Section 172-2-15 - Responsible Individual Assessment For purposes of assessing liability of an officer, director or member of the employer pursuant to Section 1225 (1-B), the Bureau will rely on the factors set forth in the case of Prescott v. State Tax Assessor, 1998 ME 250, 721 A.2d 169, as follows:
A. It is the assessed person's burden to show that he or she is not a responsible person;B. The term "responsible" is given a broad interpretation, focusing on the individual's status, duty and authority to determine whether bills should, or should not, be paid and when, including the ultimate decision whether the unemployment contributions should be paid when due;C. Responsibility is imposed on all individuals who had the authority and responsibility to avoid the default in paying the contributions when due; each individual is jointly and severally liable for the total amount due;D. Responsibility is based on the function of the individual in the business, not the title or level of office held;E. The individual assessed must have exercised authority over the financial affairs or general management of the business, or must have had a duty to do so; this control does not have to be exclusive to the individual being assessed;F. Indicia of responsibility to pay the contributions include, but are not limited to, the holding of corporate office, the authority to disburse corporate funds and stock ownership, the ability to hire and fire employees, check-signing authority, and managing of day-to-day responsibilities;G. A superior's instructions to another to not pay the contributions will not relieve that individual of the responsibility; delegating responsibility for financial matters will also not relieve the individual of responsibility; H. The existence of authority in the general management and fiscal decisionmaking of the business, regardless of whether it is exercised, is determinative of the responsibility.12- 172 C.M.R. ch. 2, § 15