HF2949 Bill Summary

• Changes unemployment insurance program definitions including "wages" to cover nonqualified stock option income and vehicle/equipment operation costs, and adds crew leader provisions for agricultural employment.

• Modifies benefit payment rules by restricting unemployment benefits when applicants receive vacation pay, sick pay, severance, bonus pay, or pension/retirement payments from base period employers, with specific exceptions for permanent separations and union-administered funds.

• Updates Social Security benefit offset provisions by eliminating the 50% deduction for old age benefits when all wage credits were earned while receiving Social Security, and creates separate ineligibility rules for disability benefits with health care provider certification option.

• Revises appeal and hearing procedures including renamed terminology (eliminates "evidentiary hearing"), extends the continued request filing deadline from two to three weeks, requires online filing for employer-agents, and clarifies decision-making authority for unemployment law judges.

• Implements various housekeeping changes including updating experience rating history transfer requirements, modifying record retention periods from eight to four years, adjusting interest rates on past-due amounts, and establishing penalties for notification and reporting violations related to business acquisitions.