2013 Louisiana Laws
Revised Statutes
TITLE 23 - Labor and Worker's Compensation
RS 23:1553 - Noncharging of benefits; recoupment; social charge account; social charge tax rate

§1553. Noncharging of benefits; recoupment; social charge account; social charge tax rate

A. Benefits charged after a requalification of a claimant pursuant to the requirements of R.S. 23:1601(1), (2), (3), or (10) shall not be charged against the experience-rating account of an employer when all of the following pertain:

(1) The employer timely files a separation notice alleging disqualification.

(2) Either a response to a notice of claim filed or a response to a notice to base period employer is filed.

(3) The separation of the employee from the employer is determined to be under disqualifying conditions.

B.(1) Amounts paid out pursuant to agency, appeal referee, board of review, or court decisions which are waived by those bodies under the provisions of R.S. 23:1713 shall be recouped as a social charge to all employers.

(2) Amounts paid out to claimants as overpayments which have not been repaid to the fund by the prescription date will be recouped as a social charge to all employers.

(3) Amounts owed by reimbursable employers which are uncollectible after one year of the termination of the employing entity shall be recouped as a social charge to all employers; however, such employers shall remain liable for such benefit charges.

(4) Amounts noncharged as a result of the application of R.S. 23:1602 relating to approved training shall be recouped as a social charge to all employers.

(5) Amounts not charged against the experience-rating records of a base-period employer pursuant to the provisions of R.S. 23:1533 shall be recouped as a social charge to all employers.

(6) No amounts shall be credited to the Incumbent Worker Training Account as provided under R.S. 23:1514 in any calendar year in which the applied trust fund balance is less than seven hundred fifty million dollars. Furthermore, following any year in which monies are appropriated from the Incumbent Worker Training Account for use in the state general fund, such appropriated amount shall be subtracted from amounts to be charged pursuant to Paragraphs (7) and (9) of this Subsection.

(7) Amounts not to exceed twenty million dollars to be credited to the Incumbent Worker Training Account to fund the Incumbent Worker Training Program as provided under R.S. 23:1514 shall be charged to this account only in any calendar year in which the applied trust fund balance range as defined in R.S. 23:1474 is equal to or greater than seven hundred fifty million dollars, but less than one billion two hundred fifty million dollars and only in the amount necessary to bring the balance of unobligated funds in such subaccount to twenty million dollars.

(8)(a) Amounts not to exceed four million dollars to be credited to the Employment Security Administration Account as provided under R.S. 23:1515 for use expressly in the supplemental funding of costs associated with specific unemployment insurance and employment functions shall be restricted to those provided according to the provisions of this Chapter for the following:

(i) Auditing of claims filed.

(ii) Recovery of amounts overpaid to claimants.

(iii) Auditing of experience-rating accounts.

(iv) Recovery of delinquent contributions.

(v) Disposition of appeals.

(vi) Cash management and remittance processing.

(vii) Call center services.

(viii) Outreach to employers, employees, and unemployed persons.

(ix) Information technology services.

(x) Labor exchange services.

(b) Such amounts shall not be expended or be available for expenditure in any manner which would permit their substitution for, or a corresponding reduction in, federal funds which in the absence of such monies would be made available for the administration of this Chapter. These amounts shall be charged to this account in a calendar year in which the administrator deems necessary.

(9) Amounts not to exceed thirty-five million dollars to be credited to the Incumbent Worker Training Account to fund the Incumbent Worker Training Program as provided under R.S. 23:1514 shall be charged to this account only in any calendar year in which the applied trust fund balance range as defined in R.S. 23:1474 is equal to or greater than one billion two hundred fifty million dollars and only in the amount necessary to bring the balance of unobligated funds in such subaccount to thirty-five million dollars.

(10) As used in this Chapter, the following terms shall be defined as follows:

(a) "Cash balance" means the actual cash balance in the Louisiana State Treasury account and at the Louisiana Workforce Commission at the close of business on September thirtieth.

(b) "Contractual obligations" means the open contract balance at the close of business on September thirtieth.

(c) "Noncontractual obligations" means the allowable ten percent maximum for administrative costs and the maximum amount to be allocated for small business employee training costs allowable under the law.

(d) "Unobligated funds" means cash balance, less contractual obligations, less noncontractual obligations.

(11) Amounts noncharged as the result of the application of R.S. 23:1604 shall be recouped as a social charge to all employers.

(12) Repealed by Acts 2007, No. 59, §2.

C. Recoupment of the charges set forth in Subsections A and B of this Section shall be spread to all employers who pay, or are required to pay, contributions under this Chapter and shall be performed on the basis of charging all the amounts called for to separate accounts. The total for these amounts shall be computed as of June thirtieth of each year and designated as the social charge account. However, benefits paid to employees of experience-rated employers pursuant to Executive Orders KBB 2005-34, KBB 2005-46, and KBB 2005-76 shall not be recouped by spreading the charges to all employers in this manner.

D.(1) The social charge rate shall be determined by dividing the known required balance in the social charge account as of the computation date by the projected income.

(2) The "known required balance" of the social charge account means the cumulative balance of known charges to the social charge account, less social charge contributions paid as of July thirty-first.

(3) The "projected income" means the sum total of rates according to the standard rate table applicable to the ensuing experience rate year, exclusive of the add-on solvency tax, computed in R.S. 23:1536 for active experience-rated employers on the computation date times the taxable payroll for those active employers for the twelve-month period ending on the computation date.

(4) The social charge rate shall be computed to the nearest .01 percent. Each employer's social charge rate shall be determined by multiplying the social charge rate times his experience rate provided in R.S. 23:1536, rounded to the nearest .01 percent and shall be in addition thereto.

(5) In no event shall an employer's rate exceed 6.2 due to social charge recoupment under this Section.

E. In the event that the proceeds from the social charge rate exceeds the required amount in the social charge account, the excess shall be deducted from the required amount in the social charge account for the succeeding year.

F. The provisions of this Section shall apply only to experience rated employers and nothing contained in this Section shall apply to reimbursable or governmental rated employers, their accounts or to benefits attributable to services for reimbursable or governmental rated employers except as provided in Paragraph (B)(3) of this Section.

G. The Incumbent Worker Training Program reauthorization shall be expressly renewed by the legislature prior to July 1, 2014, in order for amounts to be charged and credited to the Incumbent Worker Training Account in the following calendar year for use in funding the program.

Acts 1978, No. 285, §2, eff. July 5, 1978; Acts 1978, No. 538, §2, eff. July 12, 1978; Acts 1981, No. 131, §2, eff. Oct. 1, 1981; Acts 1983, 1st Ex. Sess., No. 3, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1983; Acts 1986, No. 980, §1; Acts 1987, No. 82, §1; Acts 1988, No. 176, §1; Acts 1990, No. 79, §1; Acts 1997, No. 1053, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 1998; Acts 1999, No. 197, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2000; Acts 2001, No. 1165, §2; Acts 2004, No. 898, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2005; Acts 2005, No. 239, §1, eff. Jan. 1, 2006; Acts 2006, No. 116, §1, eff. June 2, 2006; Acts 2007, No. 59, §§1 and 2; Acts 2008, No. 220, §8, eff. June 14, 2008; Acts 2008, No. 743, §7, eff. July 1, 2008; Acts 2010, No. 776, §1; Acts 2012, No. 344, §1.