NORTH CAROLINA GENERAL ASSEMBLY

1979 SESSION

 

 

CHAPTER 660

HOUSE BILL 1101

 

 

AN ACT TO AMEND CHAPTER 96 OF THE GENERAL STATUTES KNOWN AS THE EMPLOYMENT SECURITY LAW TO CONFORM WITH FEDERAL REQUIREMENTS AND TO MAKE TECHNICAL IMPROVEMENTS AND CORRECTIONS.

 

The General Assembly of North Carolina enacts:

 

Section 1.  G.S. 96-3(a), as it appears in the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, of the General Statutes of North Carolina, is amended by placing a period at the end of the word "employment" on line 7 and deleting the remainder of that sentence.

Sec. 2.  G.S. 96-4(d), as it appears in the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended by deleting after the period on line 9 following the words "merit basis": "The Commission shall not employ or pay any person who is an officer or committee member of any political party organization."

Sec. 3.  G.S. 96-8, as it appears in the 1977 Cumulative Supplement to the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended by adding a new subsection (24) to read as follows: "Work, for purposes of this Chapter, means any performance or effort, physical or mental, done for remuneration or in expectation of remuneration, whether or not the one for whom such work is performed is a covered employer under this Chapter."

Sec. 4.  G.S. 96-8 is further amended by adding a new subsection (25) to read as follows: "For purposes of G.S. 96-13(a)3, an implied contract is defined as a reasonable assurance."

Sec. 5.  G.S. 96-8(5)n, as it appears in the 1977 Cumulative Supplement to the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, of the General Statutes of North Carolina, is amended by adding a new sentence at the end of the present paragraph: "The farm operator shall be deemed to be the employer of any worker hired by the farm operator; any assignment to work with a crew or under a crew leader notwithstanding. All the workers shall be deemed the employees of the farm operator when the crew leader does not qualify as the employer under the provisions set out in this paragraph."

Sec. 6.  G.S. 96-8(5)p, as it appears in the 1977 Cumulative Supplement to the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended by adding after the comma following the word "entity" in line 17: "jointly owned or operated governmental entities,".

Sec. 7.  G.S. 96-8(6)b3, as it appears in the 1977 Cumulative Supplement to the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended by deleting in line 2 the words "the Virgin Islands" and by deleting the words "the Virgin Islands" in lines 3 and 4.

Sec. 8.  G.S. 96-8(6)f3, as it appears in the 1977 Cumulative Supplement to the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended by removing the letter "g" following the word "paragraph" in the last line and substituting the letter "k".

Sec. 9.  G.S. 96-8(6)f6, as it appears in the 1977 Cumulative Supplement to the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended by deleting from the parenthetical provision in lines 2 and 3 the words "or the Virgin Islands".

Sec. 10.  G.S. 96-8(6)g, as it appears in the 1977 Cumulative Supplement to the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended by deleting from Provision (D) in the body of that paragraph, the phrase: "or is domestic service in a private home of the employer".

Sec. 11.  G.S. 96-8(6)k7, as it appears in the 1977 Cumulative Supplement to the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended by deleting the present wording in its entirety and substituting the following: "Services performed by an individual in the employ of a son, daughter, or spouse; services performed by a child under the age of 21 in the employ of his father or mother or of a partnership consisting only of parents of the child."

Sec. 12.  G.S. 96-8(6)k9, as it appears in the 1977 Cumulative Supplement to the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended by adding in line 1 after the word "newsboy": "or newsgirl".

Sec. 13.  G.S. 96-9(a)5, as it appears in the 1977 Cumulative Supplement to the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended on line 5 by removing the phrase "Prior to January 1, 1978," and capitalizing the first letter of the word "for" in line 5 (the first line of the second paragraph of that subsection).

This subsection is further amended by removing the phrase "four thousand two hundred dollars ($4,200)" after the words "in excess of" in line 3 of the second paragraph and inserting in line 3 after the words "in excess of": "the FUTA tax base".

Paragraph 3 of that subsection is amended by deleting the phrase "Prior to January 1, 1978," and capitalizing the letter "a" in the word "any"; and by deleting after the word "exceeded" in line 5, the phrase "the sum of four thousand two hundred dollars ($4,200)" and substituting the phrase: "the FUTA tax base".

Sec. 14.  G.S. 96-9(b)(2)a, as it appears in the 1977 Cumulative Supplement to the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended by deleting, following the word "throughout" in line 3, the Phrase "the twelve consecutive calendar-month period" and substituting: "more than thirteen consecutive calendar months".

Sec. 15.  G.S. 96-9(b)(2) is further amended by adding the following paragraphs:

"For purposes of this subsection, the first date on which an account shall be chargeable with benefits shall be the first date with respect to which a benefit year (as defined in G.S. 96-8(17)) can be established, based solely on wages paid by that employer.

No employer's contribution rate shall be reduced below the standard rate for any calendar year unless his liability extends over a period of all or part of three consecutive calendar years and, as of August 1 of the third year, his credit reserve ratio meets the requirements of that schedule used in computing rates for the following calendar year, unless the employer's liability was established under G.S. 96-8(5)b and his predecessor's account was transferred as provided by G.S. 96-9(c)4(a).

Whenever contributions are erroneously paid into one account which should have been paid into another account or which should have been paid into a new account, that erroneous payment can be adjusted only by refunding the erroneously paid amounts to the paying entity. No pro rata adjustment to an existing account may be made, nor can a new account be created by transferring any portion of the erroneously paid amount, notwithstanding that the entities involved may be owned, operated, or controlled by the same person or organization. No adjustment of a contribution rate can be made reducing said rate below the standard rate for any period in which the account was not in actual existence and in which it was not actually chargeable for benefits. Whenever payments are found to have been made to the wrong account, refunds can be made to the entity making the wrongful payment for a period not exceeding five years from the last day of the calendar year in which it is determined that wrongful payments were made. Notwithstanding payment into the wrong account, any entity which is determined to have met the requirements to be a covered employer, whether or not the entity has had paid on the account of its employees any sum into another account, the Commission shall collect contributions at the standard rate or the assigned rate, whichever is higher, for the five years preceding the determination of erroneous payments, said five years to run from the last day of the calendar year in which the determination of liability for contributions or additional contributions is made. This paragraph shall apply to all cases arising hereunder, the question of good faith notwithstanding."

Sec. 16.  G.S. 96-10(e), as it appears in the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended by deleting after the word "received" on line 12 the following: "or if said money which constitutes the overpayment has been in the possession of the Commission for six months or more,".

Sec. 17.  G.S. 96-11(b), as it appears in the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended by adding after the period following the words "or more" in line 22, the following:

"Any employing unit, as defined in G.S. 96-8(5)n, shall cease to be an employer only if it files with the Commission by the first day of March of any calendar year an application for termination of coverage, and the Commission finds that there were no 20 different weeks within the preceding calendar year in which such employing unit had at least 10 individuals in employment, ana that there was no calendar quarter within the preceding calendar year in which such employing unit paid twenty thousand dollars ($20,000) or more in wages for services in employment. Any employing unit, as defined in G.S. 96-8(5)o, shall cease to be an employer if it files with the Commission by the first day of March of any calendar year an application for termination of coverage and the Commission finds that there was no calendar quarter within the preceding calendar year in which such employing unit paid one thousand dollars ($1,000) or more in wages for services in employment."

Sec. 18.  G.S. 96-12(b)(2), as it appears in the 1977 Cumulative Supplement to the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended by deleting all of the first 13 lines and the words "1, 1974, and each August 1 thereafter" on line 14 and substituting before the words "a maximum" on line 14: "each August 1,".

Sec. 19.  G.S. 96-12(e)A(10)c(2), as it appears in the 1977 Cumulative Supplement to the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended by deleting from lines 2 and 3 the words "of the Virgin Islands or".

Sec. 20.  G.S. 96-13(d), as it appears in the 1977 Cumulative Supplement to the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended by deleting the word "of" in the first line following the word "entitlement" and substituting: "based on services for".

Sec. 21.  G.S. 96-13(f), as it appears in the 1977 Cumulative Supplement to the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended by adding before the parenthesis on line 4 after the word "law" and before the parenthetical expression, the following: "or was lawfully present for purposes of performing such services".

Sec. 22.  G.S. 96-17(b), as it appears in the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended by deleting after the word "counsel" on line 5: "; but no such counsel shall either charge or receive for such services more than an amount approved by the Commission".

Sec. 23. G.S. 96-18(a), as it appears in the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended by deleting after the words "shall be" in line 5 the phrase, "punished by a fine of not less than twenty dollars ($20.00), nor more than fifty dollars ($50.00), or by imprisonment for not longer than 30 days," and substituting: "guilty of a misdemeanor,".

Sec. 24.  G.S. 96-18(b), as it appears in the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended by deleting after the words "shall be" on line 8 the phrase "punished by a fine of not less than twenty dollars ($20.00) or more than fifty dollars ($50.00) or by imprisonment for not longer than 30 days;" and inserting in lieu thereof, the following phrase: "guilty of a misdemeanor;".

Sec. 25.  G.S. 96-18(c), as it appears in the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended by deleting the phrase after the words "shall be" on line 5, "punished by a fine of not less than twenty dollars ($20.00) or more than fifty dollars ($50.00) or by imprisonment for not longer than 30 days," and substituting in lieu thereof: "guilty of a misdemeanor,".

Sec. 26.  G.S. 96-21, as it appears in the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended by striking the present language and substituting, "The Employment Service Division shall cooperate with all State and federal agencies in attempting to secure suitable employment and fair treatment for military veterans and disabled veterans."

Sec. 27.  G.S. 96-22, as it appears in the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended by deleting after the word "adapted" in line 13, the remainder of the paragraph and inserting in its stead: ", including assisting those minors who are interested in securing vocational employment in agriculture and to aid in the development of good citizenship and in the study and development of vocational rehabilitation capabilities for handicapped minors."

Sec. 28.  G.S. 96-25, as it appears in the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended by deleting after the word "assistance" in line 6, the remainder of the sentence and inserting in its stead: "to handicapped citizens through vocational rehabilitation."

Sec. 29.  G.S. 96-13(b)(1), as it appears in the 1977 Cumulative Supplement to the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended by adding after the word "contracts" and before the word "to" on line 14 the phrase: "or a reasonable assurance".

Sec. 30.  G.S. 96-13(b)(2), as it appears in the 1977 Cumulative Supplement to the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended on line 6 after the phrase "with respect to services" by adding the following: "in instructional, research or principal administrative capacity".

Sec. 31.  G.S. 96-13(b)(2), as it appears in the 1977 Cumulative Supplement to the 1975 Replacement, Volume 2C, is amended by adding a new provision as follows: "Except with respect to services in a secondary school or subdivision thereof, in any capacity other than instructional, research or principal administrative, benefits shall be payable based on such services for any week commencing during the period between two successive academic years or during a similar period between two regular terms, only if the individual does not have a contract or contracts, written, oral, or implied or a reasonable assurance to perform services in any such capacity for any secondary school for both such academic years or both such terms.

Sec. 32.  This act is effective upon ratification.

In the General Assembly read three times and ratified, this the 28th day of May, 1979.