By: Perry, et al. S.B. No. 722
(Burkett)
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to a disqualification for unemployment benefits for
refusing to take or failing a preemployment drug test.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 207.047, Labor Code, is amended by
adding Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) to read as follows:
(a-1) For purposes of Subsection (a), an individual is
considered to have failed, without good cause, to accept suitable
work offered to the individual by an employer if:
(1) as a condition of employment, the employer
required the individual to submit to a preemployment drug test; and
(2) the individual:
(A) refused, without good cause, to submit to the
drug test; or
(B) failed the drug test, unless the failure was
caused by the use of a substance that was prescribed by a health
care practitioner as medically necessary for the individual.
(a-2) The commission by rule shall specify the
circumstances under which a person is considered to have good cause
for refusing to submit to a drug test under Subsection (a-1).
SECTION 2. Not later than December 1, 2015, the Texas
Workforce Commission shall adopt rules necessary to implement
Section 207.047(a-1), Labor Code, as added by this Act.
SECTION 3. The change in law made by this Act applies only
to a claim for unemployment compensation benefits filed with the
Texas Workforce Commission on or after December 1, 2015. A claim
filed before December 1, 2015, 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 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2015.