Benefit recovery fund - recovery benefits - eligible individuals - third-party administrator - definitions - rules - access to personal information or tax data to administer fund - confidentiality r

8-73-116. Benefit recovery fund - recovery benefits - eligible individuals - third-party administrator - definitions - rules - access to personal information or tax data to administer fund - confidentiality requirements. (1) As used in this section: (a) Department means the department of labor and employment. (b) Eligible individual means an individual who, regardless of immigration status: (I) Has separated from employment through no fault of the individual due to one or more of the factors outlined in section 8-73-108 (4); (II) Received income from employment during a qualified base period or alternative base period as defined in section 8-70-103; (III) Attests that the individual is not currently receiving any state-administered wage replacement assistance; (IV) Is not eligible for state-administered wage replacement assistance for reasons related to the individual's authorization to work; and (V) Has a pay stub or form W-2 to verify the individual's employment and wage withholding. (c) Fund means the benefit recovery fund created in subsection (2) of this section. (d) Recovery benefits means benefits calculated pursuant to subsection (5) of this section. (e) Third-party administrator means an entity with which the division contracts to administer payments to eligible individuals from the fund pursuant to subsection (5) of this section. (2) (a) There is hereby created in the state treasury the benefit recovery fund to provide grants to a third-party administrator to provide payments to eligible individuals. (b) The fund consists of: (I) Money transferred to the fund pursuant to section 8-77-109 (2)(a); and (II) Gifts, grants, and donations received by the department from any other public or private organization or entity or individual and any interest earned on such gifts, grants, and donations. (c) The state treasurer shall credit all interest and income derived from the deposit and investment of money in the fund to the fund. (d) Money in the fund is continuously appropriated to the department for the purposes of this section. (e) (I) At the end of the 2024-25 state fiscal year, and at the end of each state fiscal year thereafter, the state treasurer shall credit any money collected pursuant to this section that would cause the balance in the fund to exceed thirty million dollars, as adjusted annually by an amount equal to the change in the average weekly earnings prescribed in section 8-73-102, rounded to the nearest one hundred dollars and excluding any gifts, grants, or donations, to the unemployment compensation fund created in section 8-77-101 (1). (II) The department may continue to solicit and accept gifts, grants, and donations regardless of the fund balance. (3) (a) Each quarter, to the extent allowed by the United States department of labor employment training administration, the department shall allocate the money in the fund to one or more third-party administrators for the purpose of providing recovery benefits to eligible individuals. At a minimum, a third-party administrator must have experience building and operating financial benefit systems that are proven to be accessible and responsive to the target population. (b) The department shall develop a process for contracting with third-party administrators to provide recovery benefits to eligible individuals, and may develop guidance as necessary, including rules specifying the grant process for third-party administrators. The department shall select a third-party administrator within ninety days after May 25, 2022. (c) A third-party administrator selected pursuant to subsection (2)(b) of this section shall, within one hundred days after May 25, 2022: (I) Provide outreach to unemployed individuals who may be eligible for payments through the fund; (II) Screen each applicant for recovery benefits to determine if the applicant is an eligible individual; and (III) Pay recovery benefits to eligible individuals. (4) To receive recovery benefits, an eligible individual must apply to a third-party administrator with which the division has contracted. (5) (a) A third-party administrator shall pay each eligible individual who is totally unemployed in any week, with respect to that week, recovery benefits at a rate of fifty-five percent of the eligible individual's average weekly wage as determined from earnings data provided to the third-party administrator; except that the maximum weekly payment amount may not exceed the maximum weekly benefit amount for benefits as calculated pursuant to section 8-73-102 (2). (b) If the recovery benefit amount is not an even dollar amount, the third-party administrator shall round the recovery benefit amount to the next lower full dollar amount. (c) An eligible individual may receive recovery benefits for a maximum of thirteen weeks during the eligible individual's period of unemployment. (6) If the fund balance is below five hundred thousand dollars, as adjusted for the United States department of labor's bureau of labor statistics consumer price index for Denver-Aurora-Lakewood or its successor index, a third-party administrator shall suspend payments until the balance of the fund is equal to or greater than five hundred thousand dollars. (7) (a) All personal information and documents collected are confidential, are exempt from disclosure under the Colorado Open Records Act, part 2 of article 72 of title 24, and may be used or disclosed only for purposes of this section, except where necessary to comply with a court order. (b) In carrying out the requirements of this section: (I) The department and any contracted third-party administrator shall establish procedures and safeguards against unauthorized access to and use of personal information collected pursuant to this section by any person, other than for the purpose of this section; and (II) A third-party administrator shall not disclose that an individual has applied for or is a recipient of recovery benefits to any person that is not administering the program. (c) Notwithstanding section 39-21-113, the executive director of the department of revenue may provide the Colorado office of new Americans, created in section 8-3.7-103, and any third-party administrator with any information obtained from any investigation conducted by the department of revenue or its agents or disclosed in any document, report, or return filed in connection with any of the taxes covered by article 21 of title 39 if such information is necessary for the administration of the fund. Any information provided to the Colorado office of new Americans or a third-party administrator pursuant to this subsection (7)(c) is confidential, and all employees of either the Colorado office of new Americans or a third-party administrator are subject to the limitations set forth in section 39-21-113 (4) and the penalties specified in section 39-21-113 (6). Source: L. 2022: Entire section added, (SB 22-234), ch. 224, p. 1615, � 4, effective May 25. L. 2023: (7)(c) added, (HB 23-1283), ch. 293, p. 1766, � 7, effective October 1, 2024. L. 2025: (2)(e)(I) amended, (SB 25-242), ch. 145, p. 547, � 4, effective April 28. Cross references: For the legislative declaration in HB 23-1283, see section 1 of chapter 293, Session Laws of Colorado 2023. ARTICLE 74 Claims for Benefits Editor's note: This article was numbered as article 5 of chapter 82, C.R.S. 1963. The substantive provisions of this article were repealed and reenacted in 1976, resulting in the addition, relocation, and elimination of sections as well as subject matter. For amendments to this article prior to 1976, consult the Colorado statutory research explanatory note and the table itemizing the replacement volumes and supplements to the original volume of C.R.S. 1973 beginning on page vii in the front of this volume. Former C.R.S. section numbers are shown in editors' notes following those sections that were relocated. Cross references: For applicability of legislation that amends, repeals, or adds to the provisions of this article on or after May 18, 1979, see � 8-70-143.