| 1 | 1 | | By: Deuell S.B. No. 1537 |
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| 2 | 2 | | (Cortez) |
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| 3 | 3 | | |
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| 4 | 4 | | |
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| 5 | 5 | | A BILL TO BE ENTITLED |
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| 6 | 6 | | AN ACT |
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| 7 | 7 | | relating to certain required notices under the Texas Unemployment |
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| 8 | 8 | | Compensation Act, including employer liability arising from |
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| 9 | 9 | | failure to provide the notice. |
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| 10 | 10 | | BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: |
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| 11 | 11 | | SECTION 1. Section 205.013, Labor Code, is amended by |
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| 12 | 12 | | adding Subsection (d) to read as follows: |
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| 13 | 13 | | (d) If a reimbursing employer pays a reimbursement to the |
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| 14 | 14 | | commission for benefits paid to a claimant that are not in |
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| 15 | 15 | | accordance with the final determination or decision under this |
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| 16 | 16 | | subtitle, the employer is not entitled to a refund of, or credit |
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| 17 | 17 | | for, the amount paid by the employer to the commission unless the |
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| 18 | 18 | | employer has complied with the requirements of Section 208.004 with |
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| 19 | 19 | | respect to the claimant. |
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| 20 | 20 | | SECTION 2. Section 208.004, Labor Code, is amended by |
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| 21 | 21 | | adding Subsections (a-1), (c), (d), (e), and (f) to read as follows: |
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| 22 | 22 | | (a-1) A notification provided by a person under Subsection |
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| 23 | 23 | | (a), including an initial response to a notice mailed to the person |
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| 24 | 24 | | under Section 208.002, must include sufficient factual information |
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| 25 | 25 | | to allow the commission to make a determination regarding the |
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| 26 | 26 | | claimant's entitlement to benefits under this subtitle. |
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| 27 | 27 | | (c) Notwithstanding Subchapter B, Chapter 204, benefits |
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| 28 | 28 | | paid to a claimant that are not in accordance with the final |
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| 29 | 29 | | determination or decision under this subtitle shall be charged to |
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| 30 | 30 | | the account of a person if: |
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| 31 | 31 | | (1) the person, or the person's agent, without good |
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| 32 | 32 | | cause, fails to provide adequate or timely notification under this |
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| 33 | 33 | | section; and |
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| 34 | 34 | | (2) the commission determines that the person, or the |
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| 35 | 35 | | person's agent, has failed to provide timely or adequate |
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| 36 | 36 | | notification under this section on at least two prior occasions. |
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| 37 | 37 | | (d) For purposes of Subsection (c), a notification is not |
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| 38 | 38 | | adequate if the notification merely alleges that a claimant is not |
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| 39 | 39 | | entitled to benefits without providing sufficient factual |
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| 40 | 40 | | information, other than a general statement of the law, to support |
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| 41 | 41 | | the allegation. |
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| 42 | 42 | | (e) For purposes of Subsection (c), good cause is |
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| 43 | 43 | | established only by showing that a person, or the person's agent, |
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| 44 | 44 | | was prevented from complying with this section due to compelling |
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| 45 | 45 | | circumstances that were beyond the person's control. |
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| 46 | 46 | | (f) The commission may adopt rules as necessary to implement |
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| 47 | 47 | | this section. |
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| 48 | 48 | | SECTION 3. Section 212.005, Labor Code, is amended to read |
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| 49 | 49 | | as follows: |
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| 50 | 50 | | Sec. 212.005. CHARGEBACK ON REVERSAL OF DETERMINATION OR |
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| 51 | 51 | | DECISION ALLOWING BENEFITS PROHIBITED; EXCEPTION. (a) Except as |
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| 52 | 52 | | provided by Subsection (b), a [A] chargeback may not be made to an |
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| 53 | 53 | | employer's account because of payments having been made under a |
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| 54 | 54 | | determination or decision to the claimant for any benefit period |
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| 55 | 55 | | with regard to which the claimant is finally denied benefits by a |
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| 56 | 56 | | modification or reversal of the determination or decision. |
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| 57 | 57 | | (b) A chargeback shall be made to an employer's account for |
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| 58 | 58 | | benefits paid to a claimant that are not in accordance with the |
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| 59 | 59 | | final determination or decision under this subtitle if the benefits |
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| 60 | 60 | | were paid due to the failure of the employer, or the employer's |
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| 61 | 61 | | agents, to comply with Section 208.004. |
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| 62 | 62 | | SECTION 4. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to |
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| 63 | 63 | | a final determination made by the Texas Workforce Commission on or |
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| 64 | 64 | | after October 1, 2013, that a person received an erroneous payment. |
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| 65 | 65 | | A final determination made before that date is governed by the law |
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| 66 | 66 | | in effect on the date the determination was made, and the former law |
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| 67 | 67 | | is continued in effect for that purpose. |
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| 68 | 68 | | SECTION 5. This Act takes effect October 1, 2013. |
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