By: Van de Putte S.B. No. 439
(Sheets)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to an exclusion from unemployment compensation
chargebacks for certain employers of uniformed service members.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Section 204.022, Labor Code, is
amended to read as follows:
(a) Benefits computed on benefit wage credits of an employee
or former employee may not be charged to the account of an employer
if the employee's last separation from the employer's employment
before the employee's benefit year:
(1) was required by a federal statute;
(2) was required by a statute of this state or an
ordinance of a municipality of this state;
(3) would have disqualified the employee under Section
207.044, 207.045, 207.051, or 207.053 if the employment had been
the employee's last work;
(4) imposes a disqualification under Section 207.044,
207.045, 207.051, or 207.053;
(5) was caused by a medically verifiable illness of
the employee or the employee's minor child;
(6) was based on a natural disaster that results in a
disaster declaration by the president of the United States under
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
(42 U.S.C. Section 5121 et seq.), if the employee would have been
entitled to unemployment assistance benefits under Section 410 of
that act (42 U.S.C. Section 5177) had the employee not received
state unemployment compensation benefits;
(7) was caused by a natural disaster, fire, flood, or
explosion that causes employees to be separated from one employer's
employment;
(8) was based on a disaster that results in a disaster
declaration by the governor under Section 418.014, Government Code;
(9) resulted from the employee's resigning from
partial employment to accept other employment that the employee
reasonably believed would increase the employee's weekly wage;
(10) was caused by the employer being called to active
military service in any branch of the United States armed forces on
or after January 1, 2003;
(11) resulted from the employee leaving the employee's
workplace to protect the employee from family violence or stalking
as evidenced by:
(A) an active or recently issued protective order
documenting family violence against, or the stalking of, the
employee or the potential for family violence against, or the
stalking of, the employee;
(B) a police record documenting family violence
against, or the stalking of, the employee; or
(C) a physician's statement or other medical
documentation that describes the family violence against the
employee that:
(i) is recorded in any form or medium that
identifies the employee as the patient; and
(ii) relates to the history, diagnosis,
treatment, or prognosis of the patient;
(12) resulted from a move from the area of the
employee's employment that:
(A) was made with the employee's spouse who is a
member of the armed forces of the United States; and
(B) resulted from the spouse's permanent change
of station of longer than 120 days or a tour of duty of longer than
one year;
(13) was caused by the employee being unable to
perform the work as a result of a disability for which the employee
is receiving disability insurance benefits under 42 U.S.C. Section
423; [or]
(14) resulted from the employee leaving the employee's
workplace to care for the employee's terminally ill spouse as
evidenced by a physician's statement or other medical
documentation, but only if no reasonable, alternative care was
available; or
(15) was caused by the employer's reinstatement of a
qualified uniformed service member with reemployment rights and
benefits and other employment benefits in accordance with the
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994
(38 U.S.C. Section 4301 et seq.).
SECTION 2. Subsection (a), Section 204.022, Labor Code, as
amended by this Act, applies only to a claim for unemployment
compensation benefits filed with the Texas Workforce Commission on
or after the effective date of this Act. A claim filed before that
date is governed by the law in effect on the date the claim was
filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 3. This Act takes effect September 1, 2011.