(a) Determination and certification by Secretary of Labor

(1) If as of the close of any fiscal year after the fiscal year ending June 30, 1972, the amount in the extended unemployment compensation account has reached the limit provided in section 1105(b)(2) of this title and the amount in the Federal unemployment account has reached the limit provided in section 1102(a) of this title and all advances and interest pursuant to section 1105(d) of this title and section 1323 of this title have been repaid, and there remains in the employment security administration account any amount over the amount provided in section 1101(f)(3)(A) of this title, such excess amount, except as provided in subsection (b), shall be transferred (as of the beginning of the succeeding fiscal year) to the accounts of the States in the Unemployment Trust Fund.

(2) Each State‘s share of the funds to be transferred under this subsection as of any October 1—

(A) shall be determined by the Secretary of Labor and certified by such Secretary to the Secretary of the Treasury before such date, and

(B) shall bear the same ratio to the total amount to be so transferred as—

(i) the amount of wages subject to tax under section 3301 of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986 during the preceding calendar year which are determined by the Secretary of Labor to be attributable to the State, bears to

(ii) the total amount of wages subject to such tax during such year.

(b) Transfer of funds where State is ineligible

(1) If the Secretary of Labor finds that on October 1 of any fiscal year—

(A) a State is not eligible for certification under section 503 of this title, or

(B) the law of a State is not approvable under section 3304 of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act [26 U.S.C. 3304],

then the amount available for transfer to such State’s account shall, in lieu of being so transferred, be transferred to the Federal unemployment account as of the beginning of such October 1. If, during the fiscal year beginning on such October 1, the Secretary of Labor finds and certifies to the Secretary of the Treasury that such State is eligible for certification under section 503 of this title, that the law of such State is approvable under such section 3304, or both, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer such amount from the Federal unemployment account to the account of such State. If the Secretary of Labor does not so find and certify to the Secretary of the Treasury before the close of such fiscal year then the amount which was available for transfer to such State’s account as of October 1 of such fiscal year shall (as of the close of such fiscal year) become unrestricted as to use as part of the Federal unemployment account.

(2) The amount which, but for this paragraph, would be transferred to the account of a State under subsection (a) or paragraph (1) of this subsection shall be reduced (but not below zero) by the balance of advances made to the State under section 1321 of this title. The sum by which such amount is reduced shall—

(A) be transferred to or retained in (as the case may be) the Federal unemployment account, and

(B) be credited against, and operate to reduce—

(i) first, any balance of advances made before September 13, 1960, to the State under section 1321 of this title, and

(ii) second, any balance of advances made on or after September 13, 1960, to the State under section 1321 of this title.

(c) Use of funds

(1) Except as provided in paragraph (2), amounts transferred to the account of a State pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) shall be used only in the payment of cash benefits to individuals with respect to their unemployment, exclusive of expenses of administration.

(2) A State may, pursuant to a specific appropriation made by the legislative body of the State, use money withdrawn from its account in the payment of expenses incurred by it for the administration of its unemployment compensation law and public employment offices if and only if—

(A) the purposes and amounts were specified in the law making the appropriation,

(B) the appropriation law did not authorize the obligation of such money after the close of the two-year period which began on the date of enactment of the appropriation law,

(C) the money is withdrawn and the expenses are incurred after such date of enactment,

(D)(i) the appropriation law limits the total amount which may be obligated under such appropriation at any time to an amount which does not exceed, at any such time, the amount by which—

(I) the aggregate of the amounts transferred to the account of such State pursuant to subsections (a) and (b), exceeds

(II) the aggregate of the amounts used by the State pursuant to this subsection and charged against the amounts transferred to the account of such State, and

(ii) for purposes of clause (i), amounts used by a State for administration shall be chargeable against transferred amounts at the exact time the obligation is entered into, and

(E) the use of the money is accounted for in accordance with standards established by the Secretary of Labor.

(3)(A) If—

(i) amounts transferred to the account of a State pursuant to subsections (a) and (b) of this section were used in payment of unemployment benefits to individuals; and

(ii) the Governor of such State submits a request to the Secretary of Labor that such amounts be restored under this paragraph,

then the amounts described in clause (i) shall be restored to the status of funds transferred under subsections (a) and (b) of this section which have not been used by eliminating any charge against amounts so transferred for the use of such amounts in the payment of unemployment benefits.

(B) Subparagraph (A) shall apply only to the extent that the amounts described in clause (i) of such subparagraph do not exceed the amount then in the State’s account.

(C) Subparagraph (A) shall not apply if the State has a balance of advances made to its account under subchapter XII of this chapter.

(D) If the Secretary of Labor determines that the requirements of this paragraph are met with respect to any request, the Secretary shall notify the Governor of the State that such requirements are met with respect to such request and the amount restored under this paragraph. Such restoration shall be as of the first day of the first month following the month in which the notification is made.

(d) Special transfer in fiscal year 2002

(1) The Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer (as of the date determined under paragraph (5)) from the Federal unemployment account to the account of each State in the Unemployment Trust Fund the amount determined with respect to such State under paragraph (2).

(2)(A) The amount to be transferred under this subsection to a State account shall (as determined by the Secretary of Labor and certified by such Secretary to the Secretary of the Treasury) be equal to—

(i) the amount which would have been required to have been transferred under this section to such account at the beginning of fiscal year 2002 if—

(I) section 209(a)(1) of the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002 had been enacted before the close of fiscal year 2001, and

(II) section 5402 of Public Law 105-33 (relating to increase in Federal unemployment account ceiling) had not been enacted,

minus

(ii) the amount which was in fact transferred under this section to such account at the beginning of fiscal year 2002.

(B) Notwithstanding the provisions of subparagraph (A)—

(i) the aggregate amount transferred to the States under this subsection may not exceed a total of $8,000,000,000; and

(ii) all amounts determined under subparagraph (A) shall be reduced ratably, if and to the extent necessary in order to comply with the limitation under clause (i).

(3)(A) Except as provided in paragraph (4), amounts transferred to a State account pursuant to this subsection may be used only in the payment of cash benefits—

(i) to individuals with respect to their unemployment, and

(ii) which are allowable under subparagraph (B) or (C).

(B)(i) At the option of the State, cash benefits under this paragraph may include amounts which shall be payable as—

(I) regular compensation, or

(II) additional compensation, upon the exhaustion of any temporary extended unemployment compensation (if such State has entered into an agreement under the Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 2002), for individuals eligible for regular compensation under the unemployment compensation law of such State.

(ii) Any additional compensation under clause (i) may not be taken into account for purposes of any determination relating to the amount of any extended compensation for which an individual might be eligible.

(C)(i) At the option of the State, cash benefits under this paragraph may include amounts which shall be payable to 1 or more categories of individuals not otherwise eligible for regular compensation under the unemployment compensation law of such State, including those described in clause (iii).

(ii) The benefits paid under this subparagraph to any individual may not, for any period of unemployment, exceed the maximum amount of regular compensation authorized under the unemployment compensation law of such State for that same period, plus any additional compensation (described in subparagraph (B)(i)) which could have been paid with respect to that amount.

(iii) The categories of individuals described in this clause include the following:

(I) Individuals who are seeking, or available for, only part-time (and not full-time) work.

(II) Individuals who would be eligible for regular compensation under the unemployment compensation law of such State under an alternative base period.

(D) Amounts transferred to a State account under this subsection may be used in the payment of cash benefits to individuals only for weeks of unemployment beginning after March 9, 2002.

(4) Amounts transferred to a State account under this subsection may be used for the administration of its unemployment compensation law and public employment offices (including in connection with benefits described in paragraph (3) and any recipients thereof), subject to the same conditions as set forth in subsection (c)(2) (excluding subparagraph (B) thereof, and deeming the reference to “subsections (a) and (b)” in subparagraph (D) thereof to include this subsection).

(5) Transfers under this subsection shall be made within 10 days after March 9, 2002.

(e) Special transfer in fiscal year 2006

Not later than 10 days after October 20, 2005, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from the Federal unemployment account—

(1) $15,000,000 to the account of Alabama in the Unemployment Trust Fund;

(2) $400,000,000 to the account of Louisiana in the Unemployment Trust Fund; and

(3) $85,000,000 to the account of Mississippi in the Unemployment Trust Fund.

(f) Special transfers in fiscal years 2009, 2010, and 2011 for modernization

(1)(A) In addition to any other amounts, the Secretary of Labor shall provide for the making of unemployment compensation modernization incentive payments (hereinafter “incentive payments”) to the accounts of the States in the Unemployment Trust Fund, by transfer from amounts reserved for that purpose in the Federal unemployment account, in accordance with succeeding provisions of this subsection.

(B) The maximum incentive payment allowable under this subsection with respect to any State shall, as determined by the Secretary of Labor, be equal to the amount obtained by multiplying $7,000,000,000 by the same ratio as would apply under subsection (a)(2)(B) for purposes of determining such State’s share of any excess amount (as described in subsection (a)(1)) that would have been subject to transfer to State accounts, as of October 1, 2008, under the provisions of subsection (a).

(C) Of the maximum incentive payment determined under subparagraph (B) with respect to a State—

(i) one-third shall be transferred to the account of such State upon a certification under paragraph (4)(B) that the State law of such State meets the requirements of paragraph (2); and

(ii) the remainder shall be transferred to the account of such State upon a certification under paragraph (4)(B) that the State law of such State meets the requirements of paragraph (3).

(2) The State law of a State meets the requirements of this paragraph if such State law—

(A) uses a base period that includes the most recently completed calendar quarter before the start of the benefit year for purposes of determining eligibility for unemployment compensation; or

(B) provides that, in the case of an individual who would not otherwise be eligible for unemployment compensation under the State law because of the use of a base period that does not include the most recently completed calendar quarter before the start of the benefit year, eligibility shall be determined using a base period that includes such calendar quarter.

(3) The State law of a State meets the requirements of this paragraph if such State law includes provisions to carry out at least 2 of the following subparagraphs:

(A) An individual shall not be denied regular unemployment compensation under any State law provisions relating to availability for work, active search for work, or refusal to accept work, solely because such individual is seeking only part-time work (as defined by the Secretary of Labor), except that the State law provisions carrying out this subparagraph may exclude an individual if a majority of the weeks of work in such individual’s base period do not include part-time work (as so defined).

(B) An individual shall not be disqualified from regular unemployment compensation for separating from employment if that separation is for any compelling family reason. For purposes of this subparagraph, the term “compelling family reason” means the following:

(i) One or both of the following offenses as selected by the State, but in making such selection, the resulting change in the State law shall not supercede any other provision of law relating to unemployment insurance to the extent that such other provision provides broader access to unemployment benefits for victims of such selected offense or offenses:

(I) Domestic violence, verified by such reasonable and confidential documentation as the State law may require, which causes the individual reasonably to believe that such individual’s continued employment would jeopardize the safety of the individual or of any member of the individual’s immediate family (as defined by the Secretary of Labor); and

(II) Sexual assault, verified by such reasonable and confidential documentation as the State law may require, which causes the individual reasonably to believe that such individual’s continued employment would jeopardize the safety of the individual or of any member of the individual’s immediate family (as defined by the Secretary of Labor).

(ii) The illness or disability of a member of the individual’s immediate family (as those terms are defined by the Secretary of Labor).

(iii) The need for the individual to accompany such individual’s spouse—

(I) to a place from which it is impractical for such individual to commute; and

(II) due to a change in location of the spouse’s employment.

(C)(i) Weekly unemployment compensation is payable under this subparagraph to any individual who is unemployed (as determined under the State unemployment compensation law), has exhausted all rights to regular unemployment compensation under the State law, and is enrolled and making satisfactory progress in a State-approved training program or in a job training program authorized under the Workforce Investment Act of 1998,¹ except that such compensation is not required to be paid to an individual who is receiving similar stipends or other training allowances for non-training costs.

(ii) Each State-approved training program or job training program referred to in clause (i) shall prepare individuals who have been separated from a declining occupation, or who have been involuntarily and indefinitely separated from employment as a result of a permanent reduction of operations at the individual’s place of employment, for entry into a high-demand occupation.

(iii) The amount of unemployment compensation payable under this subparagraph to an individual for a week of unemployment shall be equal to—

(I) the individual’s average weekly benefit amount (including dependents’ allowances) for the most recent benefit year, less

(II) any deductible income, as determined under State law.

The total amount of unemployment compensation payable under this subparagraph to any individual shall be equal to at least 26 times the individual’s average weekly benefit amount (including dependents’ allowances) for the most recent benefit year.

(D) Dependents’ allowances are provided, in the case of any individual who is entitled to receive regular unemployment compensation and who has any dependents (as defined by State law), in an amount equal to at least $15 per dependent per week, subject to any aggregate limitation on such allowances which the State law may establish (but which aggregate limitation on the total allowance for dependents paid to an individual may not be less than $50 for each week of unemployment or 50 percent of the individual’s weekly benefit amount for the benefit year, whichever is less), except that a State law may provide for a reasonable reduction in the amount of any such allowance for a week of less than total unemployment.

(4)(A) Any State seeking an incentive payment under this subsection shall submit an application therefor at such time, in such manner, and complete with such information as the Secretary of Labor may within 60 days after February 17, 2009, prescribe (whether by regulation or otherwise), including information relating to compliance with the requirements of paragraph (2) or (3), as well as how the State intends to use the incentive payment to improve or strengthen the State’s unemployment compensation program. The Secretary of Labor shall, within 30 days after receiving a complete application, notify the State agency of the State of the Secretary’s findings with respect to the requirements of paragraph (2) or (3) (or both).

(B)(i) If the Secretary of Labor finds that the State law provisions (disregarding any State law provisions which are not then currently in effect as permanent law or which are subject to discontinuation) meet the requirements of paragraph (2) or (3), as the case may be, the Secretary of Labor shall thereupon make a certification to that effect to the Secretary of the Treasury, together with a certification as to the amount of the incentive payment to be transferred to the State account pursuant to that finding. The Secretary of the Treasury shall make the appropriate transfer within 7 days after receiving such certification.

(ii) For purposes of clause (i), State law provisions which are to take effect within 12 months after the date of their certification under this subparagraph shall be considered to be in effect as of the date of such certification.

(C)(i) No certification of compliance with the requirements of paragraph (2) or (3) may be made with respect to any State whose State law is not otherwise eligible for certification under section 503 of this title or approvable under section 3304 of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act [26 U.S.C. 3304].

(ii) No certification of compliance with the requirements of paragraph (3) may be made with respect to any State whose State law is not in compliance with the requirements of paragraph (2).

(iii) No application under subparagraph (A) may be considered if submitted before February 17, 2009, or after the latest date necessary (as specified by the Secretary of Labor) to ensure that all incentive payments under this subsection are made before October 1, 2011.

(5)(A) Except as provided in subparagraph (B), any amount transferred to the account of a State under this subsection may be used by such State only in the payment of cash benefits to individuals with respect to their unemployment (including for dependents’ allowances and for unemployment compensation under paragraph (3)(C)), exclusive of expenses of administration.

(B) A State may, subject to the same conditions as set forth in subsection (c)(2) (excluding subparagraph (B) thereof, and deeming the reference to “subsections (a) and (b)” in subparagraph (D) thereof to include this subsection), use any amount transferred to the account of such State under this subsection for the administration of its unemployment compensation law and public employment offices.

(6) Out of any money in the Federal unemployment account not otherwise appropriated, the Secretary of the Treasury shall reserve $7,000,000,000 for incentive payments under this subsection. Any amount so reserved shall not be taken into account for purposes of any determination under section 1102, 1110, or 1323 of this title of the amount in the Federal unemployment account as of any given time. Any amount so reserved for which the Secretary of the Treasury has not received a certification under paragraph (4)(B) by the deadline described in paragraph (4)(C)(iii) shall, upon the close of fiscal year 2011, become unrestricted as to use as part of the Federal unemployment account.

(7) For purposes of this subsection, the terms “benefit year”, “base period”, and “week” have the respective meanings given such terms under section 205 of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (26 U.S.C. 3304 note).

(g) Special transfer in fiscal year 2009 for administration

(1) In addition to any other amounts, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from the employment security administration account to the account of each State in the Unemployment Trust Fund, within 30 days after February 17, 2009, the amount determined with respect to such State under paragraph (2).

(2) The amount to be transferred under this subsection to a State account shall (as determined by the Secretary of Labor and certified by such Secretary to the Secretary of the Treasury) be equal to the amount obtained by multiplying $500,000,000 by the same ratio as determined under subsection (f)(1)(B) with respect to such State.

(3) Any amount transferred to the account of a State as a result of the enactment of this subsection may be used by the State agency of such State only in the payment of expenses incurred by it for—

(A) the administration of the provisions of its State law carrying out the purposes of subsection (f)(2) or any subparagraph of subsection (f)(3);

(B) improved outreach to individuals who might be eligible for regular unemployment compensation by virtue of any provisions of the State law which are described in subparagraph (A);

(C) the improvement of unemployment benefit and unemployment tax operations, including responding to increased demand for unemployment compensation; and

(D) staff-assisted reemployment services for unemployment compensation claimants.

(h) Emergency transfers in fiscal year 2020 for administration

(1)(A) In addition to any other amounts, the Secretary of Labor shall provide for the making of emergency administration grants in fiscal year 2020 to the accounts of the States in the Unemployment Trust Fund, in accordance with succeeding provisions of this subsection.

(B) The amount of an emergency administration grant with respect to a State shall, as determined by the Secretary of Labor, be equal to the amount obtained by multiplying $1,000,000,000 by the same ratio as would apply under subsection (a)(2)(B) for purposes of determining such State’s share of any excess amount (as described in subsection (a)(1)) that would have been subject to transfer to State accounts, as of October 1, 2019, under the provisions of subsection (a).

(C) Of the emergency administration grant determined under subparagraph (B) with respect to a State—

(i) not later than 60 days after March 18, 2020, 50 percent shall be transferred to the account of such State upon a certification by the Secretary of Labor to the Secretary of the Treasury that the State meets the requirements of paragraph (2); and

(ii) only with respect to a State in which the number of unemployment compensation claims has increased by at least 10 percent over the same quarter in the previous calendar year, the remainder shall be transferred to the account of such State upon a certification by the Secretary of Labor to the Secretary of the Treasury that the State meets the requirements of paragraph (3).

(2) The requirements of this paragraph with respect to a State are the following:

(A) The State requires employers to provide notification of the availability of unemployment compensation to employees at the time of separation from employment. Such notification may be based on model notification language issued by the Secretary of Labor.

(B) The State ensures that applications for unemployment compensation, and assistance with the application process, are accessible, to the extent practicable in at least two of the following: in person, by phone, or online.

(C) The State notifies applicants when an application is received and is being processed, and in any case in which an application is unable to be processed, provides information about steps the applicant can take to ensure the successful processing of the application.

(3) The requirements of this paragraph with respect to a State are the following:

(A) The State has expressed its commitment to maintain and strengthen access to the unemployment compensation system, including through initial and continued claims.

(B) The State has demonstrated steps it has taken or will take to ease eligibility requirements and access to unemployment compensation for claimants, including waiving work search requirements and the waiting week, and non-charging employers directly impacted by COVID-19 due to an illness in the workplace or direction from a public health official to isolate or quarantine workers.

(4) Any amount transferred to the account of a State under this subsection may be used by such State only for the administration of its unemployment compensation law, including by taking such steps as may be necessary to ensure adequate resources in periods of high demand.

(5) Not later than 1 year after March 18, 2020, each State receiving emergency administration grant funding under paragraph (1)(C)(i) shall submit to the Secretary of Labor, the Committee on Ways and Means of the House of Representatives, and the Committee on Finance of the Senate, a report that includes—

(A) an analysis of the recipiency rate for unemployment compensation in the State as such rate has changed over time; ²

(B) a description of steps the State intends to take to increase such recipiency rate.

(6)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from the general fund of the Treasury (from funds not otherwise appropriated) to the employment security administration account (as established by section 1101 of this title) such sums as the Secretary of Labor estimates to be necessary for purposes of making the transfers described in paragraph (1)(C).

(B) There are appropriated from the general fund of the Treasury, without fiscal year limitation, the sums referred to in the preceding sentence and such sums shall not be required to be repaid.

(i) Transfers for Federal reimbursement of State unemployment funds

(1)(A) In addition to any other amounts, the Secretary of Labor shall provide for the transfer of funds with respect to the applicable period to the accounts of the States in the Unemployment Trust Fund, by transfer from amounts reserved for that purpose in the Federal unemployment account, in accordance with the succeeding provisions of this subsection.

(B) The amount of funds transferred to the account of a State under subparagraph (A) during the applicable period shall, as determined by the Secretary of Labor and except as otherwise provided in this subparagraph, be equal to one-half of the amounts of compensation (as defined in section 3306(h) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986) attributable under the State law to service to which section 3309(a) of such Code applies and to service provided by employees of an entity created by Public Law 85-874 (20 U.S.C. 76h et seq.) that were paid by the State for weeks of unemployment beginning and ending during such period. With respect to the amounts of such compensation paid for weeks of unemployment beginning after March 31, 2021, and ending on or before September 6, 2021, the preceding sentence shall be applied by substituting “75 percent” for “one-half”. Such transfers shall be made at such times as the Secretary of Labor considers appropriate.

(C) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, funds transferred to the account of a State under subparagraph (A) shall be used exclusively to reduce the amounts required to be paid in lieu of contributions into the State unemployment fund pursuant to such section by governmental entities and other organizations described in section 3309(a) of such Code or an entity created by Public Law 85-874 (20 U.S.C. 76h et seq.).

(D) For purposes of this paragraph, the term “applicable period” means the period beginning on March 13, 2020, and ending on September 6, 2021.

(2)(A) Notwithstanding any other provision of law, the Secretary of the Treasury shall transfer from the general fund of the Treasury (from funds not otherwise appropriated) to the Federal unemployment account such sums as the Secretary of Labor estimates to be necessary for purposes of making the transfers described in paragraph (1).

(B) There are appropriated from the general fund of the Treasury, without fiscal year limitation, the sums referred to in subparagraph (A) and such sums shall not be required to be repaid.