Section 66 Reciprocal arrangements with other states and federal government; reimbursements; investigations; exchange of information, services and facilities; benefits based on combined coverages - Massachusetts Statutes

Section 66. The commissioner is hereby authorized to enter into reciprocal arrangements with appropriate and duly authorized agencies of other states or of the federal government, or both, whereby:

(a) Services performed by an individual for a single employing unit for which services are customarily performed by such individual in more than one state shall be deemed to be services performed entirely within any one of the states in which any part of such individual’s service is performed or in which such individual has his residence or in which the employing unit maintains a place of business, provided there is in effect, as to such services, a request by the employing unit, approved by the agency charged with the administration of such state’s unemployment compensation law, pursuant to which all the services performed by such individual for such employing unit are deemed to be performed entirely within such state;

(b) Potential rights to benefits accumulated under the unemployment compensation laws of one or more states or under one or more such laws of the federal government, or both, may constitute the basis for the payment of benefits through a single appropriate agency under terms which the commissioner finds will be fair and reasonable as to all affected interests and will not result in any substantial loss to the fund;

(c) Wages or services, upon the basis of which an individual may become entitled to benefits under an unemployment compensation law of another state or of the federal government, shall be deemed to be wages for employment for the purpose of determining his rights to benefits under this chapter, and wages for employment, on the basis of which an individual may become entitled to benefits under this chapter shall be deemed to be wages or services on the basis of which unemployment compensation under such law of another state or of the federal government is payable, but no such arrangement as provided in this section shall be entered into unless it contains provisions for reimbursements to the fund for such of the benefits paid under this chapter upon the basis of such wages or services, and provisions for reimbursements from the fund for such of the compensation paid under such other law upon the basis of wages for employment, as the commissioner finds will be fair and reasonable as to all affected interests; and

(d) Contributions due under this section with respect to wages for employment shall for the purposes of section fourteen be deemed to have been paid to the Unemployment Compensation Fund as of the date payment was made as contributions therefor under another state or federal unemployment compensation law, but no such arrangement shall be entered into unless it contains provisions for such reimbursement to the Unemployment Compensation Fund of such contributions and the actual earnings thereon as the commissioner finds will be fair and reasonable as to all affected interests.

(e) Reimbursements paid from said fund pursuant to subsection (c) of this section shall be deemed to be benefits for the purposes of this chapter. The commissioner is authorized to make to other state or federal agencies and to receive from such other state or federal agencies, reimbursements from or to said fund, in accordance with arrangements entered into pursuant to provisions of this section.

(f) The commissioner is hereby authorized to make such investigations, secure and transmit such information, make available such services and facilities and exercise such of the other powers provided herein with respect to the administration of this chapter as he deems necessary or appropriate to facilitate the administration of any such unemployment compensation or public employment service law, and in like manner, to accept and utilize information, services and facilities made available to this commonwealth by the agency charged with the administration of any such other unemployment compensation or public employment service law.

(g) The commissioner shall participate in any arrangements for the payment of benefits on the basis of combining an individual’s wages and employment covered under this chapter with his wages and employment covered under the unemployment compensation laws of other states which are approved by the United States Secretary of Labor in consultation with the state unemployment compensation agencies as reasonably calculated to assure the prompt and full payment of benefits in such situations and which includes provisions for (1) applying the base period of a single state law to a claim involving the combining of an individual’s wages and employment covered under two or more state unemployment compensation laws, and (2) avoiding the duplicate use of wages and employment by reason of such combining.