Terms Used In Montana Code > Title 39 > Chapter 51 > Part 2 - Definitions

• Annual payroll: means the total amount of wages paid by an employer, regardless of the time of payment, for employment during a calendar year. See Montana Code 39-51-201
• Assets: (1) The property comprising the estate of a deceased person, or (2) the property in a trust account.
• Bankruptcy: Refers to statutes and judicial proceedings involving persons or businesses that cannot pay their debts and seek the assistance of the court in getting a fresh start. Under the protection of the bankruptcy court, debtors may discharge their debts, perhaps by paying a portion of each debt. Bankruptcy judges preside over these proceedings.
• Base period: means :

  (a)the first 4 of the last 5 completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the first day of an individual's benefit year;

  (b)if the individual does not have sufficient wages to qualify for benefits under subsection (2)(a), the 4 most recently completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the first day of the individual's benefit year;

  (c)in the case of a combined-wage claim pursuant to the arrangement approved by the secretary of labor of the United States, the period applicable under the unemployment law of the paying state; or

  (d)for an individual who fails to meet the qualifications of 39-51-2105 or a similar statute of another state because of a temporary total disability, as defined in 39-71-116, or a similar statute of another state or the United States, the first 4 quarters of the last 5 completed calendar quarters preceding the disability if a claim for unemployment benefits is filed within 24 months of the date on which the individual's disability was incurred. See Montana Code 39-51-201

• Benefit year: means the 52-consecutive-week period beginning with the first day of the calendar week in which an individual files a valid claim for benefits, except that the benefit year is 53 weeks if filing a new valid claim would result in overlapping any quarter of the base period of a previously filed new claim. See Montana Code 39-51-201
• Benefits: means the money payments payable to an individual, as provided in this chapter, with respect to the individual's unemployment. See Montana Code 39-51-201
• Board: means the unemployment insurance appeals board provided for in Title 2, chapter 15, part 17. See Montana Code 39-51-201
• Calendar quarter: means the period of 3 consecutive calendar months ending on March 31, June 30, September 30, or December 31. See Montana Code 39-51-201
• Contract: A legal written agreement that becomes binding when signed.
• Contributions: means the money payments to the state unemployment insurance fund required by this chapter but does not include assessments under 39-51-404. See Montana Code 39-51-201
• Corporation: A legal entity owned by the holders of shares of stock that have been issued, and that can own, receive, and transfer property, and carry on business in its own name.
• Department: means the department of labor and industry provided for in Title 2, chapter 15, part 17. See Montana Code 39-51-201
• Dependent: A person dependent for support upon another.
• Domestic or household service: means employment of persons other than members of the household for the purpose of tending to the aid and comfort of the employer or members of the employer's family, including but not limited to housecleaning and yard work. See Montana Code 39-51-201
• Employing unit: means any individual or organization, including the state government and any of its political subdivisions or instrumentalities or an Indian tribe or tribal unit, partnership, association, trust, estate, joint-stock company, insurance company, limited liability company or limited liability partnership that has filed with the secretary of state, or corporation, whether domestic or foreign, or the receiver, trustee in bankruptcy, trustee or the trustee's successor, or legal representative of a deceased person in whose employ one or more individuals perform or performed services within this state, except as provided under 39-51-204(1)(a) and (1)(j). See Montana Code 39-51-201
• Employment office: means a free public employment office or branch of an office operated by this state or maintained as a part of a state-controlled system of public employment offices or other free public employment offices operated and maintained by the United States government or its instrumentalities as the department may approve. See Montana Code 39-51-201
• Fund: means the unemployment insurance fund established by this chapter to which all contributions and payments in lieu of contributions must be paid and from which all benefits provided under this chapter must be paid. See Montana Code 39-51-201
• Guardian: A person legally empowered and charged with the duty of taking care of and managing the property of another person who because of age, intellect, or health, is incapable of managing his (her) own affairs.
• Hospital: means an institution that has been licensed, certified, or approved by the state as a hospital. See Montana Code 39-51-201
• Independent contractor: means an individual working under an independent contractor exemption certificate provided for in 39-71-417. See Montana Code 39-51-201
• Indian tribe: means an Indian tribe as defined in the Indian Self-Determination and Education Assistance Act, 25 U. See Montana Code 39-51-201
• Jurisdiction: (1) The legal authority of a court to hear and decide a case. Concurrent jurisdiction exists when two courts have simultaneous responsibility for the same case. (2) The geographic area over which the court has authority to decide cases.
• Misconduct: includes but is not limited to the following conduct by an employee:

  (i)willful or wanton disregard of the rights, title, and interests of a fellow employee or the employer, including:

  (A)insubordination showing a deliberate, willful, or purposeful refusal to follow the reasonable directions, processes, or instructions of the employer;

  (B)repeated inexcusable tardiness following warnings by the employer;

  (C)dishonesty related to employment, including but not limited to deliberate falsification of company records, theft, deliberate deception, or lying;

  (D)false statements made as part of a job application process, including but not limited to deliberate falsification of the individual's criminal history, work record, or educational or licensure achievements;

  (E)repeated and inexcusable absences, including absences for which the employee was able to give advance notice and failed to do so;

  (F)deliberate acts that are illegal, provoke violence or violation of the law, or violate a collective bargaining agreement by which the employee is covered. See Montana Code 39-51-201

• No-additional-cost service: has the meaning provided in section 132 of the Internal Revenue Code, 26 U. See Montana Code 39-51-201
• Partnership: A voluntary contract between two or more persons to pool some or all of their assets into a business, with the agreement that there will be a proportional sharing of profits and losses.
• Person: includes a corporation or other entity as well as a natural person. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Process: means a writ or summons issued in the course of judicial proceedings. See Montana Code 1-1-202
• State: includes , in addition to the states of the United States of America, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, the Virgin Islands, and Canada. See Montana Code 39-51-201
• Statute: A law passed by a legislature.
• Tribal unit: means an Indian tribe and any tribal subdivision or subsidiary or any business enterprise that is wholly owned by that tribe. See Montana Code 39-51-201
• Trustee: A person or institution holding and administering property in trust.
• Unemployment insurance administration fund: means the unemployment insurance administration fund established by this chapter from which administrative expenses under this chapter must be paid. See Montana Code 39-51-201
• United States: includes the District of Columbia and the territories. See Montana Code 1-1-201
• Vessel: when used in reference to shipping, includes ships of all kinds, steamboats and steamships, canal boats, and every structure adapted to be navigated from place to place. See Montana Code 1-1-207
• Week: means a period of 7 consecutive calendar days ending at midnight on Saturday. See Montana Code 39-51-201
• Writing: includes printing. See Montana Code 1-1-203