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House approves changes to unemployment insurance law including new eligibility formula and filing deadline
Summary
House Bill 26 passed Jan. 24, 1991, introducing five substantive changes to the state's unemployment insurance program, including an alternative monetary eligibility formula, a 90-day claim filing window after workers' compensation, and other technical and tax-related provisions; sponsors cited a $400,000 fiscal note manageable within existing resources.
The House on Jan. 24 approved House Bill 26, a multi-part rewrite that makes substantive and organizational changes to Utah’s unemployment insurance program.
Representative Yardley, the sponsor, summarized five notable changes: (1) an alternative monetary eligibility formula that allows unemployment benefit qualification for claimants who worked at least 20 weeks in the base period, (2) an increase in the time limit to file an unemployment claim after release from workers’ compensation from four weeks to 90 days, (3) modification of the inheritance provision to cover transfers of a business, (4) narrowing the exemption from taxation of employer payments of the employee share of FICA to domestic service and agricultural labor, and (5) deletion of an exemption for voluntary dismissal payments. The bill also reorganizes Section 7 of the Unemployment Security Act for clarity without substantive change.
Yardley noted a $400,000 fiscal note but said the cost could be absorbed within the current system (described as roughly 0.6% of total annual benefits in debate). After floor discussion that included praise for cross-stakeholder negotiation, the bill as amended passed the House and will move to the Senate for further consideration.
