Texas 2021 - 87th Regular

Texas Senate Bill SB819 Compare Versions

Only one version of the bill is available at this time.

Old	New	Differences
1	1	87R8274 SGM-F
2	2	By: Powell S.B. No. 819
3	3
4	4
5	5	A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
6	6	AN ACT
7	7	relating to unemployment compensation eligibility and chargebacks
8	8	regarding certain persons who are separated from employment due to
9	9	family violence or stalking.
10	10	BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
11	11	SECTION 1. Section 204.022(a), Labor Code, is amended to
12	12	read as follows:
13	13	(a) Benefits computed on benefit wage credits of an employee
14	14	or former employee may not be charged to the account of an employer
15	15	if the employee's last separation from the employer's employment
16	16	before the employee's benefit year:
17	17	(1) was required by a federal statute;
18	18	(2) was required by a statute of this state or an
19	19	ordinance of a municipality of this state;
20	20	(3) would have disqualified the employee under Section
21	21	207.044, 207.045, 207.051, or 207.053 if the employment had been
22	22	the employee's last work;
23	23	(4) imposes a disqualification under Section 207.044,
24	24	207.045, 207.051, or 207.053;
25	25	(5) was caused by a medically verifiable illness of
26	26	the employee or the employee's minor child;
27	27	(6) was based on a natural disaster that results in a
28	28	disaster declaration by the president of the United States under
29	29	the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act
30	30	(42 U.S.C. Section 5121 et seq.), if the employee would have been
31	31	entitled to unemployment assistance benefits under Section 410 of
32	32	that act (42 U.S.C. Section 5177) had the employee not received
33	33	state unemployment compensation benefits;
34	34	(7) was caused by a natural disaster, fire, flood, or
35	35	explosion that causes employees to be separated from one employer's
36	36	employment;
37	37	(8) was based on a disaster that results in a disaster
38	38	declaration by the governor under Section 418.014, Government Code;
39	39	(9) resulted from the employee's resigning from
40	40	partial employment to accept other employment that the employee
41	41	reasonably believed would increase the employee's weekly wage;
42	42	(10) was caused by the employer being called to active
43	43	military service in any branch of the United States armed forces on
44	44	or after January 1, 2003;
45	45	(11) resulted from the employee leaving the employee's
46	46	workplace to protect the employee from family violence or stalking
47	47	or the employee or a member of the employee's immediate family from
48	48	violence related to a sexual assault as evidenced by:
49	49	(A) an active or recently issued protective order
50	50	documenting sexual assault of the employee or a member of the
51	51	employee's immediate family or family violence against, or the
52	52	stalking of, the employee or the potential for family violence
53	53	against, or the stalking of, the employee;
54	54	(B) a police record documenting sexual assault of
55	55	the employee or a member of the employee's immediate family or
56	56	family violence against, or the stalking of, the employee;
57	57	(C) a physician's statement or other medical
58	58	documentation that describes the sexual assault of the employee or
59	59	a member of the employee's immediate family or family violence
60	60	against the employee that:
61	61	(i) is recorded in any form or medium that
62	62	identifies the employee or member of the employee's immediate
63	63	family, as applicable, as the patient; and
64	64	(ii) relates to the history, diagnosis,
65	65	treatment, or prognosis of the patient; [or]
66	66	(D) written documentation from a family violence
67	67	center or rape crisis center that describes the sexual assault of
68	68	the employee or a member of the employee's immediate family or
69	69	family violence against the employee; or
70	70	(E) the employee's testimony and corroborating
71	71	testimony or other evidence that establishes the employee was the
72	72	victim of family violence or stalking;
73	73	(12) resulted from a move from the area of the
74	74	employee's employment that:
75	75	(A) was made with the employee's spouse who is a
76	76	member of the armed forces of the United States; and
77	77	(B) resulted from the spouse's permanent change
78	78	of station of longer than 120 days or a tour of duty of longer than
79	79	one year;
80	80	(13) was caused by the employee being unable to
81	81	perform the work as a result of a disability for which the employee
82	82	is receiving disability insurance benefits under 42 U.S.C. Section
83	83	423;
84	84	(14) resulted from the employee leaving the employee's
85	85	workplace to care for the employee's terminally ill spouse as
86	86	evidenced by a physician's statement or other medical
87	87	documentation, but only if no reasonable, alternative care was
88	88	available;
89	89	(15) was caused by the employer's reinstatement of a
90	90	qualified uniformed service member with reemployment rights and
91	91	benefits and other employment benefits in accordance with the
92	92	Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994
93	93	(38 U.S.C. Section 4301 et seq.); or
94	94	(16) was due to a reason that:
95	95	(A) constitutes an involuntary separation under
96	96	Section 207.046(a)(1); and
97	97	(B) does not constitute good cause connected with
98	98	the employee's work under Section 207.045 for the employee to
99	99	voluntarily leave the employment.
100	100	SECTION 2. Section 207.046(a), Labor Code, is amended to
101	101	read as follows:
102	102	(a) An individual is not disqualified for benefits under
103	103	this subchapter if:
104	104	(1) the work-related reason for the individual's
105	105	separation from employment was urgent, compelling, and necessary so
106	106	as to make the separation involuntary;
107	107	(2) the individual leaves the workplace to protect the
108	108	individual from family violence or stalking or the individual or a
109	109	member of the individual's immediate family from violence related
110	110	to a sexual assault as evidenced by:
111	111	(A) an active or recently issued protective order
112	112	documenting sexual assault of the individual or a member of the
113	113	individual's immediate family or family violence against, or the
114	114	stalking of, the individual or the potential for family violence
115	115	against, or the stalking of, the individual;
116	116	(B) a police record documenting sexual assault of
117	117	the individual or a member of the individual's immediate family or
118	118	family violence against, or the stalking of, the individual;
119	119	(C) a physician's statement or other medical
120	120	documentation that describes the sexual assault of the individual
121	121	or a member of the individual's immediate family or family violence
122	122	against the individual that:
123	123	(i) is recorded in any form or medium that
124	124	identifies the individual or member of the individual's immediate
125	125	family, as applicable, as the patient; and
126	126	(ii) relates to the history, diagnosis,
127	127	treatment, or prognosis of the patient; [or]
128	128	(D) written documentation from a family violence
129	129	center or rape crisis center that describes the sexual assault of
130	130	the individual or a member of the individual's immediate family or
131	131	family violence against the individual; or
132	132	(E) the individual's testimony and corroborating
133	133	testimony or other evidence that establishes the individual was the
134	134	victim of family violence or stalking; or
135	135	(3) the individual leaves the workplace to care for
136	136	the individual's terminally ill spouse as evidenced by a
137	137	physician's statement or other medical documentation, but only if
138	138	no reasonable, alternative care was available.
139	139	SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to
140	140	a claim for unemployment compensation benefits filed with the Texas
141	141	Workforce Commission on or after the effective date of this Act. A
142	142	claim filed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the
143	143	law in effect on the date the claim was filed, and the former law is
144	144	continued in effect for that purpose.
145	145	SECTION 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.