| Show New Employment Security law changes explained by director Far reaching changes in the Utah Employment Security law enacted by the 1979 session of the Utah Legislature go into effect July according to Duane C. director of unemployment Utah Department of Employment Security The changes are viewed by legislative analysts as the most com in 30 Price Generally the amendments tighten the requirements for eligibility to receive unemployment They include the areas of voluntarily quitting a discharge from refusal of suitable weekly earning availability for retirement income and Probably the key feature of the new law Price points is the denying of unemployment benefits to individuals who voluntarily leave work without good cause until they have returned to earned at least six times the amount they would have received as a weekly and then are terminated for if a person voluntarily quit a job without a justifiable they could receive benefits after serving a two to six week disqualification As an example in applying the new law if an individual voluntarily quits and files a claim for unemployment the Job Service computes the weekly benefit amount the claimant would have otherwise been entitled to Taking a weekly benefit amount of average benefit paid last year was the individual must now find another earn and then be separated for reasons before benefits will be Price This provision of having to return to the labor earn six times the weekly benefit amount and receive a separation also applies to those who are discharged for cause and for those who are ruled ineligible to receive benefits for refusing a referral or an offer of suitable or for failure to properly apply for suitable The area of the law which limits the amount of earnings for part-time employment allowed while a claim for benefits is in effect was also amended by the Previously an individual could only earn up to a week without having benefits The new change allows earnings of up to 30 percent of the person's benefit amount without a reduction of This change has mainly the effect of allowing for inflation over the years since the former provision was Another of the changes which won't take effect until April 1980 deals with an individual's retirement The change increases from 50 percent to percent the amount of retirement income to be deducted from a person's unemployment This brings the Utah statute in line with federal government A final area of alteration occurred in the provisions for dealing with The change has had the effect of gearing the period of disqualification and resulting overpayment to the severity of the thus removing a long standing Inequity in the Utah Price Previously the penalty for fraud was disqualification for one year from the first week of fraud regardless of the number of fraudulent claims Under the new law the disqualification period is based on the number of fraudulent claims In the matter of the former statute required the individual to pay back all benefits received during the year following the week the fraudulent claim was filed whether or not any additional weeks of fraud were Now the law requires repayment of twice the amount but only for the weeks that were fraudulently Legislative auditors who conducted a performance audit of the Utah unemployment insurance program last year believe that stiffening the eligibility requirements to receive unemployment benefits will generate significant savings for the state's Unemployment Insurance Trust fund which is supported by Utah Price said the department cannot determine precisely what savings of the trust fund will result until we log some experience administering the law with the amendments in But he the new changes will provide substantial additional protection to the fund which will help insure the state's UI system can continue to perform the role that was intended when the program was created 42 years ago-the first line of defense against unemployment-and thus remain the main bulwark against the loss of income for workers who lose their jobs through no fault of their Any questions concerning the new provisions for receiving unemployment insurance benefits should be directed to the unemployment insurance unit in the nearest Job Service Price |
