87R1193 KKR-D
By: Rodriguez H.B. No. 157
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to requirements regarding an employee's normal weekly
hours of work under the shared work unemployment compensation
program.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 215.022(a), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) The commission may approve a shared work plan if:
(1) the plan:
(A) applies to and identifies a specific affected
unit;
(B) identifies the employees in the affected unit
by name and social security number and describes how the employees
will be notified in advance of the plan, if feasible;
(C) provides an estimate of the number of
employees who would be laid off if the employer does not participate
in the shared work plan;
(D) reduces the normal weekly hours of work for
an employee in the affected unit by at least 10 percent but not more
than 60 [40] percent;
(E) applies to at least 10 percent of the
employees in the affected unit; and
(F) permits eligible employees to participate in
training;
(2) the employer certifies that the implementation of
a shared work plan and the resulting reduction in work hours is in
lieu of layoffs that would:
(A) affect at least 10 percent of the employees
in the affected unit; and
(B) result in an equivalent reduction in work
hours;
(3) the employer certifies that:
(A) if the employer currently provides fringe
benefits, the fringe benefits continue for employees in the
affected unit unless those benefits are not continued for employees
not participating in the shared work plan; and
(B) participation in the shared work plan is
consistent with the employer's obligations under state and federal
law; and
(4) the employer agrees to furnish the commission
reports relating to the operation of the plan as requested by the
commission and any other information the United States secretary of
labor determines is appropriate.
SECTION 2. Section 215.041(b), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) An individual is eligible to receive shared work
benefits for a week in which:
(1) the individual is employed as a member of an
affected unit subject to a shared work plan that was approved before
that week and is in effect for that week;
(2) the individual is able to work and is available for
additional hours of work or for full-time work with the
participating employer; and
(3) the individual's normal weekly hours of work have
been reduced by at least 10 percent but not more than 60 [40]
percent, with a corresponding reduction in wages.
SECTION 3. (a) The change in law made by this Act applies
only to an initial shared work plan or a shared work plan
modification submitted by an employer to the Texas Workforce
Commission on or after the effective date of this Act. An initial
shared work plan or a shared work plan modification submitted
before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law as it
existed on the date the plan or modification was submitted, and the
former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
(b) A shared work plan modification submitted to the Texas
Workforce Commission on or after the effective date of this Act that
modifies a shared work plan approved by the commission before the
effective date and would reduce an individual's normal weekly hours
of work more than 40 percent is considered to be a substantial
modification under Section 215.025, Labor Code, and the modified
plan must be evaluated and approved by the commission as provided by
that section before implementation.
SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.