Terms Used In Iowa Code > Chapter 96 - Employment Security &Mdash; Unemployment Compensation

• Affidavit: A written statement of facts confirmed by the oath of the party making it, before a notary or officer having authority to administer oaths.
• agricultural labor: means any service performed prior to January 1, 1972, which was agricultural labor as defined in this subparagraph prior to such date, provided that after December 31, 1977, this subparagraph shall not exclude from employment agricultural labor specifically included as agricultural labor under the definition of employment in this subsection, but shall otherwise include remunerated service performed after December 31, 1971:
   (a) On a farm in the employ of any person in connection with cultivating the soil, or in connection with raising or harvesting any agricultural or horticultural commodity, including the raising, shearing, feeding, caring for, training, and management of livestock, bees, poultry, and fur-bearing animals and wildlife. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Annuity: A periodic (usually annual) payment of a fixed sum of money for either the life of the recipient or for a fixed number of years. A series of payments under a contract from an insurance company, a trust company, or an individual. Annuity payments are made at regular intervals over a period of more than one full year.
• Appeal: A request made after a trial, asking another court (usually the court of appeals) to decide whether the trial was conducted properly. To make such a request is "to appeal" or "to take an appeal." One who appeals is called the appellant.
• Appeal board: means the employment appeal board created under section 10A. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Appropriation: The provision of funds, through an annual appropriations act or a permanent law, for federal agencies to make payments out of the Treasury for specified purposes. The formal federal spending process consists of two sequential steps: authorization
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Attachment: A procedure by which a person's property is seized to pay judgments levied by the court.
• Average annual taxable payroll: means the average of the total amount of taxable wages paid by an employer for insured work during the five periods of four consecutive calendar quarters immediately preceding the computation date. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Base period: means the period beginning with the first day of the five completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the first day of an individual's benefit year and ending with the last day of the next to the last completed calendar quarter immediately preceding the date on which the individual filed a valid claim. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Beneficiary: A person who is entitled to receive the benefits or proceeds of a will, trust, insurance policy, retirement plan, annuity, or other contract. ^{Source: OCC}
• Benefit year: means a period of one year beginning with the day with respect to which an individual filed a valid claim for benefits. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Benefits: means the money payments payable to an individual, as provided in this chapter, with respect to the individual's unemployment. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Calendar quarter: means the period of three consecutive calendar months ending on March 31, June 30, September 30, or December 31, excluding, however, any calendar quarter or portion thereof which occurs prior to January 1, 1937, or the equivalent thereof as the department may by regulation prescribe. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Child: includes child by adoption. See Iowa Code 4.1
• clerk: means clerk of the court in which the action or proceeding is brought or is pending; and the words "clerk's office" mean the office of that clerk. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Common law: The legal system that originated in England and is now in use in the United States. It is based on judicial decisions rather than legislative action.
• Complaint: A written statement by the plaintiff stating the wrongs allegedly committed by the defendant.
• Continuance: Putting off of a hearing ot trial until a later time.
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Contributions: means the money payments to the state unemployment compensation fund required by this chapter. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Conviction: A judgement of guilt against a criminal defendant.
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• crew leader: means an employing unit which furnishes individuals to perform agricultural labor for any other employing unit; pays, either on the crew leader's behalf or on behalf of such other employing unit, the individuals so furnished by the crew leader for the agricultural labor performed by them; and has not entered into a written agreement with such other employing unit under which such individual is designated as an employee of such other employing unit. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Damages: Money paid by defendants to successful plaintiffs in civil cases to compensate the plaintiffs for their injuries.
• Defendant: In a civil suit, the person complained against; in a criminal case, the person accused of the crime.
• Department: means the department of workforce development created in section 84A. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Director: means the director of the department of workforce development created in section 84A. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Dismissal: The dropping of a case by the judge without further consideration or hearing. ^Source:
• Domestic service: includes service for an employing unit in the operation and maintenance of a private household, local college club, or local chapter of a college fraternity or sorority as distinguished from service as an employee in the pursuit of an employer's trade, occupation, profession, enterprise, or vocation. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Educational institution: means one in which participants, trainees, or students are offered an organized course of study or training designed to transfer to them knowledge, skills, information, doctrines, attitudes, or abilities from, by, or under the guidance of an instructor or teacher. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Employer: means :
   a. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Employing unit: means any individual or type of organization, including this state and its political subdivisions, state agencies, boards, commissions, and instrumentalities thereof, 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. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• employment: means service, including service in interstate commerce, performed for wages or under any contract of hire, written or oral, expressed or implied. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Employment office: means a free public employment office, or branch thereof, operated by this state or maintained as a part of a state-controlled system of public employment offices. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Evidence: Information presented in testimony or in documents that is used to persuade the fact finder (judge or jury) to decide the case for one side or the other.
• Ex officio: Literally, by virtue of one's office.
• Exhaustee: means an individual who, with respect to any week of unemployment in the individual's eligibility period has received, prior to such week, all of the regular benefits that were available to the individual under this chapter or any other state law, including dependents' allowances and benefits payable to federal civilian employees and former armed forces personnel under 5 U. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Extended benefit period: means a period which begins with the third week after a week for which there is a state "on" indicator, and ends with either of the following weeks, whichever occurs later:
   (1) The third week after the first week for which there is a state "off" indicator. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Extended benefits: means benefits, including benefits payable to federal civilian employees and to former armed forces personnel pursuant to 5 U. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• farm: includes livestock, dairy, poultry, fruit, fur-bearing animals, and truck farms, plantations, ranches, nurseries, ranges, greenhouses, or other similar structures used primarily for the raising of agricultural or horticultural commodities, and orchards. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Fiscal year: The fiscal year is the accounting period for the government. For the federal government, this begins on October 1 and ends on September 30. The fiscal year is designated by the calendar year in which it ends; for example, fiscal year 2006 begins on October 1, 2005 and ends on September 30, 2006.
• following: when used by way of reference to a chapter or other part of a statute mean the next preceding or next following chapter or other part. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Fraud: Intentional deception resulting in injury to another.
• Fund: means the unemployment compensation fund established by this chapter, to which all contributions required and from which all benefits provided under this chapter shall be paid. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Garnishment: Generally, garnishment is a court proceeding in which a creditor asks a court to order a third party who owes money to the debtor or otherwise holds assets belonging to the debtor to turn over to the creditor any of the debtor
• Governmental entity: means a state, a state instrumentality, a political subdivision or an instrumentality of a political subdivision, or a combination of one or more of the preceding. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Hospital: means an institution which has been licensed, certified, or approved by the department of inspections, appeals, and licensing as a hospital. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Injunction: An order of the court prohibiting (or compelling) the performance of a specific act to prevent irreparable damage or injury.
• Institution of higher education: means an educational institution which admits as regular students individuals having a certificate of graduation from a high school, or the recognized equivalent of such certificate; is legally authorized in this state primarily to provide a program of education beyond high school; provides an educational program for which it awards a bachelor's or higher degree or provides a program which is acceptable for full credit toward such a degree, a program of postgraduate or postdoctoral studies, or a program of training to prepare students for gainful employment in a recognized occupation; and is a public or other nonprofit institution. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Insured work: means employment for employers. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Liabilities: The aggregate of all debts and other legal obligations of a particular person or legal entity.
• Lien: A claim against real or personal property in satisfaction of a debt.
• Livestock: includes but is not limited to an animal classified as an ostrich, rhea, or emu. See Iowa Code 4.1
• month: means a calendar month, and the word "year" and the abbreviation "A. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Nonprofit organization: means an organization described in the federal Internal Revenue Code, 26 U. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Obligation: An order placed, contract awarded, service received, or similar transaction during a given period that will require payments during the same or a future period.
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• person: means individual, corporation, limited liability company, government or governmental subdivision or agency, business trust, estate, trust, partnership or association, or any other legal entity. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Plaintiff: The person who files the complaint in a civil lawsuit.
• property: includes personal and real property. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Public housing agency: means any agency described in section 3(b)(6) of the United States Housing Act of 1937, as amended through January 1, 1989. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Recess: A temporary interruption of the legislative business.
• Regular benefits: means benefits payable to an individual under this or under any other state law, including benefits payable to federal civilian employees and to former armed forces personnel pursuant to 5 U. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Remainder: An interest in property that takes effect in the future at a specified time or after the occurrence of some event, such as the death of a life tenant.
• Rule: includes "regulation". See Iowa Code 4.1
• Settlement: Parties to a lawsuit resolve their difference without having a trial. Settlements often involve the payment of compensation by one party in satisfaction of the other party's claims.
• Signature: includes an electronic signature as defined in section 554D. See Iowa Code 4.1
• State: includes , in addition to the states of the United States, the District of Columbia, Canada, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• State law: means the unemployment insurance law of any state, approved by the United States secretary of labor under 26 U. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Statewide average weekly wage: means the amount computed by the department at least once a year on the basis of the aggregate amount of wages reported by employers in the preceding twelve-month period ending on December 31 and divided by the product of fifty-two times the average mid-month employment reported by employers for the same twelve-month period. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Subpoena: A command to a witness to appear and give testimony.
• Taxable wages: means an amount of wages upon which an employer is required to contribute based upon wages which have been paid during a calendar year to an individual by an employer or the employer's predecessor, in this state or another state which extends a like comity to this state, with respect to employment, upon which the employer is required to contribute, which equals the greater of the following:
   a. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Testify: Answer questions in court.
• Testimony: Evidence presented orally by witnesses during trials or before grand juries.
• Tort: A civil wrong or breach of a duty to another person, as outlined by law. A very common tort is negligent operation of a motor vehicle that results in property damage and personal injury in an automobile accident.
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Unemployment compensation administration fund: means the unemployment compensation administration fund established by this chapter, from which administration expenses under this chapter shall be paid. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• United States: includes all the states. See Iowa Code 4.1
• Venue: The geographical location in which a case is tried.
• Wages: means all remuneration for personal services, including commissions and bonuses and the cash value of all remuneration in any medium other than cash. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• Week: means such period or periods of seven consecutive calendar days ending at midnight, or as the department may by regulations prescribe. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• weekly benefit amount: means the amount of benefits the individual would be entitled to receive for one week of total unemployment. See Iowa Code 96.1A
• year: means twelve consecutive months. See Iowa Code 4.1