(1) A political subdivision shall pay into the Local Government Employer Benefit Trust Fund a percentage of the gross wages it pays to individuals in employment subject to ORS chapter 657, except that minor adjustments to wages in a calendar quarter on which payments have previously been made may not result in either a credit to the employer or an additional amount due the fund. The percentage shall be as determined in subsections (2) to (6) of this section.
(2) As soon as possible after June 30 of each year, the Employment Department shall for each political subdivision determine the benefit cost rate and the account reserve ratio applicable as of that June 30.
(3) The percentage rate assigned to a political subdivision whose account has been potentially chargeable with benefits for each of the last four calendar quarters ending on the June 30 immediately preceding the determination shall be the benefit cost rate of the political subdivision plus one-third of the difference obtained by subtracting the political subdivision’s account reserve ratio from 1.5 times the political subdivision’s benefit cost rate. The resulting rate shall be rounded up to the nearest one-tenth of one percent. A political subdivision’s rate shall be not less than one-tenth of one percent nor more than five percent.
(4) The percentage rate assigned to a political subdivision whose account has not been potentially chargeable with benefits for each of the last four quarters ending on the immediately preceding June 30 shall be the greater of one percent or 1.5 times the aggregate benefit cost rate for the cost rate period ending on that June 30.
(5) Notwithstanding subsections (3) and (4) of this section, a local government employer with an account balance on June 30 that is less than five percent of the taxable wage base currently in effect may not be assigned a rate of:
(a) Less than two percent if the payroll of the employer was less than $25,000 during the four most recently completed calendar quarters;
(b) Less than one percent if the payroll of the employer was $25,000 or more but less than $50,000 during the four most recently completed calendar quarters;
(c) Less than one-half of one percent if the payroll of the employer was $50,000 or more but less than $100,000 during the four most recently completed calendar quarters; or
(d) Less than two-tenths of one percent if the payroll of the employer was $100,000 or more during the four most recently completed calendar quarters.
(6) Percentages determined in subsections (3) to (5) of this section shall be applicable for the four-calendar-quarter period beginning July 1 of the year immediately following the determination.
(7)(a) In addition to the payment made into the fund under subsections (1) to (6) of this section, any political subdivision that has a negative account balance at the end of a calendar quarter and had a negative account balance at the end of each of the three immediately preceding calendar quarters shall make additional payments into the fund during each of the next four calendar quarters. The additional payment required shall be computed as follows, with all computations omitting cents:
(A) Multiply the gross payroll reported by the employer during the four most recent calendar quarters by the current percentage rate of payment into the fund.
(B) Subtract the amount of benefits attributable to the employer that was reimbursed from the fund during the most recent four calendar quarters from the product determined in subparagraph (A) of this paragraph.
(C) If the remainder obtained in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph is more than zero, subtract the remainder from the negative balance of the account.
(D) If the remainder in subparagraph (B) of this paragraph is zero or less, make no adjustment to the amount of the negative balance of the account.
(E) Divide the amounts determined in either subparagraph (C) or (D) of this paragraph by four. The resulting amount shall be the additional payment required for each quarter.
(b) Only one such determination shall be made in any four-quarter period. If the negative balance is eliminated before the end of the four quarters in which the additional payments were determined necessary, no further additional payments will be required under this subsection.
(8) During the first four calendar quarters in which a political subdivision is a participant in the fund, additional payments shall be required if the account balance of the political subdivision is negative at the end of any of the four quarters. The additional payment shall be determined in the same manner described in subsection (7) of this section except that the computation in subsection (7)(a)(A) and (B) of this section shall include only those quarters in which the political subdivision was a participant in the fund.
(9) Employers subject to the provisions of this section may request a refund of amounts in excess of the amount required to obtain the minimum contribution rate. [1977 c.491 §5; 1981 c.5 §1; 1983 c.53 §2; 1989 c.135 §3; 1993 c.778 §3; 2007 c.71 §92]
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