Texas 2013 - 83rd Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB51 Compare Versions

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1	1	By: Zaffirini S.B. No. 51
2	2	(In the Senate - Filed November 12, 2012; January 28, 2013,
3	3	read first time and referred to Committee on Economic Development;
4	4	March 18, 2013, reported favorably by the following vote: Yeas 6,
5	5	Nays 0; March 18, 2013, sent to printer.)
6	6
7	7
8	8	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
9	9	AN ACT
10	10	relating to unemployment compensation eligibility and chargebacks
11	11	regarding certain persons who are victims of sexual assault.
12	12	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
13	13	SECTION 1. Subsection (a), Section 204.022, Labor Code, is
14	14	amended to read as follows:
15	15	(a) Benefits computed on benefit wage credits of an employee
16	16	or former employee may not be charged to the account of an employer
17	17	if the employee's last separation from the employer's employment
18	18	before the employee's benefit year:
19	19	(1) was required by a federal statute;
20	20	(2) was required by a statute of this state or an
21	21	ordinance of a municipality of this state;
22	22	(3) would have disqualified the employee under Section
23	23	207.044, 207.045, 207.051, or 207.053 if the employment had been
24	24	the employee's last work;
25	25	(4) imposes a disqualification under Section 207.044,
26	26	207.045, 207.051, or 207.053;
27	27	(5) was caused by a medically verifiable illness of
28	28	the employee or the employee's minor child;
29	29	(6) was based on a natural disaster that results in a
30	30	disaster declaration by the president of the United States under
31	31	the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
32	32	(42 U.S.C. Section 5121 et seq.), if the employee would have been
33	33	entitled to unemployment assistance benefits under Section 410 of
34	34	that act (42 U.S.C. Section 5177) had the employee not received
35	35	state unemployment compensation benefits;
36	36	(7) was caused by a natural disaster, fire, flood, or
37	37	explosion that causes employees to be separated from one employer's
38	38	employment;
39	39	(8) was based on a disaster that results in a disaster
40	40	declaration by the governor under Section 418.014, Government Code;
41	41	(9) resulted from the employee's resigning from
42	42	partial employment to accept other employment that the employee
43	43	reasonably believed would increase the employee's weekly wage;
44	44	(10) was caused by the employer being called to active
45	45	military service in any branch of the United States armed forces on
46	46	or after January 1, 2003;
47	47	(11) resulted from the employee leaving the employee's
48	48	workplace to protect the employee from family violence or stalking
49	49	or from violence related to a sexual assault as evidenced by:
50	50	(A) an active or recently issued protective order
51	51	documenting sexual assault of the employee or family violence
52	52	against, or the stalking of, the employee or the potential for
53	53	family violence against, or the stalking of, the employee;
54	54	(B) a police record documenting sexual assault of
55	55	the employee or family violence against, or the stalking of, the
56	56	employee; or
57	57	(C) a physician's statement or other medical
58	58	documentation that describes the sexual assault of the employee or
59	59	family violence against the employee that:
60	60	(i) is recorded in any form or medium that
61	61	identifies the employee as the patient; and
62	62	(ii) relates to the history, diagnosis,
63	63	treatment, or prognosis of the patient;
64	64	(12) resulted from a move from the area of the
65	65	employee's employment that:
66	66	(A) was made with the employee's spouse who is a
67	67	member of the armed forces of the United States; and
68	68	(B) resulted from the spouse's permanent change
69	69	of station of longer than 120 days or a tour of duty of longer than
70	70	one year;
71	71	(13) was caused by the employee being unable to
72	72	perform the work as a result of a disability for which the employee
73	73	is receiving disability insurance benefits under 42 U.S.C. Section
74	74	423;
75	75	(14) resulted from the employee leaving the employee's
76	76	workplace to care for the employee's terminally ill spouse as
77	77	evidenced by a physician's statement or other medical
78	78	documentation, but only if no reasonable, alternative care was
79	79	available; or
80	80	(15) was caused by the employer's reinstatement of a
81	81	qualified uniformed service member with reemployment rights and
82	82	benefits and other employment benefits in accordance with the
83	83	Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994
84	84	(38 U.S.C. Section 4301 et seq.).
85	85	SECTION 2. Subsection (d), Section 204.022, Labor Code, is
86	86	amended by adding Subdivision (3) to read as follows:
87	87	(3) "Sexual assault" means conduct described by
88	88	Section 22.011 or 22.021, Penal Code.
89	89	SECTION 3. Subsection (a), Section 207.046, Labor Code, is
90	90	amended to read as follows:
91	91	(a) An individual is not disqualified for benefits under
92	92	this subchapter if:
93	93	(1) the work-related reason for the individual's
94	94	separation from employment was urgent, compelling, and necessary so
95	95	as to make the separation involuntary;
96	96	(2) the individual leaves the workplace to protect the
97	97	individual from family violence or stalking or from violence
98	98	related to a sexual assault as evidenced by:
99	99	(A) an active or recently issued protective order
100	100	documenting sexual assault of the employee or family violence
101	101	against, or the stalking of, the employee or the potential for
102	102	family violence against, or the stalking of, the employee;
103	103	(B) a police record documenting sexual assault of
104	104	the employee or family violence against, or the stalking of, the
105	105	employee; or
106	106	(C) a physician's statement or other medical
107	107	documentation that describes the sexual assault of the employee or
108	108	family violence against the employee that:
109	109	(i) is recorded in any form or medium that
110	110	identifies the employee as the patient; and
111	111	(ii) relates to the history, diagnosis,
112	112	treatment, or prognosis of the patient; or
113	113	(3) the individual leaves the workplace to care for
114	114	the individual's terminally ill spouse as evidenced by a
115	115	physician's statement or other medical documentation, but only if
116	116	no reasonable, alternative care was available.
117	117	SECTION 4. Subsection (c), Section 207.046, Labor Code, is
118	118	amended by adding Subdivision (3) to read as follows:
119	119	(3) "Sexual assault" means conduct described by
120	120	Section 22.011 or 22.021, Penal Code.
121	121	SECTION 5. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
122	122	eligibility for unemployment compensation benefits based on an
123	123	unemployment compensation claim that is filed with the Texas
124	124	Workforce Commission on or after the effective date of this Act. A
125	125	claim filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
126	126	law in effect on the date the claim was filed, and the former law is
127	127	continued in effect for that purpose.
128	128	SECTION 6. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives
129	129	a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as
130	130	provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this
131	131	Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this
132	132	Act takes effect September 1, 2013.
133	133	* * * * *