I 111th CONGRESS 1st Session H. R. 4183 IN THE HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES December 2, 2009 Mr. McDermott (for himself, Mr. Nadler of New York, Mr. Conyers, Mr. Sires, Mr. Ackerman, Ms. Schakowsky, Ms. Hirono, Mr. Lewis of Georgia, Mr. Capuano, Ms. DeLauro, Mr. Michaud, Ms. Woolsey, Mr. Grijalva, Mr. Kildee, Mr. Levin, Mr. Cardoza, Ms. Berkley, Mr. Ellison, Mr. DeFazio, Ms. Pingree of Maine, Mr. Langevin, and Ms. McCollum) introduced the following bill; which was referred to the Committee on Ways and Means A BILL To amend the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act and the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 to provide for the temporary extension of programs providing unemployment benefits, and for other purposes.

1.

Short title

This Act may be cited as the Helping Unemployed Workers Act.

2.

Temporary extension of certain unemployment benefits

(a)

Emergency unemployment compensation

Section 4007 of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (Public Law 110–252; 26 U.S.C. 3304 note) is amended— (1)by striking December 31, 2009 each place it appears and inserting March 31, 2011; (2)in the heading for subsection (b)(2), by striking December 31, 2009 and inserting March 31, 2011; and (3)in subsection (b)(3), by striking May 31, 2010 and inserting August 31, 2011. (b)

Additional regular compensation

Section 2002(e) of the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act, as contained in Public Law 111–5 (26 U.S.C. 3304 note; 123 Stat. 438), is amended— (1)in paragraph (1)(B), by striking January 1, 2010 and inserting April 1, 2011; (2)in the heading for paragraph (2), by striking January 1, 2010 and inserting April 1, 2011; and (3)in paragraph (3), by striking June 30, 2010 and inserting September 30, 2011. (c)

Full funding of extended benefits

Section 2005 of the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act, as contained in Public Law 111–5 (26 U.S.C. 3304 note; 123 Stat. 444), is amended— (1)by striking January 1, 2010 each place it appears and inserting April 1, 2011; (2)in subsection (c), by striking June 1, 2010 and inserting September 1, 2011; and (3)in subsection (d), by striking May 30, 2010 and inserting August 31, 2011.

3.

Funding for temporary extension of certain unemployment benefits

Section 4004(e)(1) of the Supplemental Appropriations Act, 2008 (Public Law 110–252; 26 U.S.C. 3304 note) is amended by striking by reason of and all that follows and inserting the following: by reason of—(A)the amendments made by section 2001(a) of the Assistance for Unemployed Workers and Struggling Families Act; (B)the amendments made by sections 2 through 4 of the Worker, Homeownership, and Business Assistance Act of 2009; and (C)the amendments made by section 2(a) of the Helping Unemployed Workers Act; and .

4.

Temporary financing of certain short-time compensation programs

(a)

Payments to States with certified programs

(1)

In general

Not later than 30 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, the Secretary shall establish a program under which the Secretary shall make payments to any State unemployment trust fund to be used for the payment of unemployment compensation if the Secretary approves an application for certification submitted under paragraph (4) for such State to receive reimbursement for a short-time compensation program (as referred to in section 3304(a)(4) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 and section 303(a)(5) of the Social Security Act). (2)

Requirements for certification

A program may not be certified, for purposes of this section, unless such program requires— (A)a participating employer to submit and comply with the terms of a written plan approved by the State agency; (B)a participating employer to certify that continuation of health and retirement benefits under a defined benefit pension plan (as defined by section 3(35) of the Employee Retirement Income Security Act of 1974) is not affected by participation in the program; and (C)in the case of employees represented by a union, that the appropriate official of the union has agreed to the terms of the employer’s written plan and implementation is consistent with employer obligations under the National Labor Relations Act. (3)

Full reimbursement

Subject to subsection (d), the payment to a State under paragraph (1) shall be an amount equal to 100 percent of the total amount of benefits paid to individuals by the State pursuant to the short-time compensation program for weeks of unemployment— (A)beginning on or after the date as of which a certification is issued by the Secretary with respect to such program; and (B)ending on or before December 31, 2011. (4)

Certification procedures

(A)

In general

Any State seeking reimbursement under this subsection shall submit an application for certification at such time, in such manner, and complete with such information as the Secretary may require (whether by regulation or otherwise), including information relating to compliance with the requirements of paragraph (2). The Secretary shall, within 30 days after receiving a complete application, notify the State agency of the State of the Secretary’s findings with respect to the requirements of paragraph (2). (B)

Findings

If the Secretary finds that the short-time compensation program operated by the State meets the requirements of paragraph (2), the Secretary shall certify such State's short-time compensation program, thereby making such State eligible for reimbursement under this subsection.  (b)

Terms of payments

Payments made to a State under subsection (a)(1) shall be payable by way of reimbursement in such amounts as the Secretary estimates the State will be entitled to receive under this section for each calendar month, reduced or increased, as the case may be, by any amount by which the Secretary finds that the Secretary's estimates for any prior calendar month were greater or less than the amounts which should have been paid to the State. Such estimates may be made on the basis of such statistical, sampling, or other method as may be agreed upon by the Secretary and the State agency of the State involved. (c)

Limitations

(1)

General payment limitations

No payments shall be made to a State under this section for benefits paid in excess of 26 weeks to an individual by the State pursuant to a short-time compensation program. (2)

Employer limitations

No payments shall be made to a State under this section for benefits paid to an individual by the State pursuant to a short-time compensation program if such individual is employed by an employer— (A)whose workforce during the 3 months preceding the date of the submission of the employer's short-time compensation plan has been reduced by temporary layoffs of more than 20 percent; (B)on a seasonal, temporary, or intermittent basis; or (C)engaged in a labor dispute. (3)

Program payment limitation

In making any payments to a State under this section pursuant to a short-time compensation program, the Secretary may limit the frequency of employer participation in such program. (d)

Compliance oversight

(1)

In general

A participating employer under this section is required to comply with the terms of the written plan approved by the State agency, including provisions related to retaining participating employees. (2)

Oversight and monitoring

The Secretary shall establish an oversight and monitoring process by which State agencies will ensure that participating employers comply with the requirements of paragraph (1). (e)

Funding

There are appropriated, from time to time, out of any moneys in the Treasury not otherwise appropriated, to the Secretary, such sums as the Secretary certifies are necessary to carry out this section (including to reimburse any administrative expenses incurred by the States in operating such short-time compensation programs). (f)

Definitions

In this section— (1)the term Secretary means the Secretary of Labor; (2)the term State includes the District of Columbia, the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands; and (3)the terms State agency and week have the respective meanings given them by section 205 of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970.