87R10417 RDS-D
By: Turner of Tarrant H.B. No. 3620
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to unemployment compensation benefits.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 201, Labor Code, is
amended by adding Section 201.013 to read as follows:
Sec. 201.013. DEFINITION OF BASE PERIOD; ALTERNATIVE BASE
PERIODS. (a) For purposes of this subtitle and subject to this
section, an individual's base period is the four consecutive
completed calendar quarters, prescribed by the commission, in the
five consecutive completed calendar quarters preceding the first
day of an individual's benefit year.
(b) For an individual precluded because of a medically
verifiable illness or injury from working during a major part of a
calendar quarter of the period that would otherwise be the
individual's base period under Subsection (a), the base period is
the first four calendar quarters of the five consecutive calendar
quarters preceding the calendar quarter in which the illness began
or the injury occurred if the individual files an initial claim for
benefits not later than 24 months after the date on which the
individual's illness or injury began or occurred.
(c) For an individual who does not have sufficient benefit
wage credits to qualify for benefits under the computation of the
base period as provided by Subsection (a) or (b), the base period is
the four most recently completed calendar quarters preceding the
first day of the individual's benefit year.
(d) For an individual who does not have sufficient benefit
wage credits to qualify for benefits under the computation of the
base period as provided by Subsection (a), (b), or (c), the base
period is the three most recently completed calendar quarters
preceding the first day of the individual's benefit year and the
portion of the calendar quarter in which the individual's benefit
year commences that occurs before the first day of the individual's
benefit year.
(e) For purposes of establishing qualifications for
benefits under the base period computation provided under
Subsection (c) or (d), an individual for whom wage information for
the most recent calendar quarter or current calendar quarter is not
yet accessible to or obtainable by the commission may demonstrate
that qualification by providing an affidavit supported by payroll
documentation available to the individual for that calendar
quarter. The commission by rule shall adopt a procedure for an
individual to provide the affidavit and documentation permitted
under this subsection.
SECTION 2. Section 207.008(b), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle,
work is not suitable and benefits may not be denied under this
subtitle to an otherwise eligible individual for refusal to accept
new work if:
(1) the position offered is vacant directly because of
a strike, lockout, or other labor dispute;
(2) the wages, hours, or other conditions of the work
offered are substantially less favorable to the individual than
those prevailing for similar work in the locality; [or]
(3) as a condition of being employed, the individual
is required to join a company union or to resign from or refrain
from joining a bona fide labor organization;
(4) the place of performance of the work offered is in
violation of federal, state, or local protocols relating to the
spread of infectious diseases, including COVID-19; or
(5) the work offered presents an unreasonable risk of
exposure to infectious diseases, including COVID-19, that cannot be
mitigated with reasonable care.
SECTION 3. Subchapter B, Chapter 207, Labor Code, is
amended by adding Section 207.0213 to read as follows:
Sec. 207.0213. TEMPORARY WAIVER OF CERTAIN ELIGIBILITY
CONDITIONS. (a) Notwithstanding Section 207.021, if the commission
finds that in any seven-day period the number of initial claims
filed under this subtitle is more than five times the number of
initial claims filed under this subtitle in the preceding seven-day
period, the commission shall suspend for a period of 30 days the
following eligibility conditions to authorize an individual who is
otherwise eligible to receive benefits under this subtitle to
receive those benefits:
(1) the condition imposed under Section 207.021(a)(5)
that an individual be actively seeking work; and
(2) the condition imposed under Section 207.021(a)(8)
that an individual have been totally or partially unemployed for a
waiting period.
(b) The period of a suspension imposed under Subsection (a)
begins on the first day of the seven-day period in which the
increased number of initial claims were filed.
SECTION 4. Section 207.048, Labor Code, is amended by
amending Subsections (a), (b), and (f) and adding Subsection (g) to
read as follows:
(a) An individual is disqualified for benefits for a benefit
period in which the individual's total or partial unemployment is
caused by[:
[(1)] the individual's stoppage of work because of a
labor dispute at the factory, establishment, or other premises
where the individual is or was last employed[; or
[(2) a labor dispute at another place that:
[(A) is owned or operated by the same employing
unit that owns or operates the premises where the individual is or
was last employed; and
[(B) supplies material or services necessary to
the continued and usual operation of the premises where the
individual is or was last employed].
(b) Disqualification for benefits under this section does
not apply to an individual who shows to the satisfaction of the
commission that the individual:
(1) is not participating in, financing, or directly
interested in the labor dispute; [and]
(2) does not belong to a grade or class of workers any
members of which were employed at the premises of the labor dispute
immediately before the beginning of the labor dispute and any of
whom are participating in, financing, or directly interested in the
dispute;
(3) has been locked out of the individual's place of
employment; or
(4) has been placed on emergency leave without pay by
the individual's employer.
(f) For the purposes of this section:
(1) "Locked out" means the denial of entry by an
employer to the place of employment of employees of that employer
who have not:
(A) gone on strike; or
(B) notified the employer of a date on which the
employees intend to go on strike.
(2) "Premises" [, "premises"] includes a vessel.
(g) For the purposes of Subsection (b), the payment of
regular union dues by an individual does not constitute financing a
labor dispute.
SECTION 5. Section 208.001, Labor Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (c) to read as follows:
(c) As soon as practicable after an individual files an
initial claim for benefits, the commission shall provide to the
individual a written notice containing general information about
eligibility and enrollment for health care insurance coverage under
the Patient Protection and Affordable Care Act (Pub. L.
No. 111-148) as amended by the Health Care and Education
Reconciliation Act of 2010 (Pub. L. No. 111-152). The commission
shall adopt rules for the form and content of the notice provided
under this subsection.
SECTION 6. Section 209.062, Labor Code, is amended to read
as follows:
Sec. 209.062. MAXIMUM TOTAL EXTENDED BENEFIT AMOUNT. The
total extended benefit amount payable to an eligible individual for
the individual's eligibility period is 60 [50] percent of the total
amount of regular benefits that were payable to the individual
under this subtitle in the individual's applicable benefit year.
SECTION 7. Section 214.002, Labor Code, is amended by
adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:
(a-1) Notwithstanding Subsection (a) and except as
otherwise provided by this subsection, if the commission finds that
in any seven-day period the number of initial claims filed under
this subtitle is more than five times the number of initial claims
filed under this subtitle in the preceding seven-day period, the
commission may not seek to recover the amount of any improper
benefits received during the 30-day period beginning on the first
day of the seven-day period in which the increased number of initial
claims were filed. This subsection does not apply to improper
benefits obtained by a person due to a nondisclosure or
misrepresentation that is known or fraudulent.
SECTION 8. Section 201.011(1), Labor Code, is repealed.
SECTION 9. Section 201.013, Labor Code, as added by this
Act, applies only to eligibility for unemployment compensation
benefits based on a claim that is filed with the Texas Workforce
Commission on or after the effective date of this Act. A claim
filed before the effective date of this Act 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 10. Section 207.008(b), 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 the effective date
of this Act 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 11. Section 208.001(c), Labor Code, as added by
this Act, applies only to an initial claim for unemployment
compensation benefits filed with the Texas Workforce Commission on
or after the effective date of this Act. An initial claim filed
before the effective date of this Act 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 12. Section 209.062, Labor Code, as amended by this
Act, applies only to a claim for extended unemployment compensation
benefits that is 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 that the claim was
filed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
SECTION 13. This Act takes effect immediately if it
receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each
house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution.
If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate
effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2021.