1.1                          A bill for an act 
  1.2             relating to economic development; providing extra 
  1.3             unemployment benefits for certain workers laid off 
  1.4             from Fingerhut Companies, Incorporated, Farmland Foods 
  1.5             Company, and airline and airline-related industries.  
  1.6   BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF MINNESOTA: 
  1.7      Section 1.  [AIRLINE AND RELATED INDUSTRIES EXTRA 
  1.8   BENEFITS.] 
  1.9      Subdivision 1.  [EXTRA BENEFITS; AVAILABILITY.] Extra 
  1.10  unemployment benefits are available to an applicant: 
  1.11     (1) who has a benefit account effective March 11, 2001, or 
  1.12  thereafter if the applicant was laid off due to lack of work 
  1.13  from Northwest Airlines, Sun Country Airlines, Mark Travel 
  1.14  Corporation, Mesaba Airlines, United Airlines, MLT Vacations, 
  1.15  Carlson WagonLit Travel, LSG Sky Chefs, Air Wisconsin, American 
  1.16  Airlines, American TransAir, Champion Air, Chautaugua Airlines, 
  1.17  Continental Airlines, Emery Worldwide Air, Great Lakes Airlines, 
  1.18  PanAm International, Skyway Airlines, and U.S. Airways; 
  1.19     (2) who was laid off on or after January 1, 2002, due to 
  1.20  lack of work from Fingerhut Companies, Incorporated; or 
  1.21     (3) who was laid off due to a lack of work on or after July 
  1.22  8, 2001, from the Farmland Foods Company in Freeborn county.  
  1.23     Subd. 2.  [PAYMENT FROM FUND; EFFECT ON EMPLOYER.] Extra 
  1.24  unemployment benefits are payable from the fund.  
  1.25     Subd. 3.  [ELIGIBILITY CONDITIONS.] An applicant described 
  2.1   under subdivision 1, clause (1), is eligible to receive extra 
  2.2   unemployment benefits under this section for any week through 
  2.3   March 15, 2003, an applicant described under subdivision 1, 
  2.4   clause (2), is eligible to receive extra unemployment benefits 
  2.5   under this section for any week through January 3, 2004, and an 
  2.6   applicant described under subdivision 1, clause (3), is eligible 
  2.7   to receive extra unemployment benefits under this section for 
  2.8   any week through July 1, 2003, if:  
  2.9      (1) a majority of the applicant's wage credits were with an 
  2.10  employer specified under subdivision 1; 
  2.11     (2) the applicant meets the eligibility requirements of 
  2.12  Minnesota Statutes, section 268.085; 
  2.13     (3) the applicant is not subject to a disqualification 
  2.14  under Minnesota Statutes, section 268.095; 
  2.15     (4) the applicant is not entitled to any regular, 
  2.16  additional, or extended unemployment benefits for that week and 
  2.17  the applicant is not entitled to receive unemployment benefits 
  2.18  under any other state or federal law for that week; 
  2.19     (5) the applicant is enrolled in, or has within the last 
  2.20  two weeks successfully completed, a program that qualifies as 
  2.21  reemployment assistance training under the state dislocated 
  2.22  worker program, except that an applicant whose training is 
  2.23  scheduled to begin in more than 30 days may be considered to be 
  2.24  in training if:  (i) the applicant's chosen training program 
  2.25  does not offer an available start date within 30 days; (ii) the 
  2.26  applicant is scheduled to begin training on the earliest 
  2.27  available start date for the chosen training program; and (iii) 
  2.28  the applicant is scheduled to begin training in no more than 60 
  2.29  days; and 
  2.30     (6) an applicant qualifies for a new regular benefit 
  2.31  account at any time after exhausting regular unemployment 
  2.32  benefits as a result of the layoff under subdivision 1, the 
  2.33  applicant must apply for and exhaust entitlement to those new 
  2.34  regular or any other type of unemployment benefits under any 
  2.35  state or federal law. 
  2.36     Subd. 4.  [WEEKLY AMOUNT OF EXTRA BENEFITS.] The weekly 
  3.1   extra unemployment benefits amount available to an applicant is 
  3.2   the same as the applicant's weekly regular unemployment benefit 
  3.3   amount on the benefit account established as a result of a 
  3.4   layoff under subdivision 1. 
  3.5      Subd. 5.  [MAXIMUM AMOUNT OF EXTRA UNEMPLOYMENT 
  3.6   BENEFITS.] The maximum amount of extra unemployment benefits 
  3.7   available is 26 times the applicant's weekly extra unemployment 
  3.8   benefits amount.  Any type of unemployment benefits, under any 
  3.9   state or federal law, the applicant may be entitled to after 
  3.10  exhausting regular unemployment benefits as a result of a layoff 
  3.11  under subdivision 1, shall reduce the maximum amount of extra 
  3.12  unemployment benefits available.  The reduction in total extra 
  3.13  unemployment benefits available shall equal the total amount of 
  3.14  any other type of unemployment benefits available.  
  3.15     Subd. 6.  [PROGRAM EXPIRATION.] This extra unemployment 
  3.16  benefit program expires on January 3, 2004.  No extra 
  3.17  unemployment benefits shall be paid for any week after the 
  3.18  expiration of this program. 
  3.19     Sec. 2.  [EFFECTIVE DATE.] 
  3.20     Section 1 is effective the day following final enactment 
  3.21  and is retroactive to September 16, 2001.