Code of Maine Rules › 12 - DEPARTMENT OF LABOR › 172 - MAINE UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE COMMISSION › Chapter 2 - EMPLOYER NOTICES, RECORDS, CONTRIBUTION AND REIMBURSEMENT PAYMENTS AND REPORTS › Section 172-2-4 - Payments in lieu of contributions

Current through 2024-29, July 17, 2024
A. Following
				the end of each calendar month the Bureau shall notify each employer of the
				amount of benefits paid and chargeable to the employer and shall assess the
				cumulative amount due, under paragraph A of subsection
				11 of Section 1221 of the Employment
				Security Law. No such assessment shall be issued for a cumulative amount less
				than $10.00.
B. Payments shall be
				due 30 days after the date of mailing to the last known address of the employer
				unless an application for redetermination of an assessment is duly filed. If
				such due date falls on a Sunday or a legal holiday, or on a day which the
				Governor or the Commissioner of Administrative and Financial Services of the
				State of Maine or a designee has determined to be a non-work day for the
				Bureau, then any payment reaching the office of the Bureau, or any duly
				constituted agent of the Bureau, on the next work day shall be deemed to have
				been received timely. Due date for payment in the case of a redetermination
				shall be determined in the same manner as for the original
				determination.
B-1. After receiving
				an application for redetermination, in accordance with paragraph D of
				subsection
				11 of Section 1221 of the Employment
				Security Law, the Bureau shall review the calculation of the amount assessed
				only with respect to whether such amount bears the same ratio to total benefits
				paid to the claimant during the period as the claimant's base period wages paid
				by the employer bear to the claimant's total base period wages paid by all
				employers. Employers liable for payments in lieu of contributions shall pay all
				amounts assessed when due without regard to the pendency or result of any
				appeal as to the claimant's eligibility or qualification for benefits. If the
				result of any such appeal establishes an overpayment to the claimant's benefit
				account, such overpayment shall be credited to the employer's account only at
				the time recovery from the claimant is effected. In no event shall an employer
				liable for payments in lieu of contributions be released from the liability to
				reimburse its proportionate share of benefits erroneously paid.
C. Payments made by mail shall be deemed to
				have been made timely if postmarked not later than midnight of the due date. If
				the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or a legal holiday, payment shall be
				deemed to have been made timely if postmarked not later than midnight of the
				next business day.
D. Within 60
				days after the effective date of its election, each employer electing to make
				payments in lieu of contributions, if so required by the Commissioner, shall
				file a surety bond, or deposit money, or securities, as approved by the
				Commissioner, in the amount equal to five percent (5%) of the taxable wages
				paid by such employer for the four completed calendar quarters immediately
				preceding such effective date, or the four completed calendar quarters
				immediately preceding any renewal of the bond. If the employer has not paid
				wages for four completed calendar quarters, the amount of the bond, or deposit
				of money or securities shall be in the amount fixed by the Commissioner which
				would most nearly represent a four-calendar quarter period based on the
				employer's actual payment of wages.
The obligation under the bond shall render the surety
				  liable, as though the surety was such employer, to the extent of the bond for
				  any failure of the bonded employer to pay the full amount of payments in lieu
				  of contribution when due, together with any applicable interest and penalties
				  provided for in subsections
				  3 and 4 of Section 1225 of the
				  Employment Security Law. The bond or other instrument of security shall remain
				  in effect for the entire period of time during which unemployment benefits may
				  be paid to the former employees of the employer, which extends for a minimum of
				  30 months beyond the date that employment ceased. The amount secured may be
				  increased or renewed at such times as the Commissioner prescribes, as long as
				  the employer continues liable for payments in lieu of contributions.
If the instrument of security is in the form of a deposit
				  account to which the employer has access, the deposit account must specify that
				  it is for the benefit of the Treasurer, State of Maine, as custodian for the
				  Maine Department of Labor. The account must be established in a manner that
				  prohibits the employer from making withdrawals from the account without
				  approval from the Bureau.