1.1    .................... moves to amend H.F. No. 3722 as follows:
1.2Delete everything after the enacting clause and insert:

1.3    "Section 1. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section 268.085, subdivision 3,
1.4is amended to read:
1.5    Subd. 3. Payments that delay unemployment benefits. (a) An applicant is not
1.6eligible to receive unemployment benefits for any week with respect to which the applicant
1.7is receiving, has received, or has filed for payment, equal to or in excess of the applicant's
1.8weekly unemployment benefit amount, in the form of:
1.9    (1) vacation pay paid upon temporary, indefinite, or seasonal separation. This clause
1.10does not apply to (i) vacation pay paid upon a permanent separation from employment;, or
1.11(ii) vacation pay paid from a vacation fund administered by a union or a third party not
1.12under the control of the employer;
1.13    (2) severance pay, bonus pay, sick pay, and any other payments, except earnings
1.14under subdivision 5, and back pay under subdivision 6, paid by an employer because of,
1.15upon, or after separation from employment, but only if the payment is considered wages at
1.16the time of payment under section 268.035, subdivision 29; or
1.17    (3) pension, retirement, or annuity payments from any plan contributed to by a base
1.18period employer including the United States government, except Social Security benefits
1.19that are provided for in subdivision 4. The base period employer is considered to have
1.20contributed to the plan if the contribution is excluded from the definition of wages under
1.21section 268.035, subdivision 29, clause (1).
1.22    An applicant is not considered to have received the lump sum payment if the
1.23applicant immediately deposits that payment in a qualified pension plan or account.
1.24    (b) This subdivision applies to all the weeks of payment. Payments under paragraph
1.25(a), clauses (1) and (2), are applied to the period immediately following the last day
1.26of employment. and The number of weeks of payment, for purposes of those clauses,
1.27is determined as follows:
2.1    (1) if the payments are made periodically, the total of the payments to be received is
2.2divided by the applicant's last level of regular weekly pay from the employer; or
2.3    (2) if the payment is made in a lump sum, that sum is divided by the applicant's last
2.4level of regular weekly pay from the employer.
2.5    (c) If the payment is less than the applicant's weekly unemployment benefit amount,
2.6unemployment benefits are reduced by the amount of the payment. If the computation
2.7of reduced unemployment benefits is not a whole dollar, it is rounded down to the next
2.8lower whole dollar.
2.9EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.

2.10    Sec. 2. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section 268.085, subdivision 16, is
2.11amended to read:
2.12    Subd. 16. Actively seeking suitable employment defined. (a) "Actively seeking
2.13suitable employment" means those reasonable, diligent efforts an individual in similar
2.14circumstances would make if genuinely interested in obtaining suitable employment under
2.15the existing conditions in the labor market area. Limiting the search to positions that are
2.16not available or are above the applicant's training, experience, and qualifications is not
2.17"actively seeking suitable employment."
2.18    (b) To be considered "actively seeking suitable employment" an applicant must,
2.19when reasonable, contact those employers from whom the applicant was laid off because
2.20of lack of work and request suitable employment.
2.21    (c) If reasonable prospects of suitable employment in the applicant's usual or
2.22customary occupation do not exist, the applicant must actively seek other suitable
2.23employment to be considered "actively seeking suitable employment." This applies to an
2.24applicant who is seasonally unemployed.
2.25    (d) An applicant who is seeking employment only through a union is not considered
2.26actively seeking suitable employment unless if the applicant is in an occupation where
2.27it is required by union rule that all the hiring in that locality is done through the
2.28union. or that all members are If the applicant is a union member who is restricted
2.29to obtaining employment among signatory contractors in the construction industry,
2.30seeking employment only with those signatory contractors is considered actively seeking
2.31employment. The applicant must be a union member in good standing, registered with
2.32the union for employment, and in compliance with other union rules to be considered
2.33"actively seeking suitable employment."
2.34EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.

3.1    Sec. 3. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 268.125, is amended by adding a subdivision
3.2to read:
3.3    Subd. 6. Notice. The commissioner must notify applicants of the availability of
3.4additional unemployment benefits by posting a notice on the department's official website,
3.5by notifying applicants when they file continued requests for benefits, and by any other
3.6appropriate public announcement.
3.7EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.

3.8    Sec. 4. Minnesota Statutes 2006, section 268.125, subdivision 1, is amended to read:
3.9    Subdivision 1. Additional unemployment benefits; when available. Additional
3.10unemployment benefits are available if:
3.11    (a) a county had a total unemployment rate for the prior 12 calendar month period of
3.12at least 1.8 times the state average unemployment rate for the prior 12 calendar month
3.13period. The commissioner must calculate the applicable unemployment rates within
3.1430 calendar days following the end of the month. Once the total unemployment rate in
3.15a county equals or exceeds 1.8 times the state average unemployment rate for the prior
3.1612 calendar month period, the additional benefits are available for a minimum of 13
3.17calendar weeks; or
3.18    (b) (1) at a facility that had 100 or more employees, the employer reduced
3.19operations, resulting within a one-month period in the layoff of 50 percent or more of the
3.20facility's work force, including reductions caused as a result of a major natural disaster
3.21declared by the president;
3.22    (2) the employer has no expressed plan to resume operations that would lead to the
3.23reemployment of those employees in the immediate future; and
3.24    (3) the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate in the county that the facility is
3.25located was ten percent or more during the month of the reduction or any of the three
3.26months before or after the month of the reduction.
3.27EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment
3.28and applies retroactively to January 1, 2008.

3.29    Sec. 5. Minnesota Statutes 2007 Supplement, section 268.125, subdivision 3, is
3.30amended to read:
3.31    Subd. 3. Eligibility conditions. An applicant is eligible to receive additional
3.32unemployment benefits for any week during the applicant's benefit year if:
3.33    (a) for any week during which benefits are available under subdivision 1(a)
4.1     (1) the applicant is laid off due to lack of work and resides in a county that meets the
4.2requirements of subdivision 1(a);
4.3    (2) the applicant meets the same eligibility requirements that are required for regular
4.4unemployment benefits under section 268.069; and
4.5    (3) the applicant has exhausted regular unemployment benefits under section 268.07,
4.6is not entitled to receive extended unemployment benefits under section 268.115, and is
4.7not entitled to receive unemployment benefits under any other state or federal law for
4.8that week ; or
4.9    (b) (1) the applicant was laid off from employment as a result of a reduction under
4.10subdivision 1(b) or was laid off because of lack of work from that employer during the
4.11three-month period before, or the three-month period after, the month of the reduction
4.12under subdivision 1;
4.13    (2) the applicant meets the eligibility requirements under section 268.085;
4.14    (3) the applicant is not ineligible under section 268.095 because of a quit or a
4.15discharge;
4.16    (4) the applicant has exhausted regular unemployment benefits under section 268.07,
4.17is not entitled to receive extended unemployment benefits under section 268.115, and
4.18is not entitled to receive unemployment benefits under any other state or federal law
4.19for that week; and
4.20    (5) a majority of the applicant's wage credits were from the employer that had a
4.21reduction in operations under subdivision 1.
4.22EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment
4.23and applies retroactively to January 1, 2008.

4.24    Sec. 6. HARDSHIP BENEFITS.
4.25    Subdivision 1. Payments; availability. Hardship benefits are available to an
4.26applicant if the applicant suffered economic hardship due to delays in receiving
4.27unemployment benefits resulting from the new unemployment insurance application
4.28and filing system implemented by the Department of Employment and Economic
4.29Development on October 15, 2007.
4.30    Subd. 2. Economic hardship. "Economic hardship" means financial losses to
4.31an applicant resulting from: checks returned for insufficient funds; account overdraft
4.32charges; installment credit penalties, interest, and other fees resulting from missed or
4.33late payments; mortgage loan late fees, interest charges, or other penalties; charges for
4.34force-placed automobile or homeowner's insurance; penalties for late payment of income
5.1or property taxes; and any penalties or adverse consequences, including the suspension of
5.2an applicant's driver's license due to nonpayment of child support.
5.3    Subd. 3. Payment from fund; effects on employers. Hardship benefits are payable
5.4from the unemployment insurance trust fund. Hardship benefits paid under this section
5.5will not be used in computing the experience rating of employers.
5.6    Subd. 4. Eligibility conditions. An applicant is eligible to receive hardship benefits
5.7under this section for any week after October 15, 2007, if:
5.8    (1) the applicant's unemployment benefit payments due and payable were delayed
5.9at least four weeks;
5.10    (2) the applicant meets the eligibility requirements of Minnesota Statutes, section
5.11268.085; and
5.12    (3) the applicant is not subject to a disqualification under Minnesota Statutes, section
5.13268.095.
5.14    Subd. 5. Amount of hardship benefits. The amount of hardship benefits available
5.15to an applicant is equal to the amount of economic hardship experienced by an applicant
5.16due to the delay in receiving benefits. An applicant must provide documentation of the
5.17amount of financial hardship claimed using financial institution records, consumer or
5.18business credit records, child support records, or other commonly recognized methods of
5.19documenting financial transactions.
5.20    Subd. 6. Notice. The commissioner must notify applicants of the availability of
5.21hardship benefits by posting a notice on the department's official website, by notifying
5.22applicants when they file continued requests for benefits, and by any other appropriate
5.23public announcement.
5.24EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment.

5.25    Sec. 7. LUMBER COMPANY EXTRA BENEFITS.
5.26    Subdivision 1. Extra benefits; availability. Extra unemployment benefits are
5.27available to an applicant who was laid off due to lack of work from the Ainsworth Lumber
5.28Company plant in Cook, Minnesota.
5.29    Subd. 2. Payment from fund; effect on employer. Extra unemployment benefits
5.30are payable from the unemployment insurance trust fund. Extra unemployment benefits
5.31paid will not be used in computing the experience rating of Ainsworth Lumber Company
5.32under Minnesota Statutes, section 268.047.
5.33    Subd. 3. Eligibility conditions. An applicant is eligible to receive extra
5.34unemployment benefits under this section for any week through December 27, 2008, if:
6.1    (1) the applicant established a benefit account under Minnesota Statutes, section
6.2268.07, with a majority of the wage credits from Ainsworth Lumber Company, and
6.3exhausted entitlement to those regular unemployment benefits after January 1, 2008;
6.4    (2) the applicant meets the eligibility requirements of Minnesota Statutes, section
6.5268.085;
6.6    (3) the applicant has not been held ineligible under Minnesota Statutes, section
6.7268.095;
6.8    (4) the applicant is not entitled to any other unemployment benefits and is not
6.9entitled to receive unemployment benefits under any other state or federal law for that
6.10week, including any other extended unemployment benefits; and
6.11    (5) if an applicant qualifies for any type of unemployment benefits available under
6.12Minnesota law, or under any federal law, or the law of another state, the applicant must
6.13apply for and exhaust entitlement to those unemployment benefits.
6.14    Subd. 4. Weekly amount of extra benefits. The weekly extra unemployment
6.15benefits amount available to an applicant is the same as the applicant's weekly regular
6.16unemployment benefit amount on the benefit account established in subdivision 3, clause
6.17(1).
6.18    Subd. 5. Maximum amount of extra unemployment benefits. The maximum
6.19amount of extra unemployment benefits available is equal to 26 times the applicant's
6.20weekly benefit amount.
6.21    Subd. 6. Program expiration. This extra unemployment benefit program expires
6.22on December 27, 2008. No extra unemployment benefits may be paid for any week after
6.23the expiration of this program.
6.24    Subd. 7. Notice. The commissioner must notify applicants of the availability of
6.25extra unemployment befits by posting a notice on the department's official website, by
6.26notifying applicants when they file continued requests for benefits, and by any other
6.27appropriate public announcement.
6.28EFFECTIVE DATE.This section is effective the day following final enactment
6.29and applies retroactively to January 1, 2008."