New Mexico Administrative Code
Title 11 - LABOR AND WORKERS' COMPENSATION
Chapter 3 - EMPLOYMENT SECURITY
Part 400 - TAX ADMINISTRATION
Section 11.3.400.7 - DEFINITIONS

A. "Account" means the employer account, identified by an account number, established and maintained by each employer, or employer member of a group account, for the purpose of determining liability for contributions or payments in lieu of contributions and includes a record of all unemployment insurance activity including benefit charge allocations, contributions and wages from which benefits to eligible claimants can be determined.

B. "Agency" means any officer, board, commission, or other authority charged with the administration of the unemployment compensation law of a participating jurisdiction.

C. "Alternate base period" means the last four completed quarters immediately preceding the first day of the claimant's benefit year.

D. "Annual payroll" means the total taxable amount of payment from an employer for employment during a 12-month period ending on a computation date.

E. "Base period" means the first four of the last five completed quarters as provided in Subsection A of Section 51-1-42 NMSA 1978 or the alternate base period.

F. "Base-period employers " means the employer of an individual during the individual's base period.

G. "Base-period wages" means the wages of an individual for insured work during the individual's base period on the basis of which the individual's benefit rights were determined.

H. "Benefit charges" means the dollar amounts allocated or accrued to an employer's account for unemployment benefits paid to individuals.

I. "Benefit payments used to calculate the average benefit cost rate" means all unemployment compensation benefits and state extended benefits paid from the trust fund to claimants with wages from non-reimbursable covered employment.

J. "Benefit ratio" means the result determined by dividing an employer's benefit charges by the employer's taxable payroll.

K. "Common ownership" means that two or more businesses are substantially owned, managed or controlled by the same person or persons.

L. "Computation date" means for each calendar year the close of business on June 30 of the preceding calendar year.

M. "Contributions" means the tax payments required by Section 51-1-9 NMSA 1978 to be made into the fund by an employer on account of having individuals performing services for the employer.

N. "Contribution rate" means the rate applicable to the tax payments the employer is required to pay into the fund.

O. "Employer's reserve" means the difference between all of the employer's previous years' contribution payments and all of the employer's previous years' benefit charges, divided by the average of the employer's annual payrolls for the immediately preceding fiscal years, up to a maximum of three fiscal years.

P. "Employing enterprise" means a business activity engaged in by an employing unit in which one or more persons have been employed within the current or the three preceding calendar quarters.

Q. "Employment" means services performed by an individual including corporate officers for wages or other payment for an employer that has the right, whether utilized or not, to control or direct the individual in the performance of the services at the employer's place of business which includes all locations where services are performed for the employer under the individual's contract of service and the individual is not customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession or business of the same nature as that involved in the contract of services.

R. "Excess claims premium" means the charge in addition to the contribution rate applicable to the employer if an employer's contribution rate is calculated to be greater than five and four-tenths percent, provided that an employer's excess claims premium shall not exceed one percent of the employer's annual payroll.

S. "Experience history factor" means the determination based on the employer's reserve which is the difference between all of the employer's previous years' contribution payments and all of the employer's previous years' benefit charges, divided by the average of the employer's annual payrolls for the immediately preceding fiscal years, to a maximum of three fiscal years.

T. "Good cause" means a substantial reason, one that affords a legal excuse, or a legally sufficient ground or reason. In determining whether good cause has been shown for permitting an untimely action or excusing the failure to act as required, the department may consider any relevant factors including, but not limited to, whether the party acted in the manner that a reasonably prudent individual would have acted under the same or similar circumstances, whether the party received timely notice of the need to act, whether there was administrative error by the department, whether there were factors outside the control of the party that prevented a timely action, the efforts made by the party to seek an extension of time by promptly notifying the department, the party's physical inability to take timely action, the length of time the action was untimely, and whether any other interested party has been prejudiced by the untimely action. However, good cause cannot be established to accept or permit an untimely action or to excuse the failure to act, as required, that was caused by the claimant's, failure to keep the department directly and promptly informed of the claimant's correct email or postal mailing address or the employer's or employing unit's failure to keep the department directly and promptly informed of the employer's or employing unit's correct email address. A written decision concerning the existence of good cause need not contain findings of fact on every relevant factor, but the basis for the decision must be apparent from the order.

U. "Group account" means the account, identified by an account number, established for two or more employers whose application to become liable for payments in lieu of contributions and for sharing the cost of benefits paid by them, has been approved by the department in accordance with Subsection E of Section 51-1-13 NMSA 1978.

V. "Group member" means any employer who has become associated with another or others to form a group account.

W. "Interested agency" means the agency of an interested jurisdiction.

X. "Interested jurisdiction" means any participating jurisdiction to which an election submitted under this rule is sent for its approval.

Y. "Jurisdiction" means any state of the United States, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands or, with respect to the federal government, the coverage of any federal unemployment compensation law.

Z. "Knowingly" means having actual knowledge of or acting with deliberate ignorance of or reckless disregard for the prohibition involved.

AA. "Participating jurisdiction" means a jurisdiction whose administrative agency has subscribed to the interstate reciprocal coverage arrangement and whose adherence thereto has not terminated.

BB. "Payment in lieu of contributions" means nonprofit employers or governmental agencies that elect to pay the division for the fund an amount equal to the amount of regular benefits and of one-half of the extended benefits paid, that is attributable to service in the employ of such nonprofit organization or governmental agency, to individuals of weeks of unemployment that begin during the effective period of such election.

CC. "Predecessor" means the owner and operator of an employing enterprise immediately prior to the transfer of such enterprise.

DD. "Reserve factor" means the annual factor determined by the department that is necessary to ensure that the unemployment trust fund sustains an adequate reserve.

EE. "Services customarily performed by an individual in more than one jurisdiction" means services performed in more than one jurisdiction during a reasonable period, if the nature of the services gives reasonable assurance that they will continue to be performed in more than one jurisdiction or if such services are required or expected to be performed in more than one jurisdiction under the election.

FF. "Successor" means any person or entity that acquires an employing enterprise and continues to operate such business entity.

GG. "Taxable year" means the calendar year beginning the first day of January and ending the last day of December.

HH. "Total wages for the purpose of computing the reserve ratio and the benefit cost rate" means all wages paid to covered employees for payroll periods ending in a calendar year as reported on the quarterly census of employment and wages.

II. "Trust fund balance" means the trust fund balance on deposit with the U.S. treasury in the state's account as of June 30 that includes only funds that will be used for payments of benefits to claimants.

JJ. "Violates or attempts to violate" means intent to evade, a misrepresentation or a willful nondisclosure.

KK. "Wages" means all remuneration for services, including commissions, bonuses or unpaid loans to employees and the cash value of all remuneration in any medium other than cash.