§1513. Penalty and interest account
A.(1) There is hereby created in the employment security administration fund an account which shall be known as the penalty and interest account. All interest, fines, and penalties, regardless of when they became due and payable, collected from employers and claimants under the provisions of this Chapter shall, notwithstanding provisions of R.S. 23:1491, 1543, and 1551, be paid into this account, except as otherwise provided by this Chapter, and shall at no time be considered to be a part of the unemployment compensation fund.
(2) Said monies shall not be expended or available for expenditure in any manner which would permit their substitution for, or a corresponding reduction in, federal funds which in the absence of said monies would be made available to the administrator for the administration of this Chapter. But nothing in this Section shall prevent said monies from being used as a revolving account, to cover expenditures necessary and proper under the law for which federal funds have been duly requested but not yet received, subject to the charging of such expenditures against such funds when received.
(3) Said account shall be used by the administrator for the payment of costs and charges of administration which are found by the appropriate federal agency not to be a proper and valid charge out of any funds granted by the federal government and to reimburse the employment security administration fund to the extent possible, under conditions provided in R.S. 23:1512.
(4) Refunds of interest, fines, or penalties allowable under R.S. 23:1551 shall be made from this account, provided such interest, penalties, and fines were deposited in said account. In the cases where an employer takes credit for a previous overpayment of interest, fine, or penalty on contributions due by such employer, the amount of such credit taken for such overpayment of interest, fine, or penalty shall be reimbursed to the unemployment compensation fund from the penalty and interest account.
B. All monies in this account shall be deposited, administered, and disbursed, in the same manner and under the same conditions and requirements as is provided by law for other monies in the employment security administration fund except that monies in this account shall not be commingled with other funds, but they shall be maintained in a separate account in the books of the depository. Any balances in this account shall not lapse at any time, but shall be continuously available for expenditure in the following order of priority:
(1) To pay costs and fees for the collection of delinquent monies owed under this Chapter.
(2) To administer the following labor laws:
(a) Apprenticeship (R.S. 23:381 et seq.)
(b) Minor labor laws (R.S. 23:151 et seq.)
(c) Medical and other examinations (R.S. 23:897)
(d) Private employment services (R.S. 23:101 et seq.)
(e) Interference with individual rights (R.S. 23:961 et seq.)
(3) To provide for any other special services, projects, or needs of the commission as determined necessary and appropriate by the secretary.
C.(1) All interest, fines, and penalties, regardless of when the same became due and payable collected under the provisions of Chapters 2, 3, 4, and 9 of this Title shall be paid into this account and shall be dedicated, pledged, and expended for the administration of the following labor laws regardless of the date such monies are expended:
(a) Apprenticeship (R.S. 23:381 et seq.)
(b) Minor labor laws (R.S. 23:151 et seq.)
(c) Medical and other examinations (R.S. 23:897)
(d) Private employment services (R.S. 23:101 et seq.)
(e) Interference with individual rights (R.S. 23:961 et seq.)
(2) However, all such monies under this Subsection shall be expended for the administration of labor laws enumerated in this Subsection before any monies collected from employers under the provisions of this Chapter and disbursed under Subsection B of this Section are expended for the administration of labor laws enumerated under this Subsection.
Added by Acts 1950, No. 498, §4; Acts 1997, No. 1114, §1, eff. July 14, 1997; Acts 2008, No. 743, §7, eff. July 1, 2008; Acts 2012, No. 344, §1; Acts 2014, No. 349, §1.