Ariz. Admin. Code § 6-3-1712

Current through Register Vol. 30, No. 24, June 14, 2024

Section R6-3-1712 - Joint, Multiple, and Combined Employer Experience Rating Accounts

A. Joint experience rating accounts

1. Joint experience rating account means a combined experience rating account established for 2 or more employers owned or controlled directly or indirectly by the same interests.

2. Employers may request establishment of a joint experience rating account by sending the Department a written request before March 1 of the calendar year for which the joint experience rating account is sought. The request shall identify all employers to be included as members in the joint experience rating account and provide documentation that the members are owned or controlled directly or indirectly by the same interests.

3. The Department shall approve a request for a joint experience rating account when:

a. The request is received before March 1 of the calendar year for which the joint experience rating account is sought;

b. Each member identified in the request is owned or controlled directly or indirectly by the same interests; and

c. The experience rating account of each member has been chargeable with benefits throughout the 12 consecutive calendar months ending on June 30 of the year preceding the calendar year for which the joint experience rating account is requested.

4. The average annual payroll for a joint experience rating account shall be the sum of the average annual payrolls of the members of such account.

5. A member of a joint experience rating account may withdraw from a joint account as of January 1 of any year after participating in the joint account for at least 2 calendar years. To withdraw, the member shall file a written request for withdrawal before March 1 of the calendar year for which the withdrawal is sought. Upon approval of the withdrawal:

a. The Department shall give the withdrawing member the member's portion of the joint experience rating account and a contribution rate computed on the member's separate experience, and

b. The Department shall give the remaining members a contribution rate computed on the experience of the remaining members.

6. The Department shall remove a member from a joint experience rating account when the Department determines that common ownership or control has ceased to exist between 2 or more members of a joint account:

a. The Department shall give the removed member, as of the date of the change of common ownership or control, a separate experience rating account and a contribution rate computed on the removed member's portion of the joint experience rating account;

b. The remaining members shall:

i. Retain the contribution rate of the joint experience rating account for the remainder of the calendar year in which the change occurred; and

ii. Receive a contribution rate for the following calendar year computed on the basis of the experience of the remaining members.

B. Multiple experience rating accounts.

1. Multiple experience rating account means an experience rating account established for an employer which permits separate employer account numbers and quarterly reports for separately identified operations of the employer.

2. The Department may approve a request for a multiple experience rating account effective with the year in which the employer submits a written application for such account.

3. The notices of benefit charges sent to the employer shall identify charges to each operation, but the contribution rate for the employer shall be a single rate based on the combined experience of all operations.

4. Upon written request of the employer, the Department shall close 1 or more separate accounts in a multiple experience rating account and transfer the experience to a remaining account of the employer as of the beginning of the calendar year of the written request.

5. When an operation which is a part of a multiple account is sold or transferred, the Department shall transfer the experience rating reserve if the provisions of A.R.S. § 23-733 and A.A.C. R6-3-1713 are met.

C. Combined experience rating accounts

1. Combines experience rating account means an experience rating account established for an employer which requires separate employer account numbers, quarterly reports, and charge notices for separately identified operations that meet more than 1 of the coverage provisions described below, except that a combined account will not be established for agricultural employers if the employees covered under general coverage are in the agricultural industry. The contribution rate for the employer is a single rate based on the combined experience of all operations.

a. General coverage means coverage on the basis of employment of 1 or more individuals for 20 weeks in a calendar year, payment of $1500 or more wages in a calendar quarter, successorship, common ownership or control, voluntary election, or coverage under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act.

b. Agricultural coverage means coverage on the basis of employment of 10 or more individuals in agricultural labor for 20 weeks in a calendar year or payment of cash wages of $20,000 or more in a calendar quarter, voluntary election, successorship, or coverage under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act.

c. Domestic coverage means coverage on the basis of payment of cash wages of $1000 or more in a calendar quarter for domestic service, voluntary election, successorship, or coverage under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act.

2. The Department shall establish a combined experience rating account only on its own initiative for the reasons set forth in this Article.

3. The Department shall not permit the members to voluntarily withdraw from a combined account.

4. The Department shall remove a member of a combined account when a change of ownership occurs as provided in R6-3-1713 and A.R.S. § 23-733.

5. If the operation of a member of a combined experience rating account qualifies for termination under the provisions of A.R.S. § 23-725, the Department shall terminate the experience of the member's account and assign a rate for the combined experience rating account of the remaining members for the next calendar year, based on the remaining members' own experience.

Ariz. Admin. Code § R6-3-1712

Former Regulation 40-9; Amended effective March 28, 1978 (Supp. 78-2). Amended by deleting language prior to subsection (A) and amending subsection (A), paragraph (2) (Supp. 80-4). Correction, Historical Note for Supp. 80-4 should read effective July 9, 1980 (Supp. 80-6). Amended effective February 7, 1984 (Supp. 84-1). Amended effective December 20, 1995 (Supp. 95-4).