La. Admin. Code tit. 13 § I-717

Current through Register Vol. 50, No. 11, November 20, 2024

Section I-717 - Annual Employee Certification

A. An annual employee certification report (ECR) must be filed with the business incentive services by May 31 on all active contracts validating program compliance. An ECR fee of $250 shall be submitted with the report. Failure to file may result in contract cancellation. One extension of up to 60 days may be granted if requested in writing, if the request is received prior to the due date of the ECR.

1. Employee certification report filings shall report company employees working at the project site for a 12-month period, and shall be due within six months of the anniversary of the contract effective date, or the Governor's signature on the contract, whichever is later.

2. In the case of early contract terminations, a company may submit final employee certification reports containing data for varying project time periods as approved in writing by the department.

3. The department may request additional information necessary to verify benefit eligibility. The company must provide all requested information, or other documentation as approved by the department, within 180 days. Failure to do so within the prescribed timeframe shall result in the expiration of the ECR and require re-submission.

4. If the employee certification report is submitted after the filing deadline, the amount of the job tax credit shall be reduced by five percent for each month or portion of a month late, up to a maximum reduction of 100 percent after 20 months.

a. Except as otherwise approved by the secretary for good cause shown. Good cause may include but not be limited to events beyond the reasonable control of the parties, such as an act of God, an act of war, an act of terrorism, a cyberattack, or a natural disaster due to earthquake, landslide, fire, flood, tornado, tropical storm or hurricane. The business shall have the burden to establish good cause.

B. If the employee certification report substantiates that the business has not created the permanent full-time net new jobs required for program eligibility, the board shall cancel the contract and the business shall refund all credits and rebates received. If not timely paid in compliance with the contract, the department will notify Department of Revenue of the contract violation, and the business will be subject to the provisions of §737

C. For projects with advance notifications filed with business incentives services prior to June 21, 2013, the annual employee certification process will be performed in accordance with prior policy and practice in place at the time of the filing of the advance notification.

D. A business may request that its contract be terminated and that it no longer be required to file an ECR if:

1. the contract has been in effect for at least 30 months; and

2. the business has met all of the requirements of the program.

E. While companies may elect to terminate contracts prior to their scheduled expiration date, early terminations may not be conducted in such a manner as to abuse the purpose and intent of the program to be limited to a period of five years. Therefore, companies that elect early contract termination shall be restricted from applying for a new contract at the same project site until the end of the five year period, as outlined in the contract.

La. Admin. Code tit. 13, § I-717

Promulgated by the Department of Economic Development, Office of Business Development, LR 29:2301 (November 2003), amended LR 37:2373 (August 2011), LR 40:494 (March 2014), Amended LR 42867 (6/1/2016), Amended by the Department of Economic Development, Office of Business Development, LR 47856 (7/1/2021).

AUTHORITY NOTE: Promulgated in accordance with R.S. 51:1786(5).