An Act To Revise Laws Regarding Unemployment That Were Amended or Affected by Recently Enacted Legislation
Maine Legislature, Session 128, LD 1770
Committee Amendment CA_A_S473 (Senate)
Amends: 26 MRSA §1085, 26 MRSA §1194

COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A " to S.P. 657, L.D. 1770, Bill, "An Act To 
Revise Laws Regarding Unemployment That Were Amended or Affected by Recently 
Enacted Legislation" 
Amend the bill by inserting after the enacting clause and before section 1 the 
following: 
'Sec. 1. 26 MRSA §1085 is enacted to read: 
§1085. Required staffing 
1. Positions filled. Notwithstanding any other provision of law, and without further 
approval or justification, the department shall promptly fill all of the following positions 
within the Department of Labor for which funding is provided: 
A. Customer representative associate; 
.":t. 
B. Customer representative specialist; 
C. Claims adjudicator; 
D. Hearings examiner; 
E. Labor program specialist; and 
F. Field advisor and examiner. 
2. Notice of employment. The department shall widely post public notices for the 
vacancies listed in subsection 1 on publicly accessible state websites and in other 
appropriate locations. Public notice must be posted within 30 days of each vacancy that 
occurs. The department shall recruit and hire qualified individuals for these vacant 
positions. 
Sec. 2. 26 MRSA § 1194, sub-§§ 1-B and 1-C are enacted to read: 
1-B. Alternative filing methods. The department shall provide alternative methods 
to an Internet-based system for the prompt filing of initial and continuing claims for 
unemployment benefits, including the filing of work search documentation. and for 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A 
"to S.P. 657,L.D. 1770 
obtaining information. The alternative methods must include filing by telephone, using a 
telephone system that allows a claimant to leave a message or request a return telephone 
call. A claimant may choose which method to use for the filing of initial and continuing 
claims for unemployment benefits, including the filing of work search documentation, 
and for obtaining information. 
1-C. Claimant service response telephone system. The department shall maintain 
a claimant service response telephone system, which allows a claimant to leave a message 
by telephone or request a return telephone call. The claimant service response telephone 
system must enable the department to promptly receive and promptly respond to claimant 
inquiries, including those related to the filing of claims or the prompt or correct payment 
of benefits. If a claimant contacts the department through the claimant service response 
telephone system, the department must consider that contact when determining if the 
claimant has good cause for not complying with section 1192, subsection 1, 2, 3, 12 or 
li 
Sec. 3. 26 MRSA §1194, sub-§2, as amended by PL 2003, c. 163, §1, is further 
amended to read: 
2. Determination. A representative designated by the commissioner, and in this 
chapter referred to as a deputy, shall promptly examine the first claim filed by a claimant 
in each benefit year and shall determine the weekly benefit amount and maximum benefit 
amount potentially payable to the claimant during that benefit year in accordance with 
section 1192, subsection 5. 
The deputy shall promptly examine all subsequent claims filed and, on the basis of facts, 
shall determine whether or not that claim is valid with respect to sections 1192 and 1193, 
other than section 1192, subsection 5, or shall refer that claim or any question involved in 
the claim to the Division of Administrative Hearings or to the commission, which shall 
make a determination with respect to the claim in accordance with the procedure 
described in subsection 3, except that in any case in which the payment or denial of 
benefits is subject to section 1193, subsection 4, the deputy shall promptly transmit a 
report with respect to that subsection to the Director of Unemployment Compensation 
upon the basis of which the director shall notify appropriate deputies as to the 
applicability of that subsection. 
The deputy shall determine in accordance with section 1221, subsection 3, paragraph A, 
the proper employer's experience rating record, if any, against which benefits of an 
eligible individual must be charged, if and when paid. 
The deputy shall promptly notify the claimant and any other interested party of the 
determinations and reasons for the determinations. Subject to subsection 11, unless the 
claimant or any such interested party, within 15 calendar days after that notification was 
mailed to the claimant's last known address, files an appeal from that determination, that 
determination is final, except that the period within which an appeal may be filed may be 
extended, for a period not to exceed an additional 15 calendar days, for good cause 
shown. If new evidence or pertinent facts that would alter that determination become 
known to the deputy prior to the date that determination becomes final, a redetermination 
is authorized, but that redetermination must be mailed before the original determination 
becomes final. 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT "A" to S.P. 657, L.D. 1770 
If an employer's separation report for an employee is not received by the office specified 
on the separation report within 10 days after that report was requested, the claim must be 
adjudicated on the basis of information at hand. If the employer's separation report 
containing possible disqualifying information is received after the 10-day period and the 
claimant is denied benefits by a revised deputy's decision, benefits paid prior to the date 
of the revised decision do not constitute an overpayment of benefits. Any benefits paid 
after the date of the revised decision constitute an overpayment. Only the most recent 
employer from which the claimant's separation occurred may contest whether a 
disqualification may be applied for reasons related to the separation pursuant to section 
1193. 
If an employer files an amended separation report or otherwise raises a new issue as to 
the employee's eligibility or changes the wages or weeks used in determining benefits that 
results in a denial of benefits or a reduction of the weekly benefit amount, the benefits 
paid prior to the date the determination is mailed do not constitute an overpayment. Any 
benefits received after that date to which the claimant is not entitled pursuant to a new 
determination based on that new employer information constitute an overpayment. 
If, during the period a claimant is receiving benefits, new information or a new issue 
arises concerning the claimant's eligibility for benefits or which affects the claimant's 
weekly benefit amount, benefits may not be withheld until a determination is made on the 
issue. Before a determination is made, written notice shall be mailed to the claimant and 
other interested parties, which must include the issue to be decided, the law upon which it 
is based, any factual allegations known to the bureau, the right to a fact-finding interview, 
the date and location of the scheduled interview and the conduct of the interview and 
appeal. The fact-finding interview must be scheduled not less than 5 days nor more than 
days after the notice is mailed. The bureau shall include in the notice a statement 
notifying the claimant that any benefits paid prior to the determination may be an 
overpayment under applicable law and recoverable by the bureau if it is later determined 
that the claimant was not entitled to the benefits. If the claimant does not appear for the 
scheduled interview, the deputy shall make a determination on the basis of available 
evidence. The deputy shall make a prompt determination of the issue based solely on any 
written statements of interested parties filed with the bureau before. the interview, 
together with the evidence presented by interested parties who personally appeared at the 
interview. Upon request and notice to all parties at the interview, the deputy may accept 
corroborative documentary evidence after the interview. In no other cas~ may the deputy 
base a decision on evidence received after the interview has been held. 
A. 
This subsection does not apply when the claimant reports that, in the week 
claimed: 
(1) The claimant worked and reports a specific amount of earnings for that work; 
(2) The claimant worked and had earnings from that work, but does not furnish 
the amount of earnings; 
(3) The claimant reports that the claimant was not able or available for work for 
a specific portion of the week and there is sufficient information for the deputy to 
determine that the inability or unavailability for work was for good cause. If the 
information provided by the claimant indicated unavailability during the claim 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
COMMJTTEE AMENDMENT" A" to S.P. 657, L.D. 1770 
week, but is not specific as to the amount of time involved, the department shall 
immediately initiate a fact-finding interview with the individual and make a 
determination regarding the claimant's weekly benefit amount on the basis of that 
interview. If the department is not able to conduct an immediate fact-finding 
interview with the claimant, the notification and fact-finding process described in 
this subsection must be followed; or 
( 4) The claimant received a specific amount of other remuneration as described 
in section 1193, subsection 5.' 
Amend the bill by adding after section 6 the following: 
O 
'Sec. 7. Deadline. 
The Department of Labor shall post public notice of the 
vacancies on the effective date of this Act in positions identified in the Maine Revised 
Statutes, Title 26, section 1085, subsection 1 in the manner specified in Title 26, section 
1085, subsection 2 no later than 30 days after the effective date of this Act. The staffing 
for the positions identified in Title 26, section 1085, subsection 1 that are vacant on the 
effective date of this Act must be achieved as soon as possible after the effective date of 
this Act, but no later than December 30, 2018. The depa1tment shall recruit and hire 
qualified individuals for these vacant positions. 
Sec. 8. Correction of problems. Until January 1, 2019, the Department of Labor 
shall provide an opportunity for all unemployment insurance claimants denied benefits 
for failure to file a timely claim for benefits or work search documentation, as required by 
the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 26, section 1192, subsections 1 and 2, in any week 
during the period from December 1, 2017 until July 1, 2018 to apply for those benefits 
and shall grant good cause for failure to file a timely claim for benefits or work search 
documentation for those weeks if the claimant asserts that the claimant's inability to use 
the department's Internet-based filing system was the basis for the claimant's failure to 
file. 
Sec. 9. 
Allocation of money credited to State of Maine account in 
Unemployment Trust Fund under Section 903(f) of federal Social Security 
Act. Money credited to the account of the State of Maine in the federal Unemployment 
Trust Fund by the United States Secretary of the Treasury on July 29, 2009 pursuant to 
Section 903(f) of the federal Social Security Act may not be requisitioned from the State's 
account or used except for the payment of benefits and for the payment of expenses 
incurred for the administration of the State's unemployment compensation law and public 
employment offices. Money used for the payment of benefits is requisitioned as defined 
in the Maine Revised Statutes, Title 26, section 1162. Money requisitioned and used for 
the payment of expenses incurred for the administration of the State's unemployment 
compensation law and public employment offices requires a specific appropriation by the 
Legislature as provided in subsection 1. That use is only permissible if the expenses are 
incurred and the money is requisitioned after the effective date of a law making an 
appropriation and specifying the purposes for which the money is appropriated and the 
amounts appropriated for those purposes. Any amount that may be obligated under such 
an appropriation is limited to an amount that does not exceed the amount by which the 
aggregate of the amounts transferred to the account of the State of Maine pursuant to 
Section 903(f) of the federal Social Security Act exceeds the aggregate of the amounts 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A 
"to S.P. 657, L.D. 1770 
used by the State pursuant to this Act and charged against the amounts transferred to the 
account of the State of Maine. 
For purposes of this section, the amounts obligated under an appropriation for 
administrative purposes must be charged against transferred amounts at the exact time the 
obligation is entered into. The appropriation, obligation and expenditure or other 
disposition of money appropriated under this section must be accounted for in accordance 
with standards established by the United States Secretary of Labor. Money appropriated 
as provided in this Act for the payment of administration must be requisitioned as needed 
for the payment of obligations incurred under the appropriation and, upon requisition, 
must be deposited in the Employment Security Administration Fund from which 
payments are made. Money so deposited must, until expended, remain a part of the 
unemployment fund and, if it will not be immediately expended, must be returned 
promptly to the account of the State of Maine in the federal Unemployment Trust Fund. 
1. 
Allocation maintaining state unemployment compensation and public 
employment system. There is allocated out of funds made available to the State under 
Section 903(f) of the federal Social Security Act, as amended, the sum of $895,156 in 
accordance with this section, to be used under the direction of the Department of Labor, 
for the purpose of maintaining and operating the State's unemployment compensation and 
public employment system as amended by this Act. The uses include both personnel and 
nonpersonnel administrative costs required to administer the unemployment insurance 
program and deliver employment assistance services through the Department of Labor's 
career center system. 
The amount obligated pursuant to this Act may not exceed at any time the amount by 
which the aggregate of the amount transferred to the account of the State of Maine 
pursuant to Section 903(f) of the federal Social Security Act exceeds the aggregate of the 
amounts obligated for administration and paid out for benefits and required by law to be 
charged against the amounts transferred to the State of Maine account. 
Sec. 10. Appropriations and allocations. The following appropriations and 
allocations are made. 
LABOR, DEPARTMENT OF 
Employment Security Services 0245 
Initiative: Allocates funds for 11 limited-period Customer Representative Specialist -
Benefits positions and related All Other costs to support the voice mail option to an 
Internet-based system for filing initial and continuing claims for unemployment benefits. 
These positions end June 30, 2019. 
FEDERAL EXPENDITURES FUND 
Personal Services 
All Other 
FEDERAL EXPENDITURES FUND TOTAL 
Employment Security Services 0245 
2017-18 
$0 
$0 
$0 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
2018-19 
$529,643 
$97,658 
$627,301 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" ~· to S.P. 657, L.D. 1770 
Initiative: Allocates one-time funds for the cost to add the First in Line feature to the 
Interactive Voice Response System that manages calls to the claims centers. 
FEDERAL EXPENDITURES FUND 
All Other 
FEDERAL EXPENDITURES FUND TOTAL 
Employment Security Services 0245 
2017-18 
$0 
$0 
2018-19 
$161,000 
$161,000 
Initiative: Allocates funds for the annual maintenance of the First in Line feature. 
FEDERAL EXPENDITURES FUND 
All Other 
FEDERAL EXPENDITURES FUND TOTAL 
LABOR,DEPARTMENTOF 
DEPARTMENT TOTALS 
FEDERAL EXPENDITURES FUND 
DEPARTMENT TOTAL-ALL FUNDS 
2017-18 
$0 
$0 
2017-18 
$0 
$0 
2018-19 
$24,000 
$24,000 
2018-19 
$812,301 
$812,301 
Amend the bill by relettering or renumbering any nonconsecutive Part letter or 
section number to read consecutively. 
SUMMARY 
This amendment adds several provisions to the bill to make the following changes to 
the Employment Security Law. 
1. It requires the Department of Labor to fill vacancies for 6 different position types 
for which funding is provided; 
2. It requires the Department of Labor to provide options to an Internet-based system 
for the filing of claims for unemployment benefits, including the filing of work search 
documentation, and for obtaining information. The options must include filing by 
telephone, using a telephone system that allows a claimant to leave a message or request a 
return telephone call. The individual making a claim for unemployment benefits may 
choose which option to use. 
3. It requires the Department of Labor to maintain a claimant service response 
telephone system that allows a claimant to leave a message or request a return telephone 
call in order to enable the department to promptly receive and promptly respond to 
claimant inquiries. If a claimant timely contacts the claimant service response telephone 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
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cy. C';:i, 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT" A 
"to S.P. 657, L.D. 1770 
system, the department must consider that contact when determining if the claimant had 
good cause for not complying with the requirements to file a timely claim for benefits, 
register for work and actively search for work, file work search documentation or 
participate in reemployment services and eligibility assessment. 
4. 
It clarifies that only the most recent employer from which the claimant's 
employment separation occurred may contest whether a disqualification may be applied 
to the claimant for reasons related to the separation. 
The amendment also directs the Department of Labor to provide until January 1, 
2019 an opportunity for all unemployment insurance claimants denied benefits for failure 
to file a timely claim for benefits or work search documentation in any week during the 
period from December 1, 2017 until July 1, 2018 to apply for those benefits and provides 
that the Department of Labor must grant good cause for failure to file a timely claim for 
benefits or work search documentation for those weeks if the claimant asserts that the 
claimant's inability to use the department's Internet-based filing system was the basis for 
the claimant's failure to file. 
In 2009, Maine received a $28,200,000 distribution to the Unemployment Trust Fund 
under the federal American Recovery and Reinvestment Act of 2009, Public Law 111-5, 
Stat. 115 (2009), which may be used to maintain the State's unemployment and 
public employment system or to pay regular unemployment benefits. 
There is 
$27,503,000 remaining from this distribution. The amendment authorizes the use of 
$895,156 of those funds to meet the allocation required in the amendment. The funds 
will be used to maintain and operate the State's unemployment and employment 
programs, including paying the administrative costs required to administer the 
unemployment insurance program and delivering employment assistance services through 
the Department of Labor's career center system. The intent of the authorization of funds 
is to provide the Department of Labor with funding necessary to implement the 
provisions of this amendment. 
FISCAL NOTE REQUIRED 
(See attached) 
COMMITTEE AMENDMENT 
Approved: 04/12/18 feac 
LD 1770 
LR 2641(02) 
An Act To Revise Laws Regarding Unemployment That Were Amended or Affected by Recently 
Enacted Legislation 
Fiscal Note for Bill as Amended by Committee Amendment'/>;' (S- ~13) 
Committee: Labor, Commerce, Research and Economic Development 
Appropriations/ Allocations 
Federal Expenditures Fund 
Revenue 
Federal Expenditures Fund 
Other Funds 
Transfers 
Federal Expenditures Fund 
Other Special Revenue Funds 
Fiscal Detail and Notes 
Fiscal Note Required: Yes 
Fiscal Note 
FY 2017-18 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$0 
FY 2018-19 
$812,301 
$895,156 
($895,156) 
($82,855) 
$82,855 
Projections 
FY 2019-20 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$0 
Projections 
FY 2020-21 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$0 
$0 
This bill includes one-time Federal Expenditures Fund allocations of $812,301 in fiscal year 2018-19 to the 
Employment Security Services program within the Department of Labor to add a voice mail option to the internet-
based system for filing initial and continuing claims for unemployment benefits. A portion of unspent 2009 Reed Act 
funds will be used to fund the allocations as follows: $627,301 for 11 limited-period Customer Representative 
· Specialist - Benefits positions, $161,000 to add a First in Line feature to the Interactive Voice Response System that 
manages calls to the claims centers and $24,000 for the annual cost of maintaining the First In Line feature. 
The positions will begin on July 1, 2018 and encl on June 30, 2019. The department has also indicated that filling eight 
vacant customer support positions that are already funded along with the new limited-period positions ,.vill be 
sufficient to implement the voice mail system. 
This fiscal note also reflects the transfer for $82,855 in fiscal year 2018-19 to the Department of Labor, Office of the 
Commissioner's Special Revenue Funds account to cover its share of the department's associated indirect costs in 
accordance with the federally approved indirect cost plan. 
LR264 l (02) - Fiscal Note - Page l of 2 
This legislation also requires the Department to immediately fill certain vacant positions for which funding is 
available, including Customer Representative Associate, Customer Representative Specialists, Claims Adjudicator, 
Hearings Examiner, Labor Program Specialist and Field Advisor and Examiner. A query of the State's data 
warehouse indicates that there are currently 30 vacant positions with these job class titles. These vacant positions have 
already been budgeted. The 8 needed for the voice mail system are included in the 30. 
Changes made in this legislation regarding how benefits paid to an eligible individual under the Employment Security 
Law are charged against the experience rating record of the individual's previous employers will have no fiscal impact 
on the Unemployment Trust Fund or the employer contribution rate schedule currently in effect. However, the 
Department of Labor will incur one-time Federal Expenditures Fund costs of approximately $900,000 in fiscal year 
2018-19 to make the necessary programming updates in order to implement the change. The Department has 
indicated that it has federal funds available for this purpose. 
LR2641(02)- Fiscal Note - Page 2 of2