PRIA, Government Policy, Made Personal

Summary

The United States must pay each State for people whose base period wages included Federal wages. For each such person, the State gets a share of that person’s benefits that matches the share of federal wages in that person’s base period wages. The Secretary of Labor decides each month how much a State should get and can pay in advance or by reimbursement. Monthly payments are later adjusted if past estimates were too high or too low. The Secretary can use agreed sampling or statistical methods to make estimates. The Secretary certifies amounts to the Secretary of the Treasury, who pays the State from the funds for this program before audit by the Government Accountability Office. States must use the money only for the stated purposes and must return any unused funds when the agreement requires. Agreements can require state workers who certify or pay money to give a surety bond, and the bond cost can be paid from these program funds. A certifying or disbursing official is not personally liable for payments they make unless they acted with gross negligence or intended to defraud the United States. For payments under subchapter III of chapter 7 of title 42, running the program under an agreement counts as part of the State’s unemployment compensation administration.

Title 5, §8505

Government Organization and Employees, Source: USLM XML via OLRC

(a)Each State is entitled to be paid by the United States with respect to each individual whose base period wages included Federal wages an amount which shall bear the same ratio to the total amount of compensation paid to such individual as the amount of his Federal wages in his base period bears to the total amount of his base period wages.

(b)Each State shall be paid, either in advance or by way of reimbursement, as may be determined by the Secretary of Labor, the sum that the Secretary estimates the State is entitled to receive under this subchapter for each calendar month. The sum shall be reduced or increased by the amount which the Secretary finds that his estimate for an earlier calendar month was greater or less than the sum which should have been paid to the State. An estimate may be made on the basis of a statistical, sampling, or other method agreed on by the Secretary and the State agency.

(c)The Secretary, from time to time, shall certify to the Secretary of the Treasury the sum payable to each State under this section. The Secretary of the Treasury, before audit or settlement by the Government Accountability Office, shall pay the State in accordance with the certification from the funds for carrying out the purposes of this subchapter.

(d)Money paid a State under this subchapter may be used solely for the purposes for which it is paid. Money so paid which is not used for these purposes shall be returned, at the time specified by the agreement, to the Treasury of the United States and credited to current applicable appropriations, funds, or accounts from which payments to States under this subchapter may be made.

(e)An agreement may—

(1)require each State officer or employee who certifies payments or disburses funds under the agreement, or who otherwise participates in its performance, to give a surety bond to the United States in the amount the Secretary considers necessary; and

(2)provide for payment of the cost of the bond from funds for carrying out the purposes of this subchapter.

(f)In the absence of gross negligence or intent to defraud the United States, an individual designated by the Secretary, or designated under an agreement, as a certifying official is not liable for the payment of compensation certified by him under this subchapter.

(g)In the absence of gross negligence or intent to defraud the United States, a disbursing official is not liable for a payment by him under this subchapter if it was based on a voucher signed by a certifying official designated as provided by subsection (f) of this section.

(h)For the purpose of payments made to a State under subchapter III of chapter 7 of title 42, administration by a State agency under an agreement is deemed a part of the administration of the State unemployment compensation law.

Notes & Related Subsidiaries

Historical and Revision Notes

DerivationU.S. CodeRevised Statutes andStatutes at Large 42 U.S.C. 1366.Sept. 1, 1954, ch. 1212, § 4(a) “Sec. 1506”, 68 Stat. 1133. In the first sentence of subsection (d), the word “may” is substituted for “shall” since the sentence does not direct the use of the money, rather it limits the purposes for which the money may be used. In subsections (f) and (g), the word “official” is substituted for “officer” because of the definition of “officer” in section 2104. Standard changes are made to conform with the definitions applicable and the style of this title as outlined in the preface to the report.

Editorial Notes

Amendments

2004—Subsec. (c). Pub. L. 108–271 substituted “Government Accountability Office” for “General Accounting Office”. 1976—Subsec. (a). Pub. L. 94–566 substituted provisions that each State is entitled to be paid by the United States with respect to each individual whose base period wages included Federal wages an amount which shall bear the same ratio to the total amount of compensation paid to such individual as the amount of his Federal wages in his base period bears to the total amount of his base period wages for provisions that each State is entitled to be paid by the United States an amount equal to the additional cost to the State of payments of compensation in accordance with an agreement under this subchapter which would not have been made by the State but for the agreement. Statutory Notes and Subsidiaries

Effective Date

of 1976 AmendmentAmendment by Pub. L. 94–566 applicable with regard to compensation paid on the basis of claims for compensation filed on or after July 1, 1977, see section 214(c) of Pub. L. 94–566, set out as a note under section 8501 of this title.

§8505 Payments to States