AN ACTTo provide a program of emergency unemployment compensation.Be it enacted by the Senate and House of Representatives of the United States of America in Congress assembled,

short title Sec. 101. This Act may be cited as the “Emergency Unemployment Compensation Act of 1974”.

federal-state agreements Sec. 102. (a) Any State, the State unemployment compensation law of which is approved by the Secretary of Labor (hereinafter in this Act referred to as the “Secretary”) under section 3304 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 which desires to do so, may enter into and participate in an agreement with the Secretary under this Act, if such State law contains (as of the date such agreement is entered into) a requirement that extended compensation be payable thereunder as provided by the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970. Any State which is a party to an agreement under this Act may, upon providing thirty days' written notice to the Secretary, terminate such agreement. (b) Any such agreement shall provide that the State agency of the State will make payments of emergency compensation— (1) to individuals who— (A)(i) have exhausted all rights to regular compensation under the State law; (ii) have exhausted all rights to extended compensation, or are not entitled thereto, because of the ending of their eligibility period for extended compensation, in such State; (B) have no rights to compensation (including both regular compensation and extended compensation) with respect to a week under such law or any other State unemployment compensation law or to compensation under any other Federal law; and (C) are not receiving compensation with respect to such week under the unemployment compensation law of Canada, (2) for any week of unemployment which— (A) begins in— (i) an emergency benefit period (as defined in subsection (c)(3)), and (ii) the individual's period of eligibility (as defined in section 105(a)(2)); or (B) begins in an individual's additional eligibility period (as defined in section 105(a)(4)); except that no payment of emergency compensation shall be made to any individual for any week of unemployment which begins more than two years after the end of the benefit year for which he exhausted his rights to regular compensation. (c)(1) For purposes of subsection (b)(1)(A), an individual shall be deemed to have exhausted his rights to regular compensation under a State law when— (A) no payments of regular compensation can be made under such law because such individual has received all regular compensation available to him based on employment or wages during his base period; or (B) his rights to such compensation have been terminated by reason of the expiration of the benefit year with respect to which such rights existed. (2) For purposes of subsection (b)(1)(B), an individual shall be deemed to have exhausted his rights to extended compensation under a State law when no payments of extended compensation under a State law can be made under such law because such individual has received all the extended compensation available to him from his extended compensation account (as established under State law in accordance with section 202(b)(1) of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970). (3)(A)(i) For purposes of subsection (b)(2)(A), in the case of any State, an emergency benefit period— (I) shall begin with the third week after a week for which there is a State “emergency on” indicator; and (II) shall end with the third week after the first week for which there is a State “emergency off” indicator. (ii) In the case of any State, no emergency benefit period shall last for a period of less than 13 consecutive weeks, and no emergency benefit period which began prior to January 1, 1976, shall end prior to such date. (iii) When a determination has been made that an emergency benefit period is beginning or ending with respect to any State, the Secretary shall cause notice of such determination to be published in the Federal Register. (B)(i) For purposes of subparagraph (A), there is a State “emergency on” indicator for a week if (I) there is a State or National “on” indicator for such week (as determined under subsections (d) and (e) of section 203 of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970), and (II) the rate of insured unemployment in such State for the period consisting of such week and the immediately preceding twelve weeks equaled or exceeded 5 per centum. (ii) For purposes of subparagraph (A), there is a State “emergency off” indicator for a week if the rate of insured unemployment in such State for the period consisting of such week and the immediately preceding twelve weeks is less than 5 per centum. (d) For purposes of any agreement under this Act— (1) the amount of the emergency compensation which shall be payable to any individual for any week of total unemployment shall be equal to the amount of the regular compensation (including dependents' allowances) payable to him during his benefit year under the State law; and (2) the terms and conditions of the State law which apply to claims to regular compensation and to the payment thereof shall (except where inconsistent with the provisions of this Act or regulations of the Secretary promulgated to carry out this Act) apply to claims for emergency compensation and the payment thereof. (e)(1) Any agreement under this Act with a State shall provide that the State will establish, for each eligible individual who files an application for emergency compensation, an emergency compensation account. (2) The amount established in such account for any individual shall be equal to the lesser of— (A) 50 per centum of the total amount of regular compensation (including dependents' allowances) payable to him with respect to the benefit year (as determined under the State law) on the basis of which he most recently received regular compensation; or (B) 13 times his average weekly benefit amount (as determined for purposes of section 202(b)(1)(C) of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970) for his benefit year. (3) The amount determined under paragraph (2) with respect to any individual shall be reduced by the amount of any assistance paid to such individual under title II of the Emergency Jobs and Unemployment Assistance Act of 1974 for any weeks of unemployment in the 65-week period preceding the first week of unemployment with respect to which compensation is payable to such individual under this Act. (f)(1) No emergency compensation shall be payable to any individual under an agreement entered into under this Act for any week beginning before whichever of the following is the latest: (A) the first week which begins after December 31, 1974, (B) the week following the week in which such agreement is entered into, or (C) the first week which begins after the date of the enactment of this Act. (2) No emergency compensation shall be payable to any individual under an agreement entered into under this Act— (A) for any week ending after October 31, 1977, or (B) in the case of an individual who (for a week ending after the beginning of his most recent benefit year and before October 31, 1977) had a week with respect to which emergency compensation was payable under such agreement, for any week ending after January 31, 1978. (g) Notwithstanding the preceding provisions of this section, emergency compensation shall not be payable for any week to an individual who is not a participant in a training program which is approved by the Secretary if— (1) the State determines that there is a need for upgrading or broadening such individual's occupational skills and a program which is approved by the Secretary for such upgrading or broadening is available within a reasonable distance and without charge to the individual for tuition or fees, and (2) such individual is not an applicant to participate in such a program. (h)(1) In addition to any eligibility requirement of the applicable State law, emergency compensation shall not be payable for any week to any individual otherwise eligible to receive such compensation if during such week such individual— (A) fails to accept any offer of suitable work or to apply for any suitable work to which he was referred by the State agency, or (B) fails to actively engage in seeking work. (2) If any individual is ineligible for emergency compensation for any week by reason of a failure described in subparagraph (A) or (B) of paragraph (1), the individual shall be ineligible to receive emergency compensation for any week which begins during a period which— (A) begins with the week following the week in which such failure occurs, and (B) does not end until such individual has been employed during at least 4 weeks which begin after such failure and the total of the remuneration earned by the individual for being so employed is not less than the product of 4 multiplied by the individual's average weekly benefit amount (as determined for purposes of section 202(b)(1)(C) of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970) for his benefit year. (3) Emergency compensation shall not be denied under paragraph (1) to any individual for any week by reason of a failure to accept an offer of, or apply for, suitable work— (A) if the gross average weekly remuneration payable to such individual for the position does not exceed the sum of— (i) the individual's average weekly benefit amount (as determined for purposes of section 202(b)(1)(C) of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970) for his benefit year, plus (ii) the amount (if any) of supplemental unemployment compensation benefits (as defined in section 501(c)(17)(D) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954) payable to such individual for such week; (B) if the position was not offered to such individual in writing and was not listed with the State employment service; (C) if such failure would not result in a denial of compensation under the provisions of the applicable State law to the extent that such provisions are not inconsistent with the provisions of paragraph (4); or (D) if the position pays wages less than the higher of— (i) the minimum wage provided by section 6(a)(1) of the Fair Labor Standards Act of 1938, without regard to any exemption; or (ii) any applicable State or local minimum wage. (4) For purposes of this subsection— (A) The term “suitable work” means, with respect to any individual, any work which is within such individual's capabilities; except that, if the individual furnishes evidence satisfactory to the State agency that such individual's prospects for obtaining work in his customary occupation within a reasonably short period are good, the determination of whether any work is suitable work with respect to such individual shall be made in accordance with the applicable State law. (B) An individual shall be treated as actively engaged in seeking work during any week if— (i) the individual has engaged in a systematic and sustained effort to obtain work during such week, and (ii) the individual provides tangible evidence to the State agency that he has engaged in such an effort during such week; (5) Any agreement under subsection (a) shall provide that, in the administration of this Act, States shall make provision for referring applicants for benefits under this Act to any suitable work to which subparagraphs (A), (B), (C), and (D) of paragraph (3) would not apply.

payments to states having agreements for the payment of emergency compensation Sec. 103. (a) There shall be paid to each State which has entered into an agreement under this Act an amount equal to 100 per centum of the emergency compensation paid to individuals by the State pursuant to such agreement. (b) No payment shall be made to any State under this section in respect of compensation for which the State is entitled to reimbursement under the provisions of any Federal law other than this Act. (c) Sums payable to any State by reason of such State's having an agreement under this Act shall be payable, either in advance or by way of reimbursement (as may be determined by the Secretary), in such amounts as the Secretary estimates the State will be entitled to receive under this Act for each calendar month, reduced or increased, as the case may be, by any amount by which the Secretary finds that his estimates for any prior calendar month were greater or less than the amounts which would 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.

financing provisions Sec. 104. (a)(1) Funds in the extended unemployment compensation account (as established by section 905 of the Social Security Act) of the Unemployment Trust Fund shall be used for the making of payments to States having agreements entered into under this Act. (2) The Secretary shall from time to time certify to the Secretary of the Treasury for payment to each State the sums payable to such State under this Act. The Secretary of the Treasury, prior to audit or settlement by the General Accounting Office, shall make payments to the State in accordance with such certification, by transfers from the extended unemployment compensation account (as established by section 905 of the Social Security Act) to the account of such State in the Unemployment Trust Fund. (b) There are hereby authorized to be appropriated, without fiscal year limitation, to the extended unemployment compensation account, such sums as may be necessary to carry out the purposes of this Act. Amounts appropriated and paid to the States under section 103 with respect to weeks of unemployment ending prior to April 1, 1977, shall be repaid, without interest, as provided in section 905(d) of the Social Security Act.

definitions Sec. 105. (a) For purposes of this Act— (1) the terms “compensation”, “regular compensation”, “extended compensation”, “base period”, “benefit year”, “State”, “State agency”, “State law”, and “week” shall have the meanings assigned to them under section 205 of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970; (2) the term “period of eligibility” means, in the case of any individual, the weeks in his benefit year which begin in an extended benefit period or an emergency benefit period and, if his benefit year ends within such extended benefit period, any weeks thereafter which begin in such extended benefit period or in such emergency benefit period; (3) the term “extended benefit period” shall have the meaning assigned to such term under section 203 of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970; (4) the term “additional eligibility period” means the thirteen-week period following the week in which an emergency benefit period ends in a State, as determined under section 102(c)(3); but no individual shall have an additional eligibility period unless there was payable to him in such State, for the week in which such emergency benefit period ended, either emergency compensation under this Act or extended compensation under the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970; (5) the term “rate of insured unemployment” means the percentage arrived at by dividing the average weekly number of individuals filing claims for weeks of unemployment with respect to the specified period (as determined on the basis of the reports made by the State agency to the Secretary) by the average monthly covered employment for the specified period; (6) the rate of insured unemployment for any thirteen-week period shall be determined by reference to the average monthly covered employment under the State law for the first four of the most recent six calendar quarters ending before the close of such period; and (7) determinations with respect to the rate of insured unemployment in a State shall be made by the State agency in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary. For purposes of any State law which refers to an extension under Federal law of the duration of benefits under the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970, this Act shall be treated as amendatory of such Act. (b)(1) If an individual knowingly has made, or caused to be made by another, a false statement or representation of a material fact, or knowingly has failed, or caused another to fail, to disclose a material fact, and as a result of such false statement or representation or of such nondisclosure such individual has received an amount of emergency compensation under this Act to which he was not entitled, such individual— (A) shall be ineligible for further emergency compensation under this Act in accordance with the provisions of the applicable State unemployment compensation law relating to fraud in connection with a claim for unemployment compensation; and (B) shall be subject to prosecution under section 1001 of title 18, United States Code. (2)(A) In the case of individuals who have received amounts of emergency compensation under this Act to which they were not entitled, the State is authorized to require such individuals to repay the amounts of such emergency compensation to the State agency, except that the State agency may waive such repayment if it determines that— (i) the payment of such emergency compensation was without fault on the part of any such individual, and (ii) such repayment would be contrary to equity and good conscience. (B) The State agency may recover the amount to be repaid, or any part thereof, by deductions from any emergency compensation payable to such individual under this Act or from any unemployment compensation payable to such individual under any Federal unemployment compensation law administered by the State agency or under any other Federal law administered by the State agency which provides for the payment of any assistance or allowance with respect to any week of unemployment, during the three-year period after the date such individuals received the payment of the emergency compensation to which they were not entitled, except that no single deduction may exceed 50 per centum of the weekly benefit amount from which such deduction is made. (C) No repayment shall be required, and no deduction shall be made, until a determination has been made, notice thereof and an opportunity for a fair hearing has been given to the individual, and the determination has become final. (3) Any determination by a State agency under paragraph (1) or (2) shall be subject to review in the same manner and to the same extent as determinations under the State unemployment compensation law, and only in that manner and to that extent.

extension of waiver of 120-percent requirement for purposes of extended compensation program Sec. 106. The last sentence of section 203(e)(2) of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970, as amended, is amended by striking out “April 30, 1975” and inserting in lieu thereof “December 31, 1976”.

temporary reduction in national trigger Sec. 107. Section 203(d) of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new sentence: “Effective with respect to compensation for weeks of unemployment beginning before December 31, 1976, and beginning after December 31, 1974 (or, if later, the date established pursuant to State law), the State may by law provide that the determination of whether there has been a national ‘on’ or ‘off’ indicator beginning or ending any extended benefit period shall be made under this subsection as if the phrase ‘4.5 per centum’, contained in paragraphs (1) and (2), read ‘4 per centum’.”

provision for financing temporary reduction in national trigger Sec. 108. Section 204(a) of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 is amended by adding at the end thereof the following new paragraph: “(3) In the case of compensation which is sharable extended compensation or sharable regular compensation by reason of the provision contained in the last sentence of section 203(d), the first paragraph of this subsection shall be applied as if the words ‘one-half of’ read ‘100 per centum of’ but only with respect to compensation that would not have been payable if the State law's provisions as to the State `on` and ‘off’ indicators omitted the 120 percent factor as provided for by Public Law 93–368 and by section 106 of this Act.”