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SECOND REGULAR SESSION
HOUSE BILL NO. 1268
92ND GENERAL ASSEMBLY
INTRODUCED BY REPRESENTATIVES SMITH (118) (Sponsor), YATES, SMITH (14), ROARK,
LEMBKE, DEEKEN, LUETKEMEYER, DETHROW, JOHNSON (47), PEARCE, HUNTER, BOUGH,
WILSON (119), ANGST, DEMPSEY, ERVIN, WILSON (130), BAKER, CROWELL, HOBBS, WOOD,
DIXON, MORRIS, MUNZLINGER, STEVENSON, SCHAAF, ENGLER, RUESTMAN, MAYER, KING,
STEFANICK, MYERS, PORTWOOD, BLACK AND SUTHERLAND (Co-sponsors).Read 1st time January 26, 2004, and copies ordered printed.
STEPHEN S. DAVIS, Chief Clerk
4224L.01I
AN ACT
To repeal sections 285.300, 288.030, 288.036, 288.038, 288.040, 288.050, 288.060, 288.110,
288.121, 288.128, 288.270, 288.310, and 288.330, RSMo, and to enact in lieu thereof
fifteen new sections relating to employees, with penalty provisions.
Be it enacted by the General Assembly of the state of Missouri, as follows:
Section A. Section 285.300, 288.030, 288.036, 288.038, 288.040, 288.050, 288.060,
288.110, 288.121, 288.128, 288.270, 288.310, and 288.330, RSMo, are repealed and fifteen new
sections enacted in lieu thereof, to be known as 285.300, 288.030, 288.036, 288.038, 288.040,
288.050, 288.060, 288.110, 288.121, 288.128, 288.270, 288.310, 288.330, 288.385, and 288.395,
to read as follows:
285.300. 1. Every employer doing business in the state shall require each newly hired
employee to fill out a federal W-4 withholding form. A copy of each withholding form or an
equivalent form containing data required by section 285.304 which may be provided in an
electronic or magnetic format, shall be sent to the department of revenue by the employer within
twenty days after the date the employer hires the employee or in the case of an employer
transmitting a report magnetically or electronically, by two monthly transmissions, if necessary,
not less than twelve days nor more than sixteen days apart. For purposes of this section, the date
the employer hires the employee shall be the earlier of the date the employee signs the W-4 form
or its equivalent, or the first date the employee reports to work, or performs labor or services.
Such forms shall be forwarded by the department of revenue to the division of child support
enforcement on a weekly basis and the information shall be entered into the database, to be
known as the "State Directory of New Hires". The information reported shall be provided to the
National Directory of New Hires established in 42 U.S.C. section 653, other state agencies or
contractors of the division as required or allowed by federal statutes or regulations. The division
of employment security shall cross-check Missouri unemployment compensation recipients
against any federal new hire database or any other database containing Missouri or other
states' wage information which is maintained by the federal government on a weekly basis.
2. Any employer that has employees who are employed in two or more states and
transmits reports magnetically or electronically may comply with subsection 1 of this section by:
(1) Designating one of the states in which the employer has employees as the designated
state that such employer shall transmit the reports; and
(2) Notifying the secretary of Health and Human Services of such designation.
288.030. 1. As used in this chapter, unless the context clearly requires otherwise:
(1) "Appeals tribunal" means a referee or a body consisting of three referees appointed
to conduct hearings and make decisions on appeals from administrative determinations, petitions
for reassessment, and claims referred pursuant to subsection 2 of section 288.070;
(2) "Base period" means the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters
immediately preceding the first day of an individual's benefit year;
(3) "Benefit year" means the one-year period beginning with the first day of the first
week with respect to which an insured worker first files an initial claim for determination of
such worker's insured status, and thereafter the one-year period beginning with the first day of
the first week with respect to which the individual, providing the individual is then an insured
worker, next files such an initial claim after the end of the individual's last preceding benefit
year;
(4) "Benefits" means the money payments payable to an insured worker, as provided in
this chapter, with respect to such insured worker's unemployment;
(5) "Calendar quarter" means the period of three consecutive calendar months ending
on March thirty-first, June thirtieth, September thirtieth, or December thirty-first;
(6) "Claimant" means an individual who has filed an initial claim for determination of
such individual's status as an insured worker, a notice of unemployment, a certification for
waiting week credit, or a claim for benefits;
(7) "Commission" means the labor and industrial relations commission of Missouri;
(8) "Common paymaster" means two or more related corporations in which one of the
corporations has been designated to disburse remuneration to concurrently employed individuals
of any of the related corporations;
(9) "Contributions" means the money payments to the unemployment compensation fund
required by this chapter, exclusive of interest and penalties;
(10) "Decision" means a ruling made by an appeals tribunal or the commission after a
hearing;
(11) "Deputy" means a representative of the division designated to make investigations
and administrative determinations on claims or matters of employer liability or to perform related
work;
(12) "Determination" means any administrative ruling made by the division without a
hearing;
(13) "Director" means the administrative head of the division of employment security;
(14) "Division" means the division of employment security which administers this
chapter;
(15) "Employing unit" means any individual, organization, partnership, corporation,
common paymaster, or other legal entity, including the legal representatives thereof, which has
or, subsequent to June 17, 1937, had in its employ one or more individuals performing services
for it within this state. All individuals performing services within this state for any employing
unit which maintains two or more separate establishments within this state shall be deemed to
be employed by a single employing unit for all the purposes of this chapter. Each individual
engaged to perform or to assist in performing the work of any person in the service of an
employing unit shall be deemed to be engaged by such employing unit for all the purposes of this
chapter, whether such individual was engaged or paid directly by such employing unit or by such
person, provided the employing unit had actual or constructive knowledge of the work;
(16) "Employment office" means a free public employment office operated by this or any
other state as a part of a state controlled system of public employment offices including any
location designated by the state as being a part of the one-stop career system;
(17) "Equipment" means a motor vehicle, straight truck, tractor, semi-trailer, full trailer,
any combination of these and any other type of equipment used by authorized carriers in the
transportation of property for hire;
(18) "Fund" means the unemployment compensation fund established by this chapter;
(19) "Governmental entity" means the state, any political subdivision thereof, any
instrumentality of any one or more of the foregoing which is wholly owned by this state and one
or more other states or political subdivisions and any instrumentality of this state or any political
subdivision thereof and one or more other states or political subdivisions;
(20) "Initial claim" means an application, in a form prescribed by the division, made by
an individual for the determination of the individual's status as an insured worker;
(21) "Insured work" means employment in the service of an employer;
(22) As to initial claims filed after December 31, 1990, "insured worker" means a worker
who has been paid wages for insured work in the amount of one thousand dollars or more in at
least one calendar quarter of such worker's base period and total wages in the worker's base
period equal to at least one and one-half times the insured wages in that calendar quarter of the
base period in which the worker's insured wages were the highest, or in the alternative, a worker
who has been paid wages in at least two calendar quarters of such worker's base period and
whose total base period wages are at least one and one-half times the maximum taxable wage
base, taxable to any one employer, in accordance with [subdivision (1)] subsection 2 of section
288.036. For the purposes of this definition, "wages" shall be considered as wage credits with
respect to any benefit year, only if such benefit year begins subsequent to the date on which the
employing unit by which such wages were paid has become an employer;
(23) "Lessor", in a lease, means the party granting the use of equipment, with or without
a driver to another;
(24) "Misconduct", means an act of wanton or willful disregard of the employer's
interest, a deliberate violation of the employer's rules, a disregard of standards of behavior
which the employer has the right to expect of his or her employee, or negligence in such
degree or recurrence as to manifest culpability, wrongful intent or evil design, or show an
intentional and substantial disregard of the employer's interest or of the employee's duties
and obligations to the employer;
(25) "Referee" means a representative of the division designated to serve on an appeals
tribunal;
[(25)] (26) "State" includes, in addition to the states of the United States of America, the
District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and the Dominion of Canada;
[(26)] (27) "Temporary help firm", means a firm that hires its own employees and
assigns them to clients to support or supplement the clients' workforce in work situations
such as employee absences, temporary skill shortages, seasonal workloads, and special
assignments and projects;
(28) "Temporary employee", means an employee assigned to work for the clients
of a temporary help firm;
(29) (a) An individual shall be deemed "totally unemployed" in any week during which
the individual performs no services and with respect to which no wages are payable to such
individual;
(b) An individual shall be deemed "partially unemployed" in any week of less than
full-time work if the wages payable to such individual for such week do not equal or exceed the
individual's weekly benefit amount plus twenty dollars;
(c) An individual's "week of unemployment" shall begin the first day of the calendar
week in which the individual registers at an employment office except that, if for good cause the
individual's registration is delayed, the week of unemployment shall begin the first day of the
calendar week in which the individual would have otherwise registered. The requirement of
registration may by regulation be postponed or eliminated in respect to claims for partial
unemployment or may by regulation be postponed in case of a mass layoff due to a temporary
cessation of work;
[(27)] (30) "Waiting week" means the first week of unemployment for which a claim is
allowed in a benefit year or if no waiting week has occurred in a benefit year in effect on the
effective date of a shared work plan, the first week of participation in a shared work
unemployment compensation program pursuant to section 288.500.
2. The Missouri average annual wage shall be computed as of June thirtieth of each year,
and shall be applicable to the following calendar year. The Missouri average annual wage shall
be calculated by dividing the total wages reported as paid for insured work in the preceding
calendar year by the average of mid-month employment reported by employers for the same
calendar year. The Missouri average weekly wage shall be computed by dividing the Missouri
average annual wage as computed in this subsection by fifty-two.
288.036. 1. "Wages" means all remuneration, payable or paid, for personal services
including commissions and bonuses and, except as provided in subdivision [(8)] (7) of this
section, the cash value of all remuneration paid in any medium other than cash. Gratuities,
including tips received from persons other than the employing unit, shall be considered wages
only if required to be reported as wages pursuant to the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, 26
U.S.C. Sec. 3306, and shall be, for the purposes of this chapter, treated as having been paid by
the employing unit. Severance pay shall be considered as wages [to the extent required pursuant
to the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, 26 U.S.C. Section 3306(b)]. Vacation pay and holiday
pay shall be considered as wages for the week with respect to which it is payable. The term
"wages" shall not include:
(1) [For the purposes of determining the amount of contributions due and contribution
rates, that part of the remuneration for employment paid to an individual by an employer or the
employer's predecessors which is in excess of seven thousand dollars for the calendar years 1988
through 1992, seven thousand five hundred dollars for the calendar year 1993, eight thousand
five hundred dollars for the calendar years 1994, 1995 and 1996, eight thousand dollars for
calendar year 1997, and eight thousand five hundred dollars for the calendar year 1998, and the
state taxable wage base as determined in subsection 2 of this section for calendar year 1999, and
each calendar year thereafter, unless that part of the remuneration is subject to a tax pursuant to
a federal law imposing a tax against which credit may be taken for contributions required to be
paid into a state unemployment fund; except that:
(a) In addition to the taxable wage, as defined in this subdivision, if on December 31,
1995, or on any December thirty-first thereafter, the balance in the unemployment insurance trust
fund, less any federal advances, is less than one hundred million dollars, then the amount of the
taxable wage then in effect shall be increased by five hundred dollars for all succeeding calendar
years;
(b) If on December 31, 1995, or any December thirty-first thereafter, the balance in the
unemployment insurance trust fund, less any federal advances, is two hundred and fifty million
dollars or more, then the amount of the taxable wage then in effect shall be reduced by five
hundred dollars, but not below that part of the remuneration which is subject to a tax pursuant
to a federal law imposing a tax against which credit may be taken for contributions required to
be paid into a state unemployment fund;
(2)] The amount of any payment made (including any amount paid by an employing unit
for insurance or annuities, or into a fund, to provide for any such payment) to, or on behalf of,
an individual under a plan or system established by an employing unit which makes provision
generally for individuals performing services for it or for a class or classes of such individuals,
on account of:
(a) Sickness or accident disability, but in case of payments made to an employee or any
of the employee's dependents this paragraph shall exclude from the term "wages" only payments
which are received pursuant to a workers' compensation law; or
(b) Medical and hospitalization expenses in connection with sickness or accident
disability; or
(c) Death;
[(3)] (2) The amount of any payment on account of sickness or accident disability, or
medical or hospitalization expenses in connection with sickness or accident disability, made by
an employing unit to, or on behalf of, an individual performing services for it after the expiration
of six calendar months following the last calendar month in which the individual performed
services for such employing unit;
[(4)] (3) The amount of any payment made by an employing unit to, or on behalf of, an
individual performing services for it or his or her beneficiary:
(a) From or to a trust described in 26 U.S.C. 401(a) which is exempt from tax pursuant
to 26 U.S.C. 501(a) at the time of such payment unless such payment is made to an employee
of the trust as remuneration for services rendered as such an employee and not as a beneficiary
of the trust; or
(b) Under or to an annuity plan which, at the time of such payments, meets the
requirements of section 404(a)(2) of the Federal Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C.A. Sec. 404);
[(5)] (4) The amount of any payment made by an employing unit (without deduction
from the remuneration of the individual in employment) of the tax imposed pursuant to section
3101 of the Federal Internal Revenue Code (26 U.S.C.A. Sec. 3101) upon an individual with
respect to remuneration paid to an employee for domestic service in a private home or for
agricultural labor;
[(6)] (5) Remuneration paid in any medium other than cash to an individual for services
not in the course of the employing unit's trade or business;
[(7)] (6) Remuneration paid in the form of meals provided to an individual in the service
of an employing unit where such remuneration is furnished on the employer's premises and at
the employer's convenience, except that remuneration in the form of meals that is considered
wages and required to be reported as wages pursuant to the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, 26
U.S.C. Sec. 3306 shall be reported as wages as required thereunder;
[(8)] (7) For the purpose of determining wages paid for agricultural labor as defined in
paragraph (b) of subdivision (1) of subsection 12 of section 288.034 and for domestic service as
defined in subsection 13 of section 288.034, only cash wages paid shall be considered;
[(9)] (8) Beginning on October 1, 1996, any payment to, or on behalf of, an employee
or the employee's beneficiary under a cafeteria plan, if such payment would not be treated as
wages pursuant to the Federal Unemployment Tax Act.
2. The increases or decreases to the state taxable wage base for calendar year [1999]
2004, and each calendar year thereafter, shall be determined by the provisions within this
subsection. Upon the first day of the next calender quarter after the effective date of this
section, the state taxable wage base for calendar year [1999, and] 2004 shall be ten thousand
dollars for the balance of the calendar year. The state taxable wage base for each calendar
year thereafter[,] shall be determined by the preceding September thirtieth balance of the
unemployment compensation trust fund, less any outstanding federal Title XII advances received
pursuant to section 288.330 and the principal, interest, and administrative expenses related
to bonds issued under section 288.330. When the September thirtieth unemployment
compensation trust fund balance, less any outstanding federal Title XII advances received
pursuant to section 288.330, is:
(1) Less than, or equal to, three hundred fifty million dollars, then the wage base shall
increase by [five hundred] one thousand dollars; or
(2) [Four] Five hundred [fifty] million or more, then the state taxable wage base for the
subsequent calendar year shall be decreased by five hundred dollars. In no event, however, shall
the state taxable wage base increase beyond [ten] eleven thousand [five hundred] dollars, or
decrease to less than seven thousand dollars.
For any calendar year, the state taxable wage base shall not be reduced to less than that part of
the remuneration which is subject to a tax under a federal law imposing a tax against which
credit may be taken for contributions required to be paid into a state unemployment
compensation trust fund. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prevent the wage base
from increasing or decreasing by increments of five hundred dollars.
288.038. With respect to initial claims filed [during calendar years 1998, 1999, 2000 and
2001] after the effective date of this section and each calendar year thereafter, the "maximum
weekly benefit amount" means four percent of the total wages paid to an eligible insured worker
during that quarter of the worker's base period in which the worker's wages were the highest, but
the maximum weekly benefit amount shall not exceed two hundred five dollars in the calendar
year 1998, two hundred twenty dollars in the calendar year 1999, two hundred thirty-five dollars
in the calendar year 2000, and two hundred fifty dollars in the calendar [year 2001, and] years
2004 and 2005, two hundred fifty-five dollars for calendar years 2006 and 2007, and two
hundred sixty dollars for calendar year 2008 and each calendar year thereafter. If such
benefit amount is not a multiple of one dollar, such amount shall be reduced to the nearest lower
full dollar amount.
288.040. 1. A claimant who is unemployed and has been determined to be an insured
worker shall be eligible for benefits for any week only if the deputy finds that:
(1) The claimant has registered for work at and thereafter has continued to report at an
employment office in accordance with such regulations as the division may prescribe;
(2) The claimant is able to work and is available for work. No person shall be deemed
available for work unless such person has been and is actively and earnestly seeking work. Upon
the filing of an initial or renewed claim, and prior to the filing of each weekly claim thereafter,
the deputy shall notify each claimant of the number of work search contacts required to constitute
an active search for work. No person shall be considered not available for work, pursuant to this
subdivision, solely because he or she is a substitute teacher or is on jury duty. A claimant shall
not be determined to be ineligible pursuant to this subdivision because of not actively and
earnestly seeking work if:
(a) The claimant is participating in training approved pursuant to Section 236 of the
Trade Act of 1974, as amended, (19 U.S.C.A. Sec. 2296, as amended); [or]
(b) The claimant is temporarily unemployed through no fault of his or her own and has
a definite recall date within eight weeks of his or her first day of unemployment; however, upon
application of the employer responsible for the claimant's unemployment, such eight-week period
may be extended at the discretion of the director; or
(c) The claimant is participating in a state-approved drug or alcohol treatment
program;
(3) The claimant has reported in person to an office of the division as directed by the
deputy, but at least once every four weeks, except that a claimant shall be exempted from the
reporting requirement of this subdivision if:
(a) The claimant is claiming benefits in accordance with division regulations dealing
with partial or temporary total unemployment; or
(b) The claimant is temporarily unemployed through no fault of his or her own and has
a definite recall date within eight weeks of his or her first day of unemployment; or
(c) The claimant resides in a county with an unemployment rate, as published by the
division, of ten percent or more and in which the county seat is more than forty miles from the
nearest division office;
(d) The director of the division of employment security has determined that the claimant
belongs to a group or class of workers whose opportunities for reemployment will not be
enhanced by reporting in person, or is prevented from reporting due to emergency conditions that
limit access by the general public to an office that serves the area where the claimant resides, but
only during the time such circumstances exist.
Ineligibility pursuant to this subdivision shall begin on the first day of the week which the
claimant was scheduled to claim and shall end on the last day of the week preceding the week
during which the claimant does report in person to the division's office;
(4) Prior to the first week of a period of total or partial unemployment for which the
claimant claims benefits he or she has been totally or partially unemployed for a waiting period
of one week. No more than one waiting week will be required in any benefit year. The
one-week waiting period shall become compensable after unemployment during which benefits
are payable for nine consecutive weeks. No week shall be counted as a week of total or partial
unemployment for the purposes of this subsection unless it occurs within the benefit year which
includes the week with respect to which the claimant claims benefits;
(5) The claimant has made a claim for benefits;
(6) The claimant is participating in reemployment services, such as job search assistance
services, as directed by the deputy if the claimant has been determined to be likely to exhaust
regular benefits and to need reemployment services pursuant to a profiling system established
by the division, unless the deputy determines that:
(a) The individual has completed such reemployment services; or
(b) There is justifiable cause for the claimant's failure to participate in such
reemployment services.
2. A claimant shall be ineligible for waiting week credit or benefits for any week for
which the deputy finds he or she is or has been suspended by his or her most recent employer for
misconduct connected with his or her work. Suspensions of four weeks or more shall be
treated as discharges.
3. (1) Benefits based on "service in employment", defined in subsections 7 and 8 of
section 288.034, shall be payable in the same amount, on the same terms and subject to the same
conditions as compensation payable on the basis of other service subject to this law; except that:
(a) With respect to service performed in an instructional, research, or principal
administrative capacity for an educational institution, benefits shall not be paid based on such
services for any week of unemployment commencing during the period between two successive
academic years or terms, or during a similar period between two regular but not successive terms,
or during a period of paid sabbatical leave provided for in the individual's contract, to any
individual if such individual performs such services in the first of such academic years (or terms)
and if there is a contract or a reasonable assurance that such individual will perform services in
any such capacity for any educational institution in the second of such academic years or terms;
(b) With respect to services performed in any capacity (other than instructional, research,
or principal administrative capacity) for an educational institution, benefits shall not be paid on
the basis of such services to any individual for any week which commences during a period
between two successive academic years or terms if such individual performs such services in the
first of such academic years or terms and there is a contract or a reasonable assurance that such
individual will perform such services in the second of such academic years or terms;
(c) With respect to services described in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision,
benefits shall not be paid on the basis of such services to any individual for any week which
commences during an established and customary vacation period or holiday recess if such
individual performed such services in the period immediately before such vacation period or
holiday recess, and there is reasonable assurance that such individual will perform such services
immediately following such vacation period or holiday recess;
(d) With respect to services described in paragraphs (a) and (b) of this subdivision,
benefits payable on the basis of services in any such capacity shall be denied as specified in
paragraphs (a), (b), and (c) of this subdivision, to any individual who performed such services
at an educational institution while in the employ of an educational service agency, and for this
purpose the term "educational service agency" means a governmental agency or governmental
entity which is established and operated exclusively for the purpose of providing such services
to one or more educational institutions.
(2) If compensation is denied for any week pursuant to paragraph (b) or (d) of
subdivision (1) of this subsection, to any individual performing services at an educational
institution in any capacity (other than instructional, research or principal administrative capacity),
and such individual was not offered an opportunity to perform such services for the second of
such academic years or terms, such individual shall be entitled to a retroactive payment of the
compensation for each week for which the individual filed a timely claim for compensation and
for which compensation was denied solely by reason of paragraph (b) or (d) of subdivision (1)
of this subsection.
4. (1) A claimant shall be ineligible for waiting week credit, benefits or shared work
benefits for any week for which he or she is receiving or has received remuneration exceeding
his or her weekly benefit amount or shared work benefit amount in the form of:
(a) Compensation for temporary partial disability pursuant to the workers' compensation
law of any state or pursuant to a similar law of the United States;
(b) A governmental or other pension, retirement or retired pay, annuity, or other similar
periodic payment which is based on the previous work of such claimant to the extent that such
payment is provided from funds provided by a base period or chargeable employer pursuant to
a plan maintained or contributed to by such employer; but, except for such payments made
pursuant to the Social Security Act or the Railroad Retirement Act of 1974 (or the corresponding
provisions of prior law), the provisions of this paragraph shall not apply if the services performed
for such employer by the claimant after the beginning of the base period (or remuneration for
such services) do not affect eligibility for or increase the amount of such pension, retirement or
retired pay, annuity or similar payment.
(2) If the remuneration referred to in this subsection is less than the benefits which would
otherwise be due, the claimant shall be entitled to receive for such week, if otherwise eligible,
benefits reduced by the amount of such remuneration, and, if such benefit is not a multiple of one
dollar, such amount shall be lowered to the next multiple of one dollar.
(3) Notwithstanding the provisions of subdivisions (1) and (2) of this subsection, if a
claimant has contributed in any way to the Social Security Act or the Railroad Retirement Act
of 1974, or the corresponding provisions of prior law, no part of the payments received pursuant
to such federal law shall be deductible from the amount of benefits received pursuant to this
chapter.
5. A claimant shall be ineligible for waiting week credit or benefits for any week for
which or a part of which he or she has received or is seeking unemployment benefits pursuant
to an unemployment insurance law of another state or the United States; provided, that if it be
finally determined that the claimant is not entitled to such unemployment benefits, such
ineligibility shall not apply.
6. (1) A claimant shall be ineligible for waiting week credit or benefits for any week for
which the deputy finds that such claimant's total or partial unemployment is due to a stoppage
of work which exists because of a labor dispute in the factory, establishment or other premises
in which such claimant is or was last employed. In the event the claimant secures other
employment from which he or she is separated during the existence of the labor dispute, the
claimant must have obtained bona fide employment as a permanent employee for at least the
major part of each of two weeks in such subsequent employment to terminate his or her
ineligibility. If, in any case, separate branches of work which are commonly conducted as
separate businesses at separate premises are conducted in separate departments of the same
premises, each such department shall for the purposes of this subsection be deemed to be a
separate factory, establishment or other premises. This subsection shall not apply if it is shown
to the satisfaction of the deputy that:
(a) The claimant is not participating in or financing or directly interested in the labor
dispute which caused the stoppage of work; and
(b) The claimant does not belong to a grade or class of workers of which, immediately
preceding the commencement of the stoppage, there were members employed at the premises
at which the stoppage occurs, any of whom are participating in or financing or directly interested
in the dispute.
(2) "Stoppage of work" as used in this subsection means a substantial diminution of the
activities, production or services at the establishment, plant, factory or premises of the employing
unit. This definition shall not apply to a strike where the employees in the bargaining unit who
initiated the strike are participating in the strike. Such employees shall not be eligible for waiting
week credit or benefits during the period when the strike is in effect, regardless of diminution,
unless the employer has been found guilty of an unfair labor practice by the National Labor
Relations Board or a federal court of law for an act or actions preceding or during the strike.
7. On or after January 1, 1978, benefits shall not be paid to any individual on the basis
of any services, substantially all of which consist of participating in sports or athletic events or
training or preparing to so participate, for any week which commences during the period between
two successive sport seasons (or similar periods) if such individual performed such services in
the first of such seasons (or similar periods) and there is a reasonable assurance that such
individual will perform such services in the later of such seasons (or similar periods).
8. Benefits shall not be payable on the basis of services performed by an alien, unless
such alien is an individual who was lawfully admitted for permanent residence at the time such
services were performed, was lawfully present for purposes of performing such services, or was
permanently residing in the United States under color of law at the time such services were
performed (including an alien who was lawfully present in the United States as a result of the
application of the provisions of Section 212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act).
(1) Any data or information required of individuals applying for benefits to determine
whether benefits are not payable to them because of their alien status shall be uniformly required
from all applicants for benefits.
(2) In the case of an individual whose application for benefits would otherwise be
approved, no determination that benefits to such individual are not payable because of such
individual's alien status shall be made except upon a preponderance of the evidence.
288.050. 1. Notwithstanding the other provisions of this law, a claimant shall be
disqualified for waiting week credit or benefits until after the claimant has earned wages for
work insured pursuant to the unemployment compensation laws of any state equal to ten times
the claimant's weekly benefit amount if the deputy finds:
(1) That the claimant has left work voluntarily without good cause attributable to such
work or to the claimant's employer[; except that]. A temporary employee of a temporary help
firm will be deemed to have voluntarily quit employment if the employee does not contact
the temporary help firm for reassignment prior to filing for benefits. Failure to contact the
temporary help firm will not be deemed a voluntary quit unless the claimant has been
advised of the obligation to contract the firm upon completion of assignments and that
unemployment benefits may be denied for failure to do so. The claimant shall not be
disqualified:
(a) If the deputy finds the claimant quit such work for the purpose of accepting a more
remunerative job which the claimant did accept and earn some wages therein;
(b) If the claimant quit temporary work to return to such claimant's regular employer; or
(c) If the deputy finds the individual quit work, which would have been determined not
suitable in accordance with paragraphs (a) and (b) of subdivision (3) of this subsection, within
twenty-eight calendar days of the first day worked; or
(d) As to initial claims filed after December 31, 1988, if the claimant presents evidence
supported by competent medical proof that she was forced to leave her work because of
pregnancy, notified her employer of such necessity as soon as practical under the circumstances,
and returned to that employer and offered her services to that employer as soon as she was
physically able to return to work, as certified by a licensed and practicing physician, but in no
event later than ninety days after the termination of the pregnancy. An employee shall have been
employed for at least one year with the same employer before she may be provided benefits
pursuant to the provisions of this paragraph;
(2) That the claimant has retired pursuant to the terms of a labor agreement between the
claimant's employer and a union duly elected by the employees as their official representative
or in accordance with an established policy of the claimant's employer; or
(3) That the claimant failed without good cause either to apply for available suitable
work when so directed by the deputy, or to accept suitable work when offered the claimant, either
through the division or directly by an employer by whom the individual was formerly employed,
or to return to the individual's customary self-employment, if any, when so directed by the
deputy. An offer of work shall be conclusively established if an employer notifies the
claimant in writing of such offer by sending an acknowledgment via any form of certified
mail issued by the United State Postal Service stating such offer to the claimant at his or
her last known address. Nothing in this subdivision shall be construed to limit the means
by which the deputy may establish that the claimant has been sufficiently notified of
available work.
(a) In determining whether or not any work is suitable for an individual, the division
shall consider, among other factors and in addition to those enumerated in paragraph (b) of this
subdivision, the degree of risk involved to the individual's health, safety and morals, the
individual's physical fitness and prior training, the individual's experience and prior earnings, the
individual's length of unemployment, the individual's prospects for securing work in the
individual's customary occupation, the distance of available work from the individual's residence
and the individual's prospect of obtaining local work; except that, if an individual has moved
from the locality in which the individual actually resided when such individual was last
employed to a place where there is less probability of the individual's employment at such
individual's usual type of work and which is more distant from or otherwise less accessible to
the community in which the individual was last employed, work offered by the individual's most
recent employer if similar to that which such individual performed in such individual's last
employment and at wages, hours, and working conditions which are substantially similar to those
prevailing for similar work in such community, or any work which the individual is capable of
performing at the wages prevailing for such work in the locality to which the individual has
moved, if not hazardous to such individual's health, safety or morals, shall be deemed suitable
for the individual;
(b) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this law, no work shall be deemed suitable
and benefits shall not be denied pursuant to this law to any otherwise eligible individual for
refusing to accept new work under any of the following conditions:
a. If the position offered is vacant due directly to a strike, lockout, or other labor dispute;
b. If the wages, hours, or other conditions of the work offered are substantially less
favorable to the individual than those prevailing for similar work in the locality;
c. If as a condition of being employed the individual would be required to join a
company union or to resign from or refrain from joining any bona fide labor organization.
2. [Notwithstanding the other provisions of this law,] If a deputy finds that a claimant
has been discharged for misconduct connected with the claimant's work, such claimant[,
depending upon the seriousness of the misconduct as determined by the deputy according to the
circumstances in each case,] shall be disqualified for waiting week credit or benefits [for not less
than four nor more than sixteen weeks for which the claimant claims benefits and is otherwise
eligible], and no benefits shall be paid nor shall the cost of any benefits be charged against
any employer for any period of employment within the base period, until such time as the
claimant has earned wages for work insured under the unemployment laws of this state or
other state as prescribed in this section. In addition to the disqualification for benefits
pursuant to this provision the division may in the more aggravated cases of misconduct, cancel
all or any part of the individual's wage credits, which were established through the individual's
employment by the employer who discharged such individual, according to the seriousness of
the misconduct. A disqualification provided for pursuant to this subsection shall not apply to
any week which occurs after the claimant has earned wages for work insured pursuant to the
unemployment compensation laws of any state in an amount equal to eight times the claimant's
weekly benefit amount. If a claimant is disqualified on a second or subsequent occasion
within the base period or subsequent to the base period, the claimant shall be required to
earn wages in an amount equal to or in excess of eight times the claimant's weekly benefit
amount for each disqualification, and such additionally required wages shall run
consecutively.
3. A pattern of absenteeism or tardiness may constitute misconduct regardless of whether
the last incident alone which results in the discharge constitutes misconduct.
4. Notwithstanding the provisions of subsection 1 of this section, a claimant may not be
determined to be disqualified for benefits because the claimant is in training approved pursuant
to section 236 of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, (19 U.S.C.A. Sec. 2296, as amended), or
because the claimant left work which was not "suitable employment" to enter such training. For
the purposes of this subsection "suitable employment" means, with respect to a worker, work of
a substantially equal or higher skill level than the worker's past adversely affected employment,
and wages for such work at not less than eighty percent of the worker's average weekly wage as
determined for the purposes of the Trade Act of 1974.
288.060. 1. All benefits shall be paid through employment offices in accordance with
such regulations as the division may prescribe.
2. Each eligible insured worker who is totally unemployed in any week shall be paid for
such week a sum equal to his weekly benefit amount.
3. Each eligible insured worker who is partially unemployed in any week shall be paid
for such week a partial benefit. Such partial benefit shall be an amount equal to the difference
between his weekly benefit amount and that part of his wages for such week in excess of twenty
dollars, and, if such partial benefit amount is not a multiple of one dollar, such amount shall be
reduced to the nearest lower full dollar amount. [Termination pay, severance pay or] Pay
received by an eligible insured worker who is a member of the organized militia for training or
duty authorized by section 502(a)(1) of Title 32, United States Code[, or who is an elected
official] shall not be considered wages for the purpose of this subsection.
4. The division shall compute the wage credits for each individual by crediting him with
the wages paid to him for insured work during each quarter of his base period or twenty-six times
his weekly benefit amount, whichever is the lesser. In addition, if a claimant receives wages in
the form of termination pay or severance pay and such payment appears in a base period
established by the filing of an initial claim, the claimant may, at his option, choose to have such
payment included in the calendar quarter in which it was paid or choose to have it prorated
equally among the quarters comprising the base period of the claim. The maximum total amount
of benefits payable to any insured worker during any benefit year shall not exceed twenty-six
times his weekly benefit amount, or thirty-three and one-third percent of his wage credits,
whichever is the lesser. For the purpose of this section, wages shall be counted as wage credits
for any benefit year, only if such benefit year begins subsequent to the date on which the
employing unit by whom such wages were paid has become an employer. The wage credits of
an individual earned during the period commencing with the end of a prior base period and
ending on the date on which he filed an allowed initial claim shall not be available for benefit
purposes in a subsequent benefit year unless, in addition thereto, such individual has
subsequently earned either wages for insured work in an amount equal to at least five times his
current weekly benefit amount or wages in an amount equal to at least ten times his current
weekly benefit amount.
5. In the event that benefits are due a deceased person and no petition has been filed for
the probate of the will or for the administration of the estate of such person within thirty days
after his death, the division may by regulation provide for the payment of such benefits to such
person or persons as the division finds entitled thereto and every such payment shall be a valid
payment to the same extent as if made to the legal representatives of the deceased.
6. The division is authorized to cancel any benefit warrant remaining outstanding and
unpaid one year after the date of its issuance and there shall be no liability for the payment of any
such benefit warrant thereafter.
7. The division may establish an electronic funds transfer system to transfer directly to
claimants' accounts in financial institutions benefits payable to them pursuant to this chapter.
To receive benefits by electronic funds transfer, a claimant shall satisfactorily complete a direct
deposit application form authorizing the division to deposit benefit payments into a designated
checking or savings account. Any electronic funds transfer system created pursuant to this
subsection shall be administered in accordance with regulations prescribed by the division.
8. The division may issue a benefit warrant covering more than one week of benefits.
288.110. Any individual, type of organization or employing unit which has acquired
substantially all of the business of an employer, excepting in any such case any assets retained
by such employer incident to the liquidation of his obligations, and in respect to which the
division finds that immediately after such change such business of the predecessor employer is
continued without interruption solely by the successor, shall stand in the position of such
predecessor employer in all respects, including the predecessor's separate account, actual
contribution and benefit experience, annual payrolls, and liability for current or delinquent
contributions, interest and penalties. If two or more individuals, organizations, or employing
units acquired at approximately the same time substantially all of the business of an employer
(excepting in any such case any assets retained by such employer incident to the liquidation of
his obligations) and in respect to which the division finds that immediately after such change all
portions of such business of the predecessor are continued without interruption solely by such
successors, each such individual, organization, or employing unit shall stand in the position of
such predecessor with respect to the proportionate share of the predecessor's separate account,
actual contribution and benefit experience and annual payroll as determined by the portion of the
predecessor's taxable payroll applicable to the portion of the business acquired, and each such
individual, organization or employing unit shall be liable for current or delinquent contributions,
interest and penalties of the predecessor in the same relative proportion. Further, any successor
under this section which was not an employer at the time the acquisition occurred, shall pay
contributions for the balance of the current rate year at the same contribution rate as the
contribution rate of the predecessor whether such rate is more or less than two and seven-tenths
percent, provided there was only one predecessor or there were only predecessors with identical
rates. If the predecessors' rates were not identical, the division shall calculate a rate as of the date
of acquisition applicable to the successor for the remainder of the rate year, which rate shall be
based on the combined experience of all predecessor employers. In the event that any successor
was, prior to an acquisition, an employer, and there is a difference in the contribution rate
established for such calendar year applicable to any acquired or acquiring employer, the division
shall make a recalculation [as of the date of acquisition] of the contribution rate applicable to any
successor employer based upon the combined experience of all predecessor and successor
employers[, which] as of the date of the acquisition, unless the date of the acquisition is
other than the first day of the calendar quarter. If the date of any such acquisition is other
than the first day of the calendar quarter the division shall make the recalculation of the
rate on the first day of the next calendar quarter after the acquisition. When the date of
the acquisition is other than the first day of a calendar quarter the successor employer shall
use its rate for the calendar quarter in which the acquisition was made. The revised
contribution rate shall apply to employment after the [date of any such acquisition] rate
recalculation. For this purpose a calculation date different from July first may be established.
When the division has determined that a successor or successors stand in the position of a
predecessor employer, the predecessor's liability shall be terminated as of the date of the
acquisition.
288.121. 1. On October first of each calendar year, if the average balance, less any
federal advances, of the unemployment compensation trust fund of the four preceding quarters
(September thirtieth, June thirtieth, March thirty-first and December thirty-first of the preceding
calendar year) is less than four hundred fifty million dollars, then each employer's contribution
rate calculated for the four calendar quarters of the succeeding calendar year shall be increased
by the percentage determined from the following table:
Balance in Trust Fund
Percentage
Less Than Equals or Exceeds of Increase
[$400,000,000] $450,000,000 [$350,000,000] $400,000,000 10%
[$350,000,000] $400,000,000 [$300,000,000] $350,000,000 20%
[$300,000,000] $350,000,000 30%
Notwithstanding the table in this section, each employer's contribution rate calculated for the four
calendar quarters of calendar year 1994 shall be increased by forty percent, instead of thirty
percent, as previously indicated in the table in this section. After the forty percent increase, each
employer's contribution rate for the four calendar quarters of calendar year 1994 shall be
increased by adding three-tenths of one percent.
2. Upon the first day of the next calendar quarter after the effective date of this
section, an employer's total contribution rate shall equal the employer's base rate plus a
temporary solvency charge of one-tenth of one percent added to the base rate plus the
increase authorized under subsection 1 of this section. The temporary solvency charge
shall expire upon the last day of the fourth calender quarter following the effective date of
this section.
288.128. 1. In addition to all other contributions due under this chapter, if the fund is
utilizing moneys advanced by the federal government under the provisions of 42 U.S.C.A.,
section 1321 pursuant to section 288.330[,] or from the proceeds of bonds issued under
section 288.330 each employer shall be assessed an amount solely for the payment of interest
due on such federal advancements, or in the case of issuance of bonds for the payment of the
principal, interest, and administrative expenses related to such bonds. The rate shall be
determined by dividing the interest due on federal advancements or the principal, interest,
and administrative expenses related to bonds by ninety-five percent of the total taxable wages
paid by all Missouri employers in the preceding calendar year. Each employer's proportionate
share shall be the product obtained by multiplying such employer's total taxable wages for the
preceding calendar year by the rate specified in this section. Each employer shall be notified of
the amount due under this section by June thirtieth of each year and such amount shall be
considered delinquent thirty days thereafter. The moneys collected from each employer for the
payment of interest due on federal advances or principal, interest, and administrative
expenses related to bonds shall be deposited in the special employment security fund.
2. If on December thirty-first of any year the money collected under this section exceeds
the amount of interest due on federal advancements by one hundred thousand dollars or more,
then each employer's experience rating account shall be credited with an amount which bears the
same ratio to the excess moneys collected under this section as that employer's payment collected
under this section bears to the total amount collected under this section. Further, if on December
thirty-first of any year the moneys collected under this section exceed the amount of interest due
on the federal advancements by less than one hundred thousand dollars, the balance shall be
transferred from the special employment security fund to the Secretary of the Treasury of the
United States to be credited to the account of this state in the unemployment trust fund.
3. Moneys collected under this section for the payment of principal, interest, and
administrative expenses related to bonds issued under section 288.330 shall only be used
for such purpose following appropriation of such moneys by the general assembly. In the
event that moneys are collected under this section for the payment of principal, interest,
and administrative expenses related to bonds and the legislature does not make such an
appropriation, collections shall be paid into the special employment security fund and be
used for such purposes as are allowed by law.
288.270. The provisions of the Wagner-Peyser Act (29 U.S.C.A. Sec. 49 et seq.), as
amended, are hereby accepted by this state and the division of employment security is hereby
designated and constituted the agency of this state for the purposes of said act. The division shall
establish and maintain free public employment offices in such number and in such places as may
be necessary for the proper administration of this chapter and for the purposes of performing
such functions as are within the purview of the Wagner-Peyser Act. To the extent allowed by
law, such departments, divisions, and agencies may contract with private entities for the
purpose of providing employment and reemployment services.
288.310. 1. There is hereby created in the state treasury a special fund to be known as
the "Special Employment Security Fund". All interest and penalties collected under the
provisions of this law, including moneys collected pursuant to section 288.128 for the payment
of interest due on federal advances received pursuant to section 288.330, or the payment of
principal, interest, and administrative expenses related to bonds issued under section
288.330 shall be paid into this fund. The moneys collected pursuant to section 288.128 shall be
used exclusively for the payment of interest due on federal advances received pursuant to section
288.330 or, subject to appropriation by the general assembly for the payment of principal,
interest, and administrative expenses related to bonds issued under that section. Such
moneys, except for moneys collected pursuant to section 288.128, shall not be expended or
available for expenditure in any manner which would permit their substitution for, or a
corresponding reduction in, federal funds which would in the absence of such money be available
to finance expenditures for the administration of the employment security law, but nothing in this
section shall prevent such moneys, except for moneys collected pursuant to section 288.128,
from being used as a revolving fund, to cover expenditures, necessary and proper under the law,
for which federal funds have been duly requested but not yet received, subject to the charging
of such expenditures against such funds when received. Subject to the approval of the director
of the department of labor and industrial relations, the moneys in this fund, except for moneys
collected pursuant to section 288.128, shall be used by the department of labor and industrial
relations for the payment of costs of administration which are found not to have been properly
and validly chargeable against federal grants or other funds received for or in the unemployment
compensation administration fund. Such moneys, except for moneys collected pursuant to
section 288.128, shall be available either to satisfy the obligations incurred by the department
of labor and industrial relations for the division directly or by requesting the board of fund
commissioners to transfer the required amount from the special employment security fund to the
unemployment compensation administration fund. The board of fund commissioners shall upon
receipt of a written request of the department of labor and industrial relations make any such
transfer. No expenditures of this fund or transfer herein provided, except for moneys collected
pursuant to section 288.128, shall be made unless and until the director of the department of
labor and industrial relations finds that no other funds are available or can properly be used to
finance such expenditures, except that as hereinafter authorized expenditures from such fund
may be made for the purpose of acquiring lands and buildings, or for the erection of buildings
on lands so acquired, which are deemed necessary by the director of the department of labor and
industrial relations for the proper administration of this law. The director of the department of
labor and industrial relations shall order the transfer of such funds or the payment of any such
obligation and such funds shall be paid by the state treasurer on requisitions drawn by the
director of the department of labor and industrial relations directing the state auditor to issue his
or her warrant therefor. Any such warrant shall be drawn by the state auditor based upon bills
of particulars and vouchers certified by an officer or employee designated by the director of the
department of labor and industrial relations. Such certification shall among other things include
a duly certified copy of the director of the department of labor and industrial relations' findings
hereinbefore referred to. The moneys in this fund, except for moneys collected pursuant to
section 288.128, are hereby specifically made available to replace, within a reasonable time, any
moneys received by this state pursuant to section 302 of the Federal Social Security Act (42
U.S.C.A. Sec. 502), as amended, which, because of any action or contingency, have been lost
or have been expended for purposes other than, or in amounts in excess of, those necessary for
the proper administration of the employment security law. The moneys in this fund shall be
continuously available to the director of the department of labor and industrial relations for
expenditure in accordance with the provisions of this section and shall not lapse at any time or
be transferred to any other fund except as herein provided.
2. The director of the department of labor and industrial relations, subject to the approval
of the board of public buildings, is authorized and empowered to use all or any part of the funds
in the special employment security fund, except for moneys collected pursuant to section
288.128, for the purpose of acquiring suitable office space for the division by way of purchase,
lease, contract or in any other manner, including the right to use such funds or any part thereof
to purchase land and erect thereon such buildings as he or she shall deem necessary or to assist
in financing the construction of any building erected by the state of Missouri or any of its
agencies wherein available space will be provided for the division under lease or contract
between the department of labor and industrial relations and the state of Missouri or such other
agency. The director of the department of labor and industrial relations may transfer from the
unemployment compensation administration fund to the special employment security fund
amounts not exceeding funds specifically available to the department of labor and industrial
relations for that purpose, equivalent to the fair reasonable rental value of any land and buildings
acquired for its use until such time as the full amount of the purchase price of such land and
buildings and such cost of repair and maintenance thereof as was expended from the special
employment security fund has been returned to such fund.
3. The director of the department of labor and industrial relations may also transfer from
the unemployment compensation administration fund to the special employment security fund
amounts not exceeding funds specifically available to the department of labor and industrial
relations for that purpose, equivalent to the fair reasonable rental value of space used by the
department of labor and industrial relations in any building erected by the state of Missouri or
any of its agencies until such time as the department of labor and industrial relations'
proportionate amount of the purchase price of such building and the department of labor and
industrial relations' proportionate amount of such costs of repair and maintenance thereof as was
expended from the special employment security fund has been returned to such fund.
288.330. 1. Benefits shall be deemed to be due and payable only to the extent that
moneys are available to the credit of the unemployment compensation fund and neither the state
nor the division shall be liable for any amount in excess of such sums. [Neither the state of
Missouri, nor any person or agency acting for it, may under any circumstance, by issuing bonds
or otherwise borrow money from any source whatsoever to pay benefits hereunder, except as
provided in 42 U.S.C.A. Section 1321.] The governor is authorized to apply for an advance to
the state unemployment fund and to accept the responsibility for the repayment of such advance
[in accordance with the conditions specified in Title XII of the Social Security Act, as amended,]
in order to secure to this state and its citizens the advantages available under the provisions of
[such title] federal law. In the event the governor applies for an advance as provided in 42
U.S.C. Section 1321 or the state is required to incur other indebtedness as authorized in
this chapter in order to maintain funding for the payment of benefits as authorized by this
chapter, the state of Missouri shall be obligated to pay the interest incurred as a result of
such advance or indebtedness.
2. (1) The purpose of this subsection is to provide a method of financing the
replenishment of the state's unemployment compensation fund as an alternative to
borrowing or obtaining advances from the federal unemployment trust fund or for
refinancing those loans or advances, and to provide a method through which the state may
continue its unemployment compensation program at the least possible cost to the state and
its employers.
(2) For the purposes of this subsection, "bond" means any type of obligation issued
under this section, including any bond, note, or bond anticipation note or similar
instrument.
(3) For the purposes of implementing the provisions of this subsection, there is
hereby created the "Missouri Commission on Employment Security Financing". The
membership of the commission shall be comprised of the governor, attorney general, and
lieutenant governor. The governor is chairman and the lieutenant governor, secretary.
The speaker of the house of representatives, the president pro tempore of the senate, the
director of the department of labor and industrial relations, the director of the division of
employment security, and the state treasurer shall serve as ex officio members of the
commission but shall not have the power to vote. The commission shall constitute a body
corporate and politic. The commission shall have all powers necessary to effectuate its
purposes, including without limitation to provide a seal, keep a record of its proceedings,
and elect a chairman from amongst its members.
(4) The commission is authorized to issue, sell, and deliver bonds which shall
mature no later than ten years after issuance in the name of the commission in an amount
determined by the commission not to exceed a total of three hundred fifty million dollars
of indebtedness that results in reducing or avoiding the need to borrow or obtain an
advance under 42 U.S.C., Section 1321, or any similar federal legislation, or in an amount
necessary to refinance any borrowing or advance previously made by the state for those
purposes. The commission shall make an affirmative finding that the issuance of bonds for
the purposes established in this section results in a savings to the state and its employers.
(5) The commission shall provide for the payment of the principal of the bonds, any
redemption premiums, the interest on the bonds, and the costs attributable to the bonds
being issued or outstanding as provided in this subsection and in section 288.310. Unless
the commission directs otherwise, the bonds shall be repaid in the same time frame and in
the same amounts as would be required for loans issued pursuant to 42 U.S.C. Section
1321; however, in no case shall bond indebtedness continue beyond five consecutive years.
(6) The commission may irrevocably pledge money received from the contributions
received under section 288.128 as revenue for the payment of bonds and deposited in an
account created for such purpose in the special employment security fund or other money
legally available to it provided that the general assembly has first appropriated such
contributions or other moneys deposited in such account for the payment of bonds.
(7) Bonds issued under this section shall not constitute debts of this state or of any
agency, political corporation, or political subdivision of this state and are not a pledge of
the faith and credit of this state or of any of those governmental entities. The bonds are
payable only from revenue provided for under this chapter. The bonds shall contain a
statement to the effect that:
(a) Neither the state nor any agency, political corporation, or political subdivision
of the state shall be obligated to pay the principal or interest on the bonds except as
provided by this section; and
(b) Neither the full faith and credit nor the taxing power of the state nor any
agency, political corporation, or political subdivision of the state is pledged to the payment
of the principal, premium, if any, or interest on the bonds except as provided by this
section.
(8) The owner of any bonds issued under this section shall at the time of purchase
agree to waive any right of recovery and forever hold harmless the state and any agency,
political corporation, or political subdivision thereof. The bond owner shall agree the sole
source of revenue for repayment of such bonds shall be those revenues derived from
contributions received under section 288.128.
(9) The state pledges and agrees with the owners of any bonds issued under this
section that the state will not limit or alter the rights vested in the commission to fulfill the
terms of any agreements made with the owners or in any way impair the rights and
remedies of the owners until the bonds are fully discharged except as provided by this
section.
(10) The commission may provide for the flow of funds and the establishment and
maintenance of separate accounts within the special employment security fund, including
the interest and sinking account, the reserve account, and other necessary accounts, and
may make additional covenants with respect to the bonds in the documents authorizing the
issuance of bonds including refunding bonds. The resolutions authorizing the issuance of
bonds may also prohibit the further issuance of bonds or other obligations payable from
appropriated moneys or may reserve the right to issue additional bonds to be payable from
appropriated moneys on a parity with or subordinate to the lien and pledge in support of
the bonds being issued and may contain other provisions and covenants as determined by
the commission.
(11) The commission may issue bonds to refund all or any part of the outstanding
bonds issued under this section including matured but unpaid interest.
(12) The bonds issued by the commission, any transaction relating to the bonds, and
profits made from the sale of the bonds are free from taxation by the state or by any
municipality, court, special district, or other political subdivision of the state.
(13) As determined necessary by the commission the proceeds of the bonds less the
cost of issuance shall be placed in the state's unemployment compensation fund and may
be used for the purposes for which that fund may otherwise be used. If those net proceeds
are not placed immediately in the unemployment compensation fund they shall be held in
the special employment security fund in an account designated for that purpose until they
are transferred to the unemployment compensation fund.
(14) The commission may enter into any contract or agreement deemed necessary
or desirable to effectuate cost effective financing hereunder. Such agreements may include
credit enhancement, credit support, or interest rate agreements. Any fees or costs
associated with such agreements shall be deemed administrative expenses for the purposes
of calculating assessments relating to payment of the principal, interest, and administrative
expenses related to bonds pursuant to the provisions of section 288.128.
(15) To the extent this section conflicts with other laws the provisions of this section
prevail.
(16) If the United States Secretary of Labor holds that a provision of this subsection
does not conform with a federal statute or would result in the loss to the state of any federal
funds otherwise available to it the commission may administer this subsection to conform
with the federal statute until the general assembly meets in its next regular session and has
an opportunity to amend this subsection.
3. In event of the suspension of this law, any unobligated funds in the unemployment
compensation fund, and returned by the United States Treasurer because such Federal Social
Security Act is inoperative, shall be held in custody by the treasurer and under supervision of the
division until the legislature shall provide for the disposition thereof. In event no disposition is
made by the legislature at the next regular meeting subsequent to suspension of said law, then
all unobligated funds shall be returned ratably to those who contributed thereto.
288.385. 1. Except as otherwise specifically provided by law, it shall be unlawful
for the director of the division of employment security, any officer, employee, agent or
deputy or former director, officer, employee, agent or deputy of the division of employment
security, any person engaged or retained by the division of employment security on an
independent contract basis, any person to whom authorized or unauthorized disclosure is
made by the division of employment security, or any person who lawfully or unlawfully
inspects any report or return filed with the division of employment security or to whom a
copy, an abstract or a portion of any report or return is furnished by the division of
employment security to make known in any manner, to permit the inspection or use of or
to divulge to anyone any information relative to any such report or return, any information
obtained by an investigation conducted by the department in the discharge of an official
duty, or any information received by the director in cooperation with the United States or
other states in the enforcement of the employment laws of this state. Such confidential
information is limited to information received by the division in connection with the
administration of the employment security laws of this state.
2. Nothing in this section shall be construed to prohibit the disclosure of
information, returns, reports, or facts shown thereby, as described in subsection 1 of this
section, by any officer, clerk or other employee of the division of employment security
charged with the custody of such information:
(1) To an employee or the employee's duly authorized representative under
regulations which the director of the division of employment security may prescribe; or
(2) In any action or proceeding, civil, criminal or mixed, brought to enforce the
employment security laws of this state.
3. Any person violating any provision of subsection 1 or 2 of this section shall, upon
conviction, be guilty of a class D felony.
288.395. Any person or entity perpetrating a fraud or misrepresentation under this
chapter for which a penalty has not herein been specifically provided, shall be guilty of a
class A misdemeanor and, in addition, shall be liable to this state for a civil penalty not to
exceed ten thousand dollars or double the value of the fraud, whichever is greater. Any
person or entity who has previously pled guilty to or has been found guilty of perpetrating
a fraud or misrepresentation under this chapter and who subsequently violated any such
provisions shall be guilty of a class D felony.