or final order regarding a determination of eligibility for unemployment benefits is binding only upon the parties to proceedings and is not binding upon any other proceedings or action involving the same facts brought by the same or related parties before the division of labor services, division of workers’ compensation, other state agency, arbitrator, court, or judge of this state or the United States. DIVISION II —— TORT LIABILITY. _____ requirements related to punitive damages. Current law provides that in a civil action brought by a patient against a health care provider, the maximum amount of noneconomic damages that the patient may recover is $250,000, unless the jury determines that there is a substantial or permanent loss or impairment of a bodily function, substantial disfigurement, or death, which warrants a finding that imposition of such a limitation would deprive the plaintiff of just compensation for the injuries sustained. In such a case, there is no cap on the amount of noneconomic damages that a patient may recover. The bill makes two changes to current law. First, the bill establishes that the definition of nonecomonic damages does not include the loss of dependent care due to the death of or severe injury to a spouse or parent who is the primary caregiver of a child or disabled adult. Instead, such damages are economic damages. Second, the bill provides a $1 million cap on noneconomic damages when the jury finds that there is substantial or permanent loss or impairment of a bodily function, substantial disfigurement, or death which warrants exceeding the $250,000 cap. The bill provides that an employer’s liability who is a defendant in a civil action involving a commercial motor for damages caused by negligence of an employee acting within the scope and course of employment shall be based on respondeat superior. _____ employer. If an employer makes the stipulation with respect to an employee, and the employee’s negligence is found to have caused or contributed to causing the damages, the employer shall be adjudged vicariously liable for the resulting damages. Under current law, an employer is liable for an employee’s negligence and may be held responsible for direct negligence relating to hiring, training, supervising, trusting an employee, or other claims of direct negligence on part of the employee’s harmful conduct, subject to certain limitations contained in Code chapter 671 (negligent hiring —— limitations on liability). The bill limits the amount of noneconomic damages available against the owner or operator of a commercial motor vehicle. The division defines “noneconomic damages” to mean damages arising from pain, suffering, inconvenience, physical impairment, mental anguish, emotional pain and suffering, loss of chance, loss of consortium, or any other nonpecuniary damages and “occurrence” to mean the event, incident, or happening, and the acts or omissions incident thereto, which proximately caused injuries or damages for which recovery is claimed. The bill provides that the total amount recoverable in any civil action for noneconomic damages for personal injury or death against the owner or operator of a commercial motor vehicle shall be limited to $1 million for any occurrence regardless of the number of plaintiffs, derivative claims, theories of liability, or defendants in the civil action.136A (medical malpractice).1 shall not be included in any initial claim for relief. _____ triable issue. After the plaintiff establishes the existence of a triable issue of punitive or exemplary damages, the court may allow additional discovery on the issue of punitive or exemplary damages. Under current law and under the bill, the mere allegation or assertion of a claim for punitive damages cannot form the basis for discovery of the wealth or ability to respond in damages on behalf of the party from whom punitive damages are claimed until the claimant has established that sufficient admissable evidence exists to support a prima facie case establishing, by a preponderance of clear, convincing, and satisfactory evidence, that the conduct of the defendant from which the claim arose constituted willful and wanton disregard for the rights or safety of another.
House subcommittee
Named January 31, 2022. On February 1, 2022 it recommended passage. Vote Total: 2-0.
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Nota fiscal
Resumen con IA This bill changes unemployment insurance rules by reducing the maximum number of weeks benefits can be paid, reinstating a one-week waiting period, and modifying how misconduct and suitable work are defined, while also setting new limits on noneconomic damages in certain civil lawsuits. These changes are estimated to decrease benefits paid from the unemployment insurance trust fund by $97,349,000 in fiscal year 2023 and $99,783,000 in fiscal year 2024. Additionally, the bill is expected to reduce federal administrative expenses by $251,000 in fiscal year 2023 and $257,000 in fiscal year 2024 by eliminating three full-time positions. Other impacts, such as changes to employer taxes and administrative costs for appeals, cannot be estimated. (en inglés)2
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Description
Senate File 2275 relates to unemployment insurance benefits and tort reform. The Bill has two Divisions. Division I of the Bill:
- Revises the language of Iowa Code section 96.2 concerning guidance for unemployment insurance (UI).
- Reduces the maximum total amount of benefits payable from 26 weeks to 16 weeks.
- Eliminates the ability of individuals whose employers have gone out of business to collect an extra 13 weeks of benefits.
- Reinstates a one-week waiting period for an individual eligible to collect UI during the individual’s benefit year.
- Defines “misconduct” for the purposes of unemployment benefit determinations.
- Modifies the percentages of an individual’s average weekly wage for insured work paid to the individual that is considered suitable for an individual to apply for and accept work in order to remain eligible for UI. Modifications are shown in Table 1:
- Allows an administrative law judge’s decision to be appealed directly to district court. Division II of the Bill (Tort Liability):
- Establishes a definition of noneconomic damages that does not include the loss of dependent care due to the death of or severe injury to a spouse or parent who is the primary caregiver, which would fall under economic damages as specified in the Bill.
- Creates a $1.0 million cap on noneconomic damages for certain injuries or death.
- Establishes that during a civil action involving a commercial vehicle, an employer’s liability with respect to a negligent employee is based on respondeat superior.
- Limits the amount of noneconomic damages available against the owner or operator of a commercial motor vehicle to $1.0 million.
- Provides that a claim for punitive or exemplary damages in an action governed by Iowa Code section 668A.1 is not to be included in any initial claim.Current Weeks Current Percentage of Weekly Wages SF 2275 Weeks SF 2275 Percentage of
Weekly Wages
0-1 100.0% 2-3 90.0% 4-5 80.0% 6-8 70.0% 13-18 70.0% 19+ 65.0% 6-12 75.0% 9+ 60.0% Table 1 — Percentage of Weekly Wages to Apply/Accept Suitable Work — SF 2275 0-5 100.0%
Background
The UI Trust Fund, administered by the U.S. Department of Labor, is used to pay UI benefits to eligible claimants. The balance of the Fund at the end of calendar year (CY) 2016 was $1.006 billion, rising to $1.252 billion at the end of CY 2019. The Fund balance as of December 31, 2021, was $1.391 billion. Table 2 shows historical claims paid from the Fund to Iowans: The UI Trust Fund is replenished through insurance taxes paid by Iowa employers based on a formula that includes an employer’s five-year average annual benefit payment and the employer’s five-year average annual taxable payroll. This formula results in a benefit ratio, which is compared to every other employer’s benefit ratio in determining the employer tax rate. The lowest employer benefit ratios receive the lowest tax rates. Table 3 below shows the tax rates paid by Iowa employers and is set on a scale of 1 (highest tax rate paid) to 8 (lowest tax rate paid). The Contribution Rate Table is calculated using overall recent benefits paid, statewide total wages, and the balance of the UI Trust Fund. For 2022, the Contribution Rate Table is set at 7, with tax rates ranging from 0.00% for those with the lowest benefit ratios to 7.50% for those with the highest benefit ratios. In 2020, $490.0 million was transferred from federal funds deposited into the Iowa Coronavirus Relief Fund to the UI Trust Fund, while in 2021, $237.5 million was transferred from federal funds deposited into the State and Local Fiscal Recovery Fund to the UI Trust Fund, both to keep the Contribution Rate at 7. Table 3 — Unemployment Insurance Taxes Contribution Rates Table Many states currently impose a one-week waiting period for payment of UI benefits because federal funds are not available for the first week after a claim is filed. Iowa does not currently have a waiting week. The federal Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provided 100.0% federal reimbursement to states for the first week of UI for the time period ofYear 2016 2017 2018 2019 2020 2021 Benefits 423,511,000$ 402,625,000$ 364,713,000$ 381,789,000$ 1,254,245,000$ 414,289,000$ *Source: U.S. Department of Labor Table 2 — UI Benefits Paid (CY 2016-2021)* March 29, 2020, through December 16, 2020. The federal Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, provided a 50.0% reimbursement for the first week of all claims paid from December 27, 2020, through March 13, 2021. Iowa was paid $89.1 million through the program. Iowa Code section 147.136A includes the definition of noneconomic damages and specifies the amount recoverable as $250,000, unless there are permanent impairments, disfigurements, or death. This section was codified in 2017 Iowa Acts, chapter 107.
Assumptions
- 2020 or 2021 UI data was not used as a model due to high claims paid from COVID-19 closures.
- Inflation at 2.5% beginning in FY 2024 was used for salary and benefit savings.
- The number of claimants receiving benefits in 2019 past 16 weeks is 28,087, or 33.0% of all claimants, per Iowa Workforce Development (IWD) data. For the purpose of this estimate, the number of claimants receiving benefits between 16 weeks and 26 weeks is 27,218.
- The total amount of benefits affected by the Bill paid to claimants past 16 weeks in 2019 is $73.8 million, per IWD data, including those covered by the business failure section of the Bill.
- The population that is covered by the business failure section of the Bill is removed from the fiscal impact for the reduction of maximum benefits from 26 to 16 weeks.
- Business failure projections going forward are based on FY 2014 to FY 2019 data from the IWD, as an average of $4.6 million in UI benefits were paid out to 2,741 recipients due to closings.
- Reinstating an initial waiting week will reduce withdrawals to cover UI benefits by 5.5% annually. The annual average in first-week benefit payments from FY 2015 to FY 2019 to 62,000 recipients who will no longer receive them was $23.3 million, according to the IWD.
Fiscal Impact
- Reducing the maximum allowable benefit from 26 to 16 weeks for most claimants is estimated to decrease benefits paid from the UI Trust Fund by $69.2 million in FY 2023 and $70.9 million in FY 2024. The Bill may also create a change order for the IWD’s new unemployment benefits system, which is currently being developed by a contractor.
- The Bill will eliminate the need for 3.0 full-time equivalent (FTE) Workforce Advisor positions within the IWD due to elimination of the benefit to claimants when employers go out of business, reducing federal UI administrative expenses by an estimated $251,000 in FY 2023 and $257,000 in FY 2024. This provision will also decrease benefits paid from the UI Trust Fund by approximately $4.6 million in FY 2023 and $4.7 million in FY 2024.
- Reinstating the one-week waiting period for payment of UI benefits will decrease benefits paid from the UI Trust Fund by an estimated $23.3 million in FY 2023 and $23.9 million in FY 2024.
- The modification of suitable work percentages is expected to reduce benefit payments from the UI Trust Fund by an amount that cannot be estimated due to lack of data.
- Changes in the definition of “misconduct” will create a negligible fiscal impact to the UI Trust Fund.
- Allowing an appeal directly to district court, bypassing the Employment Appeal Board and decreasing costs to the IWD, would reduce administrative expenditures in an amount that cannot be estimated due to lack of data.
- Employer taxes paid into the UI Trust Fund would be expected to decrease in future years, absent any other law changes, due to a reduction in benefit payments and a short-term increase in the UI Trust Fund balance. Tax implications cannot be estimated due to lack of data.
- Division II creates no direct fiscal impact to State and local governments. See Table 4 below for the overall fiscal impact of the Bill.
The fiscal impacts of the Bill will continue indefinitely.
Sources
- Legislative Services Agency
- Iowa Department of Workforce Development
- United States Department of Labor
- United States Bureau of Labor Statistics
- Iowa Department of Management
- Unemployment, Tort Reform · 16 de febrero de 2022
- Unemployment, Tort Reform · 9 de febrero de 2022 · $257,000
Lo que cambia del Código de Iowa (Iowa Code)
Cabildeo
32 a favor · 20 en contra · 20 indecisos · Quiénes →
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89th General Assembly