Current through Register Vol. 35, No. 6, March 26, 2024
All combined-wage claims shall be subject to the provisions
of the interstate arrangement for combining employment and wages, the
interstate benefit payment plan, the regulations and guidelines prescribed by
the United States secretary of labor, and the applicable provisions of the
Unemployment Compensation Law and department regulations which apply to claims
for and payment of regular unemployment compensation.
A. FILING OF CLAIMS:
(1) An unemployed claimant who has covered
employment and wages in more than one state has the right to combine such wages
and employment in the base period of one state if the combination will provide
benefits for which the claimant could not otherwise qualify or will increase
the benefits for which the claimant qualifies in a single state. The claimant
must file a combined-wage claim if the claimant is eligible to do so rather
than claim extended benefits. If the claimant wishes, the claimant has the
right to reject a combined-wage and file against a state in which the claimant
is separately eligible or to cancel the combined-wage claim and file no
claim.
(2) Restrictions on
combined-wage claims:
(a) any unemployed
claimant who has covered employment in New Mexico and in another state may file
a combined-wage claim unless:
(i) the claimant
has established a valid claim under any other state;
(ii) the benefit year has not ended;
and
(iii) there are still unused
benefit rights; a claimant will not be considered to have unused benefit rights
on a prior claim if all benefits have been exhausted or benefits have been
denied by a seasonal restriction or benefits have been postponed for an
indefinite period or for the remainder of the benefit year;
(b) if a claimant files a
combined-wage claim, all wages and employment in all states in which the
claimant worked during the base period of the paying state must be included
except employment and wages which are not transferable under the provisions of
Subsection C of 11.3.300.311 NMAC.
B. RESPONSIBILITIES OF NEW MEXICO WHEN
TRANSFERRING WAGES:
(1) Wages earned in New
Mexico in covered employment during the base period of the combined wage claim
filed by a claimant will be promptly transferred to the paying state.
(2) Wages earned in New Mexico will not be
transferred if the employment and wages have been:
(a) transferred to another paying state and
have not been returned unused, or which have been previously used by New Mexico
as the basis for a monetary determination which establishes a benefit year,
or
(b) cancelled or are otherwise
unavailable to the claimant as a result of a monetary determination by New
Mexico prior to its receipt of the request for transfer, if such determination
has become final or is the subject of a pending appeal; if the appeal is
finally decided in favor of the combined-wage claimant, any employment and
wages deemed eligible for use as wages in establishing monetary eligibility
will be transferred to the paying state.
C. NON-MONETARY ELIGIBILITY DETERMINATION:
When a combined-wage claim is filed, the law and eligibility requirements of
the paying state apply even if an issue has been previously adjudicated by a
transferring state.
D. CONDITIONS
FOR WITHDRAWAL OF A COMBINED WAGE CLAIM: A combined-wage claimant may withdraw
the combined-wage claim any time before the monetary determination of the
paying state becomes final, provided that the combined-wage claimant:
(1) repays in full any benefits paid to the
claimant; or
(2) authorizes the
state against which the claimant will claim benefits to withhold and forward to
the former paying state a full repayment of benefits.
E. RECOVERY OF PRIOR OVERPAYMENTS: If there
is an overpayment outstanding in the transferring state, including New Mexico,
and such transferring state so requests, the overpayment shall be deducted from
any benefits the paying state would otherwise pay to the combined-wage claimant
on the combined-wage claim except to the extent prohibited by the law of the
paying state. The paying state shall transmit the amount deducted to the
transferring state or credit the transferring state's required reimbursement
under the arrangement. This paragraph shall apply to overpayments only if the
transferring state certifies to the paying state that the determination of
overpayment was made within three years before the combined-wage claim was
filed and that repayment is legally required and enforceable against the
combined-wage claimant under the law of the transferring state.
F. NOTIFICATION AND APPEALS:
(1) A combined-wage claimant will receive a
monetary determination notice from the paying state once the wage information
from all states is received. The claimant has the right to appeal any aspect of
the monetary determination. The appeal may be against either the paying state
or the transferring state depending upon which agency issued the determination
which the combined-wage claimant considers adverse to the claimant's interest.
If the transferring state refused to transfer wages because the wage credits
were cancelled under a disqualification or because the work was not covered,
the combined-wage claimant will be sent an appealable determination by the
transferring state.
(2) Except as
provided in this rule, when the claimant files a combined-wage claim in the
paying state, any protest or appeal shall be in accordance with the law of such
state.
(a) Where the combined-wage claimant
files a combined-wage claim in a state other than the paying state or under the
circumstances described in this rule, any protest or appeal shall be in
accordance with the interstate benefit payment plan.
(b) To the extent that any protest or appeal
involves a dispute as to the coverage of the employing unit or services in the
transferring state or otherwise involves the amount of wages subject to
transfer, the protest or appeal shall be decided by the transferring state in
accordance with its law.
