Rule 300-2-3-.18 - Partial Transfer of Employment Experience(1) Partial transfers of experience shall be subject to the mandatory and prohibited successorship provisions in subsections (g) and (h) of O.C.G.A. Section 34-8-153. The department shall consider, without limitation, the factors listed in Section 300-2-3-.17 to determine the applicability of subsections (g) and (h) of O.C.G.A. Section 34-8-153 to partial transfers of employment experience. Pursuant to Section 303(k) of the federal Social Security Act, as amended by the SUTA-Dumping Prevention Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-295), the requirements of mandatory and prohibited transfers of unemployment experience rates of contribution stated therein shall be applicable effective January 1, 2006 to all transfers of experience on or after that date attributable to transfers of any part of an existing trade or business, including transfers of any clearly identifiable or separable portion of the organization.(2) When successorship is not otherwise required or prohibited, upon mutual agreement by both predecessor and successor, partial transfer of employment experience and payroll records of an employer may be approved if:(a) A clearly identifiable or separable portion of the organization, trade or business was transferred as provided in O.C.G.A. Section 34-8-153.(b) The acquiring unit continues to operate the acquired portion of such organization, trade or business and is a liable employer or becomes liable as provided by O.C.G.A. Section 34-8-153. 1. Where the successor is an employer or becomes an employer, application and agreement signed by both predecessor and successor are made by the successor employer within the two (2) calendar quarters following the quarter in which the acquisition occurred;2. For good cause shown, time for filing such application may be extended not exceeding thirty (30) days;3. Application and agreement shall be made on Georgia Department of Labor forms and shall include payroll and other information as required by such form; and(c) Notice of said transfer was made as provided by Rule 300-2-2-.02.(3) The predecessor and successor employers, after the formal application shall, upon request, file with the Georgia Department of Labor such other reports and forms as are deemed necessary.(4) Upon receipt of the application and agreement, a transfer percentage will be determined by relating the total taxable payroll of the acquired portion for the eighteen (18) month period immediately preceding the date of acquisition to the total taxable payroll of the predecessor for the same period. In cases where taxable payroll information for the eighteen (18) month period is not available, taxable payroll for a lesser period may be used.(5) When not otherwise required or prohibited, where the successor is a liable employer and acquires a liable employer and, at the time of acquisition, the predecessor's tax rate is higher than that of the successor, the successor's current rate shall continue until the end of the calendar year. The experience history of the predecessor shall not be transferred to the successor. If the predecessor's tax rate at the time of acquisition is lower than or equal to the rate of the successor, the experience history shall be transferred to the successor and used in future rate calculations.(6) When not otherwise required or prohibited, where a successor who is not a liable employer acquires an existing business and, at the time of acquisition, the tax rate is greater than the new employer rate, the successor shall be assigned the new employer tax rate. The experience history of the predecessor shall not be transferred to the successor. The successor shall retain the new tax rate until eligible for a rate computation based on the successor's own experience history.(7) When not otherwise required or prohibited, where a successor who is not a liable employer acquires an existing business and, at the time of acquisition, the predecessor's tax rate is lower than the new employer tax rate, the experience history shall be transferred to the successor, and the successor shall retain the predecessor's tax rate for the remainder of the calendar year. The successor's tax rate for future years will be computed based on the combined experience history of the predecessor and successor.(8) When not otherwise required or prohibited, where a successor employer acquires multiple predecessors, the experience history of any predecessor with a tax rate lower than the new employer tax rate shall be transferred, but the experience history of any predecessor with a tax rate higher than the new employer tax rate shall not be transferred.(9) Termination of an employing unit's unemployment experience history account means the employer either has ceased doing business in Georgia, with no reasonable expectation or intention to resume doing business in Georgia in the future, or the employer has fallen below the threshold of minimum coverage for a particular category of employer as more fully described in O.C.G.A. Section 34-8-33. For example, an agricultural employer which no longer has ten or more individuals in the employ, or a non-profit employer which no longer has four or more individuals in its employ may request termination of coverage. In either event, an employer must specifically request, in writing, termination of its account, and specify the reason for the termination. A statement to the effect that the employer no longer has employees or has ceased doing business shall not suffice as a request for termination, but shall constitute grounds for inactivation of an account. (a) Inactivation of an account means the account may be re-activated in the future. In such event, the unemployment insurance experience tax rate history of the account remains, and will be merged with future experience for purposes of tax rate calculation.(b) The unemployment insurance experience tax rate history of a terminated account ceases to exist. In the remote event such an employer were to reactivate its account in the future, it would be assigned a new employer rate, without regard for its prior tax rate history or experience.Ga. Comp. R. & Regs. R. 300-2-3-.18
O.C.G.A. Secs. 34-8-70, 34-8-33, 34-8-153, 34-8-157, 42 U.S.C. 503(k), SUTA-Dumping Prevention Act of 2004 (P.L. 108-295).
Original Rule entitled "Partial Transfer of Employment Experience" adopted. F. June 25, 1998; eff. July 15, 1998.Amended: F. Dec. 9, 2005; eff. Jan. 1, 2006, as specified by the Agency.