Frb Sr 21-19

[Barb Magario]

2) "Average annual payroll" means the average of the annual payrolls of any employer for the last three or five preceding calendar years, whichever average is higher, except that any year or years throughout which an employer has had no "annual payroll" because of military service shall be deleted from the reckoning; the "average annual payroll" in such case is to be determined on the basis of the prior three or five calendar years in each of which the employer had an "annual payroll" in the operation of his business, if the employer resumes his business within 12 months after separation, discharge or release from such service, under conditions other than dishonorable, and makes application to have his "average annual payroll" determined on the basis of such deletion within 12 months after he resumes his business; provided, however, that "average annual payroll" solely for the purposes of paragraph (3) of subsection (e) of R.S.43:21-7 means the average of the annual payrolls of any employer on which he paid contributions to the State disability benefits fund for the last three or five preceding calendar years, whichever average is higher; provided further that only those wages be included on which employer contributions have been paid on or before January 31 (or the next succeeding day if such January 31 is a Saturday or Sunday) immediately preceding the beginning of the 12-month period for which the employer's contribution rate is computed.

(c) (1) "Base year" with respect to benefit years commencing on or after July 1, 1986, shall mean the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters immediately preceding an individual's benefit year.

With respect to a benefit year commencing on or after July 1, 1995, if an individual does not have sufficient qualifying weeks or wages in his base year to qualify for benefits, the individual shall have the option of designating that his base year shall be the "alternative base year," which means the last four completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the individual's benefit year; except that, with respect to a benefit year commencing on or after October 1, 1995, if the individual also does not have sufficient qualifying weeks or wages in the last four completed calendar quarters immediately preceding his benefit year to qualify for benefits, "alternative base year" means the last three completed calendar quarters immediately preceding his benefit year and, of the calendar quarter in which the benefit year commences, the portion of the quarter which occurs before the commencing of the benefit year.

The division shall inform the individual of his options under this section as amended by P.L.1995, c.234. If information regarding weeks and wages for the calendar quarter or quarters immediately preceding the benefit year is not available to the division from the regular quarterly reports of wage information and the division is not able to obtain the information using other means pursuant to State or federal law, the division may base the determination of eligibility for benefits on the affidavit of an individual with respect to weeks and wages for that calendar quarter. The individual shall furnish payroll documentation, if available, in support of the affidavit. A determination of benefits based on an alternative base year shall be adjusted when the quarterly report of wage information from the employer is received if that information causes a change in the determination.

(2) With respect to a benefit year commencing on or after June 1, 1990 for an individual who immediately preceding the benefit year was subject to a disability compensable under the provisions of the "Temporary Disability Benefits Law," P.L.1948, c.110 (C.43:21-25 et seq.), "base year" shall mean the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the individual's period of disability, if the employment held by the individual immediately preceding the period of disability is no longer available at the conclusion of that period and the individual files a valid claim for unemployment benefits after the conclusion of that period. For the purposes of this paragraph, "period of disability" means the period defined as a period of disability by section 3 of the "Temporary Disability Benefits Law," P.L.1948, c.110 (C.43:21-27). An individual who files a claim under the provisions of this paragraph (2) shall not be regarded as having left work voluntarily for the purposes of subsection (a) of R.S.43:21-5.

(3) With respect to a benefit year commencing on or after June 1, 1990 for an individual who immediately preceding the benefit year was subject to a disability compensable under the provisions of the workers' compensation law (chapter 15 of Title 34 of the Revised Statutes), "base year" shall mean the first four of the last five completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the individual's period of disability, if the period of disability was not longer than two years, if the employment held by the individual immediately preceding the period of disability is no longer available at the conclusion of that period and if the individual files a valid claim for unemployment benefits after the conclusion of that period. For the purposes of this paragraph, "period of disability" means the period from the time at which the individual becomes unable to work because of the compensable disability until the time that the individual becomes able to resume work and continue work on a permanent basis. An individual who files a claim under the provisions of this paragraph (3) shall not be regarded as having left work voluntarily for the purposes of subsection (a) of R.S.43:21-5.

(d) "Benefit year" with respect to any individual means the 364 consecutive calendar days beginning with the day on, or as of, which he first files a valid claim for benefits, and thereafter beginning with the day on, or as of, which the individual next files a valid claim for benefits after the termination of his last preceding benefit year. Any claim for benefits made in accordance with subsection (a) of R.S.43:21-6 shall be deemed to be a "valid claim" for the purpose of this subsection if (1) he is unemployed for the week in which, or as of which, he files a claim for benefits; and (2) he has fulfilled the conditions imposed by subsection (e) of R.S.43:21-4.

(e) (1) "Division" means the Division of Unemployment and Temporary Disability Insurance of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, and any transaction or exercise of authority by the director of the division thereunder, or under this chapter (R.S.43:21-1 et seq.), shall be deemed to be performed by the division.

(2) "Controller" means the Office of the Assistant Commissioner for Finance and Controller of the Department of Labor and Workforce Development, established by the 1982 Reorganization Plan of the Department of Labor.

(g) "Employing unit" means the State or any of its instrumentalities or any political subdivision thereof or any of its instrumentalities or any instrumentality of more than one of the foregoing or any instrumentality of any of the foregoing and one or more other states or political subdivisions or any individual or type of organization, any partnership, association, trust, estate, joint-stock company, insurance company or corporation, whether domestic or foreign, or the receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, trustee or successor thereof, or the legal representative of a deceased person, which has or subsequent to January 1, 1936, had in its employ one or more individuals performing services for it within this State. All individuals performing services within this State for any employing unit which maintains two or more separate establishments within this State shall be deemed to be employed by a single employing unit for all the purposes of this chapter (R.S.43:21-1 et seq.). Each individual employed to perform or to assist in performing the work of any agent or employee of an employing unit shall be deemed to be employed by such employing unit for all the purposes of this chapter (R.S.43:21-1 et seq.), whether such individual was hired or paid directly by such employing unit or by such agent or employee; provided the employing unit had actual or constructive knowledge of the work.

(2) Any employing unit (whether or not an employing unit at the time of acquisition) which acquired the organization, trade or business, or substantially all the assets thereof, of another which, at the time of such acquisition, was an employer subject to this chapter (R.S.43:21-1 et seq.);

(3) Any employing unit which acquired the organization, trade or business, or substantially all the assets thereof, of another employing unit and which, if treated as a single unit with such other employing unit, would be an employer under paragraph (1) of this subsection;

(4) Any employing unit which together with one or more other employing units is owned or controlled (by legally enforceable means or otherwise), directly or indirectly by the same interests, or which owns or controls one or more other employing units (by legally enforceable means or otherwise), and which, if treated as a single unit with such other employing unit or interest, would be an employer under paragraph (1) of this subsection;

(7) Any employing unit not an employer by reason of any other paragraph of this subsection (h) for which, within either the current or preceding calendar year, service is or was performed with respect to which such employing unit is liable for any federal tax against which credit may be taken for contributions required to be paid into a state unemployment fund; or which, as a condition for approval of the "unemployment compensation law" for full tax credit against the tax imposed by the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, is required pursuant to such act to be an employer under this chapter (R.S.43:21-1 et seq.);

(11) Any employing unit subject to the provisions of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act within either the current or the preceding calendar year, except for employment hereinafter excluded under paragraph (7) of subsection (i) of this section;

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