§21A-5-7 Joint and separate accounts.
§21A-5-7. Joint and separate accounts.
(1) The commissioner shall maintain a separate account for each employer, and shall credit his account with all contributions paid by him prior to July first, one thousand nine hundred sixty-one. On and after July first, one thousand nine hundred sixty-one, the commissioner shall maintain a separate account for each employer, and shall credit said employer's account with all contributions of such employer in excess of seven tenths of one percent of taxable wages; and on and after July first, one thousand nine hundred seventy-one, the commissioner shall maintain a separate account for each employer, and shall credit said employer's account with all contributions of such employer in excess of four tenths of one percent of taxable wages: Provided, That any adjustment made in any employer's account after the computation date shall not be used in the computation of the balance of an employer until the next following computation date: Provided, however, That nothing in this chapter shall be construed to grant an employer or individual in his service prior claims or rights to the amounts paid by him into the fund, either on his behalf or on behalf of such individuals. The account of any employer which had been inactive for a period of four consecutive calendar years shall be terminated for all purposes.
(2) Benefits paid to an eligible individual for regular and extended total or partial unemployment beginning after the effective date of this article shall be charged to the account of the last employer with whom he has been employed as much as thirty working days, whether or not such days are consecutive: Provided, That no employer's account shall be charged with benefits paid to any individual who has been separated from a noncovered employing unit in which he was employed as much as thirty days, whether or not such days are consecutive: Provided, however, That no employer's account shall be charged with more than fifty percent of the benefits paid to an eligible individual as extended benefits under the provisions of article six-a of this chapter: Provided further, That state and local government employers shall be charged with one hundred percent of the benefits paid to an eligible individual as extended benefits. Beginning on July one, one thousand nine hundred eighty-four, benefits paid to an individual are to be charged to the accounts of his employers in the base period, the amount of such charges, chargeable to the account of each such employer, to be that portion of the total benefits paid such individual as the wages paid him by such employer in the base period are to the total wages paid him during his base period for insured work by all his employers in the base period. For the purposes of this section, no base period employer's account shall be charged for benefits paid under this chapter to a former employee, provided such base period employer furnishes separation information within fourteen days from the date the notice was mailed or delivered, which results in a disqualification under the provision set forth in subsection one, section three, article six, or subsection two, section three, article six of this chapter or would have resulted in a disqualification under such subsection except for a subsequent period of covered employment by another employing unit. Further, no contributory base period employer's experience rating account shall be charged for benefits paid under this chapter to an individual who has been continuously employed by that employer on a part-time basis, if the part-time employment continues while the individual is separated from other employment and is otherwise eligible for benefits. One half of extended benefits paid to an individual after July one, one thousand nine hundred eighty-four, and subsequent years are to be charged to the accounts of his employers, except state and local government employers, in the base period in the same manner provided for the charging of regular benefits. Effective the first day of January, one thousand nine hundred eighty-eight, the entire state share of extended benefits paid to an individual shall be charged to the accounts of his base period employers. The provisions of this section permitting the noncharging of contributory employers' accounts have no application to benefit charges imposed upon reimbursable employers.
(3) The commissioner shall, for each calendar year hereafter, classify employers in accordance with their actual experience in the payment of contributions on their own behalf and with respect to benefits charged against their accounts, with a view of fixing such contribution rates as will reflect such experiences. For the purpose of fixing such contribution rates for each calendar year, the books of the department shall be closed on July thirty-one of the preceding calendar year, and any contributions thereafter paid, as well as benefits thereafter paid with respect to compensable weeks ending on or before June thirty of the preceding calendar year, shall not be taken into account until the next annual date for fixing contribution rates: Provided, That if an employer has failed to furnish to the commissioner on or before July thirty-one of such preceding calendar year the wage information for all past periods necessary for the computation of the contribution rate, such employer's rate shall be, if it is immediately prior to such July thirty-one, less than three and three-tenths percent, increased to three and three-tenths percent: Provided, however, That any payment made or any information necessary for the computation of a reduced rate furnished on or before the termination of an extension of time for such payment or reporting of such information granted pursuant to a regulation of the commissioner authorizing such extension, shall be taken into account for the purposes of fixing contribution rates: Provided further, That when the time for filing any report or making any payment required hereunder falls on Saturday, Sunday, or a legal holiday, the due date shall be deemed to be the next succeeding business day: And provided further, That whenever, through mistake or inadvertence, erroneous credits or charges are found to have been made to or against the reserved account of any employer, the rate shall be adjusted as of January one of the calendar year in which such mistake or inadvertence is discovered, but payments, made under any rate assigned prior to January one of such year, shall not be deemed to be erroneously collected.
(4) The commissioner may prescribe regulations for the establishment, maintenance and dissolution of joint accounts by two or more employers, and shall, in accordance with such regulations and upon application by two or more employers to establish such an account, or to merge their several individual accounts in a joint account, maintain such joint account as if it constituted a single employer's account.
(5) State and local government employers are hereby authorized to enter into joint accounts and to maintain such joint account or accounts as if it or they constituted a single employer's account or accounts.
(6) Effective on and after July one, one thousand nine hundred eighty-one, if an employer has failed to furnish to the commissioner on or before August thirty-one of one thousand nine hundred eighty, and each year thereafter, with the exception of one thousand nine hundred eighty-one, which due date shall be September thirty, one thousand nine hundred eighty-one, the wage information for all past periods necessary for the computation of the contribution rate, such employer's rate shall be, if it is immediately prior to July one, one thousand nine hundred eighty-one, less than seven and five-tenths percent, increased to seven and five-tenths percent.