Texas 2009 - 81st Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB1453 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	81R9978 KSD-D
2	2	By: West S.B. No. 1453
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to the eligibility of certain individuals with a
8	8	terminally ill parent for unemployment compensation.
9	9	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
10	10	SECTION 1. Section 204.022(a), Labor Code, is amended to
11	11	read as follows:
12	12	(a) Benefits computed on benefit wage credits of an employee
13	13	or former employee may not be charged to the account of an employer
14	14	if the employee's last separation from the employer's employment
15	15	before the employee's benefit year:
16	16	(1) was required by a federal statute;
17	17	(2) was required by a statute of this state or an
18	18	ordinance of a municipality of this state;
19	19	(3) would have disqualified the employee under Section
20	20	207.044, 207.045, 207.051, or 207.053 if the employment had been
21	21	the employee's last work;
22	22	(4) imposes a disqualification under Section 207.044,
23	23	207.045, 207.051, or 207.053;
24	24	(5) was caused by a medically verifiable illness of
25	25	the employee or the employee's minor child;
26	26	(6) was based on a natural disaster that results in a
27	27	disaster declaration by the president of the United States under
28	28	the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
29	29	(42 U.S.C. Section 5121 et seq.), if the employee would have been
30	30	entitled to unemployment assistance benefits under Section 410 of
31	31	that act (42 U.S.C. Section 5177) had the employee not received
32	32	state unemployment compensation benefits;
33	33	(7) was caused by a natural disaster, fire, flood, or
34	34	explosion that causes employees to be separated from one employer's
35	35	employment;
36	36	(8) was based on a disaster that results in a disaster
37	37	declaration by the governor under Section 418.014, Government Code;
38	38	(9) resulted from the employee's resigning from
39	39	partial employment to accept other employment that the employee
40	40	reasonably believed would increase the employee's weekly wage;
41	41	(10) was caused by the employer being called to active
42	42	military service in any branch of the United States armed forces on
43	43	or after January 1, 2003;
44	44	(11) resulted from the employee leaving the employee's
45	45	workplace to protect the employee from family violence or stalking
46	46	as evidenced by:
47	47	(A) an active or recently issued protective order
48	48	documenting family violence against, or the stalking of, the
49	49	employee or the potential for family violence against, or the
50	50	stalking of, the employee;
51	51	(B) a police record documenting family violence
52	52	against, or the stalking of, the employee; or
53	53	(C) a physician's statement or other medical
54	54	documentation that describes the family violence against the
55	55	employee that:
56	56	(i) is recorded in any form or medium that
57	57	identifies the employee as the patient; and
58	58	(ii) relates to the history, diagnosis,
59	59	treatment, or prognosis of the patient;
60	60	(12) resulted from a move from the area of the
61	61	employee's employment that:
62	62	(A) was made with the employee's spouse who is a
63	63	member of the armed forces of the United States; and
64	64	(B) resulted from the spouse's permanent change
65	65	of station of longer than 120 days or a tour of duty of longer than
66	66	one year;
67	67	(13) was caused by the employee being unable to
68	68	perform the work as a result of a disability for which the employee
69	69	is receiving disability insurance benefits under 42 U.S.C. Section
70	70	423; or
71	71	(14) resulted from the employee leaving the employee's
72	72	workplace to care for the employee's terminally ill spouse or
73	73	parent as evidenced by a physician's statement or other medical
74	74	documentation, but only if no reasonable, alternative care was
75	75	available.
76	76	SECTION 2. Section 207.046(a), Labor Code, is amended to
77	77	read as follows:
78	78	(a) An individual is not disqualified for benefits under
79	79	this subchapter if:
80	80	(1) the work-related reason for the individual's
81	81	separation from employment was urgent, compelling, and necessary so
82	82	as to make the separation involuntary;
83	83	(2) the individual leaves the workplace to protect the
84	84	individual from family violence or stalking as evidenced by:
85	85	(A) an active or recently issued protective order
86	86	documenting family violence against, or the stalking of, the
87	87	employee or the potential for family violence against, or the
88	88	stalking of, the employee;
89	89	(B) a police record documenting family violence
90	90	against, or the stalking of, the employee; or
91	91	(C) a physician's statement or other medical
92	92	documentation that describes the family violence against the
93	93	employee that:
94	94	(i) is recorded in any form or medium that
95	95	identifies the employee as the patient; and
96	96	(ii) relates to the history, diagnosis,
97	97	treatment, or prognosis of the patient; or
98	98	(3) the individual leaves the workplace to care for
99	99	the individual's terminally ill spouse or parent as evidenced by a
100	100	physician's statement or other medical documentation, but only if
101	101	no reasonable, alternative care was available.
102	102	SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
103	103	eligibility for unemployment compensation benefits based on an
104	104	unemployment compensation claim that is filed with the Texas
105	105	Workforce Commission on or after the effective date of this Act. A
106	106	claim filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
107	107	law in effect on the date the claim was filed, and the former law is
108	108	continued in effect for that purpose.
109	109	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
110	110	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
111	111	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
112	112	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
113	113	Act takes effect September 1, 2009.