Section 172-2-4 - Payments in lieu of contributionsA. Following the end of each calendar month the Bureau shall notify each employer of the amount of benefits paid and chargeable to the employer and shall assess the cumulative amount due, under paragraph A of subsection 11 of Section 1221 of the Employment Security Law. No such assessment shall be issued for a cumulative amount less than $10.00.B. Payments shall be due 30 days after the date of mailing to the last known address of the employer unless an application for redetermination of an assessment is duly filed. If such due date falls on a Sunday or a legal holiday, or on a day which the Governor or the Commissioner of Administrative and Financial Services of the State of Maine or a designee has determined to be a non-work day for the Bureau, then any payment reaching the office of the Bureau, or any duly constituted agent of the Bureau, on the next work day shall be deemed to have been received timely. Due date for payment in the case of a redetermination shall be determined in the same manner as for the original determination.B-1. After receiving an application for redetermination, in accordance with paragraph D of subsection 11 of Section 1221 of the Employment Security Law, the Bureau shall review the calculation of the amount assessed only with respect to whether such amount bears the same ratio to total benefits paid to the claimant during the period as the claimant's base period wages paid by the employer bear to the claimant's total base period wages paid by all employers. Employers liable for payments in lieu of contributions shall pay all amounts assessed when due without regard to the pendency or result of any appeal as to the claimant's eligibility or qualification for benefits. If the result of any such appeal establishes an overpayment to the claimant's benefit account, such overpayment shall be credited to the employer's account only at the time recovery from the claimant is effected. In no event shall an employer liable for payments in lieu of contributions be released from the liability to reimburse its proportionate share of benefits erroneously paid.C. Payments made by mail shall be deemed to have been made timely if postmarked not later than midnight of the due date. If the due date falls on a Saturday, Sunday or a legal holiday, payment shall be deemed to have been made timely if postmarked not later than midnight of the next business day.D. Within 60 days after the effective date of its election, each employer electing to make payments in lieu of contributions, if so required by the Commissioner, shall file a surety bond, or deposit money, or securities, as approved by the Commissioner, in the amount equal to five percent (5%) of the taxable wages paid by such employer for the four completed calendar quarters immediately preceding such effective date, or the four completed calendar quarters immediately preceding any renewal of the bond. If the employer has not paid wages for four completed calendar quarters, the amount of the bond, or deposit of money or securities shall be in the amount fixed by the Commissioner which would most nearly represent a four-calendar quarter period based on the employer's actual payment of wages. The obligation under the bond shall render the surety liable, as though the surety was such employer, to the extent of the bond for any failure of the bonded employer to pay the full amount of payments in lieu of contribution when due, together with any applicable interest and penalties provided for in subsections 3 and 4 of Section 1225 of the Employment Security Law. The bond or other instrument of security shall remain in effect for the entire period of time during which unemployment benefits may be paid to the former employees of the employer, which extends for a minimum of 30 months beyond the date that employment ceased. The amount secured may be increased or renewed at such times as the Commissioner prescribes, as long as the employer continues liable for payments in lieu of contributions.
If the instrument of security is in the form of a deposit account to which the employer has access, the deposit account must specify that it is for the benefit of the Treasurer, State of Maine, as custodian for the Maine Department of Labor. The account must be established in a manner that prohibits the employer from making withdrawals from the account without approval from the Bureau.
12- 172 C.M.R. ch. 2, § 4