2023 Laws of Puerto Rico › TITLE TWENTY-NINE - Labor (§§ 1 — 3004) › PART III - Social Security (§§ 611 — 726f) › Chapter 47 - Employment Security Act (§§ 701 — 717) › § 705 - Determination, notice, and payments of benefits

(a) Benefit payment.— Benefits shall be paid through public employment offices in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary.
(b) Information to workers on benefit rights.— The Secretary shall furnish to each employer and to the workers, without cost, literature concerning the regulations applicable to the establishment of benefits and other factors relating to the administration of this chapter. Each employer shall post and keep such literature in places readily accessible to his workers and shall furnish them copies thereof.
(c) Notice by employing unit.— An employing unit having knowledge of any facts which may effect an individual’s right to waiting-week credit or benefits shall notify the Director of such facts promptly, in accordance with regulations prescribed for the purpose by the Secretary.
(d) Determinations.—
(1) Any individual may file a request for a determination of his insured status in accordance with regulations prescribed by the Secretary. Upon such request, or, if no request has been made with respect to a current benefit year, upon the filing of a notice of unemployment, the Director shall promptly determine such individual’s insured status. A determination that an individual is an insured worker shall remain in effect throughout the benefit year for which it is made, unless modified in accordance with subsections (f) and (g) of this section.
(2) When an insured worker files a notice of unemployment, the Director shall determine promptly whether such worker is disqualified under any of the provisions of § 704(b) of this title except clause (1) by reason of any facts which existed on the date such notice was filed.
(3) Thereafter.—
(A) Whenever it is necessary to determine a claimant’s right to waiting-week credit or benefits, the Director shall determine promptly whether the claimant is disqualified under the applicable paragraphs of § 704(b) of this title except clauses (1) and (5), for each week of the period of continuous unemployment immediately following the filing of a notice of unemployment with respect to which he has not previously certified for waiting-week credit or filed a claim for benefits, and
(B) when a claimant certifies for waiting-week credit or files a claim for benefits for any such week of unemployment, the Director shall determine promptly whether such claimant has complied with the conditions of § 704(a) of this title and whether he is disqualified for such week under clauses (1) and (5) of § 704(b) of this title.
(4)
(A) Whenever a determination whether a claimant is disqualified involves the application of § 704(b)(6) of this title or (B) a determination involves multiple claimants and presents difficult issues of law of fact; the Director may refer the case to a referee for hearing and decision in accordance with § 706 of this title.
(e) Written notice of determination.—
(1) Written notice of a determination of insured status shall be furnished to the claimant promptly. Such notice shall include a statement as to whether the claimant is an insured worker, the amount of wages for insured work paid to him by each employer during his base period, and the employers by whom such wages were paid. For an insured worker, the notice shall include also his benefit year, his weekly-benefit amount, and the maximum amount of benefits that may be paid to him for his unemployment during such year. For a worker who is not insured, the notice shall include the reason for such determination.
(2) If the Director determines, pursuant to § 704 of this title, that a claimant is not eligible to receive waiting-week credit or benefits for any week or weeks, he shall promptly furnish to such claimant written notice of such determination, together with a statement of the reasons therefor and of the period covered by such determination. Written notice of such determination shall be given to the claimant only once with respect to the period covered by the determination except that if the Director determines for successive weeks of a claimant’s unemployment that such claimant is disqualified under the provisions of clause (1) or (6) of § 704(b) of this title by reason of the same facts, written notice of such determination with respect to the first of such weeks shall be furnished to the claimant promptly. And thereafter, written notice of such determinations with respect to any subsequent week or weeks shall be furnished to the claimant promptly upon his request, or in the absence of such request, shall be furnished promptly with respect to each period of not more than four (4) weeks.
(3) The last employing unit which employed a claimant shall be entitled to receive written notice of a determination made under § 704(b) of this title only if it has furnished information to the Director in accordance with subsection (c) of this section prior to such determination; and such employing unit shall be given promptly written notice of any determination made pursuant to § 704(b) of this title which is based in whole or in part on the information furnished, together with the reasons therefor, or, if it is determined that the individual concerned is not an insured worker, written notice to that effect.
(4) Written notice of any determination to which any party is entitled shall be given promptly by delivery thereof or by mailing to his last known address. Such notice shall include a clear statement of the appeal rights of the parties.
(f) Finality of determination.— A determination shall be deemed final unless a party entitled to notice thereof applies for its reconsideration, or appeals therefrom within fifteen (15) days after the notice was mailed or otherwise delivered to his last known address; Provided, That such period may be extended for good cause. For the purposes of subsection (g) of this section, a benefit payment shall be deemed to be a determination, and notice shall be given to the claimant that he is eligible to receive payment for the period covered thereby.
(g) Reconsideration of determination.—
(1) The Director may, in his discretion, reconsider any determination, upon petition by any party entitled to notice thereof, filed within the period authorized by subsection (f) of this section, or motu proprio, within fifteen (15) days after the date of said determination; Provided, That subject to the same limitations, a decision in a case referred to a referee for determination under the provisions of subsection (d)(4) of this section, or in case appealed to the referee, may be reconsidered upon a request by the Director, by the referee who rendered such decision, or, if the latter is not available, by a referee designated for such purposes by the Director, after giving all the parties an opportunity to be heard.
(2) At any time within one (1) year from the date of a determination of insured status, the Director may motu proprio reconsider such determination if he finds that an error in computation or identity has occurred in connection therewith or that there are additional wages pertinent to the claimant’s insured status which shall be taken into consideration or if such determination of insured status was made as a result of a nondisclosure or misrepresentation of a material fact.
(3) The Director may motu proprio reconsider a determination at any time within two (2) years from the end of any week with respect to which benefits or waiting-week credit have been allowed or denied if he finds that such benefits or waiting-week credit were allowed or denied as result of a nondisclosure or misrepresentation of a material fact. The Director may also reconsider a determination under §§ 716a and 716b of this title if he finds additional evidence which merits a reconsideration.
(4) In any case in which the Director is authorized by other provisions of this subsection to reconsider any determination but the final decision in the case has been rendered by a referee or by the Secretary, the Director may request the one of them who rendered such final decision to issue a revision decision. If the final decision in the case has been rendered by a court, the Secretary may, upon recommendation of the Director, ask such court to issue a revised decision.
(5) Written notice of any redetermination shall be given promptly in like manner and to the same parties as provided in subsection (e) of this section.
(6) A redetermination shall be deemed final unless the party entitled to notice thereof files an appeal within fifteen (15) days after notice was mailed or otherwise delivered to him to his last known address; Provided, That such period may be extended for good cause.
(h) Prompt payment of claims.—
(1) Notwithstanding the provisions of this section or § 706 of this title, the benefits shall be paid promptly in accordance with a determination or redetermination made under this section, or of a decision of a referee, of the Secretary, or of a competent court under § 706, after the rendering of such determination, redetermination or decision (independent of the pendency of the term to request reconsideration, file an appeal or petition for judicial review as provided with respect thereto in subsections (f) and (g) of this section and subsection (e) or (i) of § 706, as the case may be, or the pendency of any request, filing or petition), unless and until such determination, redetermination or decision has been modified or reversed through a subsequent redetermination or decision, in which case the benefits shall be paid or denied for weeks of unemployment henceforth in accordance with said modification or reversal.
(2) If a determination or redetermination allowing benefits is affirmed in any amount by a referee or by the Secretary, or if a decision of a referee allowing benefits is affirmed in any amount by the Secretary, such benefits shall be paid promptly regardless of any further appeal or the disposition of such appeal, and no injunction, supersedeas, stay, or other writ or process suspending the payment of such benefits shall be issued by the Secretary or any court, but if such decision is finally modified or reversed denying benefits, the modification or reversal shall apply to any weeks of unemployment involved in said modification or reversal beginning after said final decision.
(i) Payment of benefits due deceased or mentally incompetent insured workers.— Benefits due and payable to a deceased or judicially declared incompetent person shall be paid, in accordance with such regulations as the Secretary shall prescribe, to the person or persons who the Secretary finds was or were directly dependent on the beneficiary worker. Such regulations need not conform to the status applicable to the descent and distribution of decedents’ estates. A receipt from the person or persons to whom payment is made shall fully discharge the fund, the Director and the Secretary from liability for such benefits.
(j) Reemployment and recoupment.—
(1) Any person who makes, or causes another person to make a statement or representation of a material fact knowing it to be false, or knowingly fails to disclose, or causes another person to fail to disclose a material fact and, as a result thereof, has received any amount as benefits under this chapter to which he/she is not entitled, shall be liable, within five (5) years following the Secretary’s determination, to repay such amount to the Secretary, to be covered into the Fund, or such amount shall be deducted from any future benefits payable to him/her under this chapter.
(A) The deduction from future benefits payable to the claimant for the reasons specified in clause (1) of this subsection shall be one hundred percent (100%) of the weekly benefit to which he/she may be eligible for in any particular week, as of the date on which an erroneous payment is determined.
(B) The benefit payment received by an individual who was not eligible therefor due to the reasons specified in clause (1) of this subsection shall also include a penalty equal to fifteen percent (15%) of the amount of the erroneous benefit payment received. Such individual shall be required to repay said amount to the Secretary, through the payment methods established by the Department of Labor and Human Resources, or by money order or check payable to the Secretary of the Treasury, within the term specified in clause (1) of this subsection, or through a fair and reasonable payment plan subject to the conditions prescribed by the Secretary through regulations or administrative order for such purposes.
(C) For the purposes of the penalty specified in paragraph (B) above, it shall only apply to erroneous payments established after October 21, 2013.
(D) The amounts recovered on account of the penalty specified in paragraph (B) above, shall be immediately deposited in the Unemployment Fund established in § 710 of this title, solely for the payment of benefits.
(E) The Secretary, through regulations, memorandum of understanding, and administrative orders, may provide other recovery methods deemed necessary to safeguard the solvency of the Fund.
(2) If a claimant receives benefits for a period during which he was not eligible therefor, for any reason other than those specified in clause (1) of this subsection, such improperly paid benefits shall be recovered without interest, within the term of five (5) years from the date on which said determination became final and binding through:
(A) The deduction from future benefits payable to the claimant from the date on which the overpayment was determined. Provided, That said deduction shall not exceed fifty percent (50%) of the weekly benefit to which he may be eligible in a particular week, or
(B) the establishment of a fair and reasonable payment plan subject to the conditions prescribed for such purposes by the Secretary through regulations or an administrative order, or
(C) other recovery methods that the Secretary, through regulations, memorandum of understanding, and administrative orders, deems necessary to safeguard the solvency of the Fund.
(3) No redetermination or decision shall be interpreted in the sense of authorizing the deduction of said amount from future benefits payable to the claimant, unless the written notice of said redetermination or decision clearly indicates it. The written notice shall indicate the source of the overpayment, the amount overpaid, and the week or weeks in which said benefits were received.
(4) Every written determination, redetermination, or decision specifying that the claimant is required to repay any overpayment of benefits shall state the specific facts that led to such overpayment and the week or weeks with respect to which the benefits were paid. If such determination, redetermination, or decision is based on the provisions of clause (1) of this subsection, it shall also include the nature of the concealment or misrepresentation of facts and a breakdown of the amount assessed as a penalty.
(5) In any case in which a claimant is obligated under this subsection to refund any amount to the Secretary to be covered into the fund, said amount shall be collected without interest, through a civil action filed in the name of the Secretary.
(k) Waiver of rights void.— Any agreement by an individual to waive, release, or commute his rights to benefits or any other rights under this chapter shall be void. Any agreement by an individual performing service for an employer to pay all or any portion of any contribution required under this chapter from such employer, shall be void. No employer shall directly or indirectly make or require or accept any deduction from wages to finance the contributions required from him, or require or accept any waiver of any right hereunder by any individual in his employ, or discriminate in regard to the hiring or tenure of work or any terms or conditions of work of any individual on account of his claiming benefits under this chapter, or in any manner obstruct or impede the claiming of benefits hereunder.
(l) Assignment of benefits.— Any assignment, pledge, or encumbrance of any right to benefits which are or may become due or payable under this chapter shall be void; and such rights to benefits shall be exempt from levy, execution, attachment, order for the payment of attorney fees, or any other remedy whatsoever provided for the collection of debt; and benefits received by any individual, so long as they are not mingled with other funds of the recipient, shall be exempt from any remedy whatsoever for the collection of all debts, except debts incurred for necessities furnished to such individual or his spouse or dependents during the time when such individual was unemployed. Any waiver of any exemption provided for in this subsection shall be void.
(m) Income tax deduction.—
(1) Every person who files a claim to receive unemployment benefits shall be informed of the following, when filing his/her claim:
(A) Unemployment compensation under federal programs is subject to the payment of federal income taxes;
(B) the claimant of benefits may choose to have the federal tax deducted and withheld, as specified in the Federal Internal Revenue Code, as well as any other applicable state tax on said income, and
(C) the claimant, may change the previously selected withholding status according to his/her circumstances.
(2) The sums withheld for the payment of taxes shall remain the Unemployment Trust Fund until transferred to the Department of the Treasury or the Federal Internal Revenue Services as the income tax payment of the person receiving the benefits.
(3) The Secretary shall follow the procedures established by the Federal Department of Labor and the Federal Internal Revenue Service and shall establish, through regulations, the priorities for the deductions and withholdings that may apply pursuant to the provisions of § 704 of this title.
History —June 21, 1956, No. 74, p. 328, § 5; June 6, 1967, No. 102, p. 330, § 11; June 24, 1971, No. 85, p. 257, § 4; June 15, 1972, No. 16, p. 374, § 4; Aug. 9, 1974, No. 21, Part 2, p. 646, § 3; June 30, 1975, No. 111, p. 329, § 4; July 26, 1979, No. 4, p. 924, § 4; June 22, 1981, No. 15, p. 103, § 4; July 9, 1985, No. 95, p. 300, § 2; July 15, 1988, No. 102, p. 424, § 3; Aug. 10, 1997, No. 62, § 1; Oct. 18, 2013, No. 120, § 2.