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Department bill would pass returned UI payment fees to employers
Summary
LD 21 01, an agency bill heard by the Labor Committee, would allow the Bureau of Unemployment Compensation to assess a $25 or 1% fee (whichever is greater) when employer UI contribution payments are returned. Department witnesses said rejected transactions average about 350 per year and have cost the agency both bank fees and staff time.
Representative sponsor introduced LD 21 01 as a Department of Labor technical bill to require employers to bear the cost of bank fees and administrative work when UI contribution payments are returned as unpaid. Suzanne McKechnie, director of the Bureau of Unemployment Compensation, told the committee the bureau processes roughly 350 rejected payments per year (resulting from ACH errors, closed accounts, or returned checks) and that the agency historically absorbed bank charges and staff costs but now seeks statutory authority to charge a penalty.
McKechnie said the proposed fee would be $25 or 1% of the payment due, whichever is greater, and noted the change aligns BUC practice with a Main Revenue Services statute (MRSA 36 §187‑b(5)) that already assigns returned‑payment fees in other contexts. Committee members asked whether knowingly submitting a bad payment would be separately unlawful, whether the issue affects direct deposit payments as well, and how many transactions occur annually; McKechnie cited the ~350 figure and an accumulated cost since a process change of roughly $125,000.
No members of the public testified in opposition or support at the hearing; the committee closed the public hearing and requested no immediate amendments during the session.
