Hawaii Revised Statutes
383. Hawaii Employment Security Law
383-62.5 Treatment of Indian tribes.

§383-62.5 Treatment of Indian tribes. (a) Benefits based on service in employment as defined in this section shall be payable in the same amount, on the same terms, and subject to the same conditions as benefits payable on the basis of other service subject to this chapter. The financing of benefits shall apply in the same manner and under the same terms and conditions as in section 383-62 for nonprofit organizations subject to this chapter; except that the provisions of this section shall apply where there is a conflict.
(b) Any Indian tribe or tribal unit (subdivisions, subsidiaries, or business enterprises wholly owned by the Indian tribe) subject to this chapter on or after January 1, 2007:
(1) Shall pay contributions under the provisions of this part (with the exception of the provisions in section 383-62(b)) applicable to other employers, unless it elects to pay to the director for the fund an amount equal to the amount of benefits that is attributable to service in the employ of an Indian tribe;
(2) That elects to make payments in lieu of contributions shall make this election in the same manner and under the same conditions as provided in section 383-62(d)(1). Indian tribes or tribal units shall determine if reimbursement for benefits paid will be elected by the tribe as a whole, by individual tribal units, or by combinations of individual tribal units;
(3) Shall be billed and payments shall be made in accordance with section 383-62(d)(2), for the full amount of benefits attributable to service in the employ of the Indian tribe or tribal unit on the same schedule as nonprofit organizations that have elected to make reimbursement payments in lieu of contributions; and
(4) That elects to become liable for payments in lieu of contributions shall be required, within thirty days after the effective date of its election, to deposit with the department an amount of money as security as determined by section 383-62(d)(3).
(c) Failure of the Indian tribe or tribal unit to make any required payment under this chapter within ninety days after a notice of delinquency was mailed to its last known address or was otherwise delivered to it, shall cause the Indian tribe to lose the option to make payments in lieu of contributions and the termination shall continue for the four-consecutive-calendar-quarter period beginning with the quarter in which the termination becomes effective.
Any Indian tribe that loses the option to make payments in lieu of contributions due to late payment or nonpayment, shall have such option reinstated after a period of one year if all contributions have been timely made; provided no contributions, payments in lieu of contributions for benefits paid, security deposit, and penalties or interest remain outstanding.
If any Indian tribe or tribal unit fails to make payments required under this section (including assessed interest and penalty) within ninety days of a notice of delinquency, the department shall immediately notify the United States Internal Revenue Service and the United States Department of Labor.
(d) Notices of payment and reporting delinquency to Indian tribes and tribal units shall include information that failure to make full payments within the prescribed time shall cause the Indian tribe to:
(1) Be liable for taxes under the federal Unemployment Tax Act; and
(2) Lose the option to make payments in lieu of contributions.
(e) Except as provided in subsection (f), the amount payable to the fund by each Indian tribe or tribal unit that is liable for payments in lieu of contributions shall be determined in the same manner as provided in section 383-62(e).
(f) An Indian tribe or tribal unit shall reimburse the fund for all extended benefits paid that are attributable to service in the employ of the Indian tribe or tribal unit unless the benefits are reimbursed by the federal government.
(g) Any two or more Indian tribes or tribal units that have become liable for payments in lieu of contributions may file a joint application to the department for the establishment of a group account for the purpose of sharing the cost of benefits paid that are attributable to service in the employ of such employers in the same manner as provided in section 383-62(f).
(h) As used in this section:
"Employer" includes any Indian tribe for which service in employment, as defined in section 383-2, is performed.
"Employment" means service performed in the employ of an Indian tribe; provided that the service is excluded from employment as defined in the federal Unemployment Tax Act solely by reason of section 3306(c)(7), of the federal Unemployment Tax Act, and is not otherwise excluded from employment under this chapter. For purposes of this section, the exclusions from employment under section 383-7, apply to services performed in the employ of an Indian tribe in the same manner as the exclusions apply to government and nonprofit entities.
"Indian tribe" has the meaning given the term by section 4(e) of the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act (25 U.S.C. section 450b(e)), and includes any subdivision, subsidiary, or business enterprises wholly owned by the Indian tribe. [L 2007, c 70, §2]

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