88R23780 RDS-F
By: Vo H.B. No. 2458
Substitute the following for H.B. No. 2458:
By: Hinojosa C.S.H.B. No. 2458
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to claimant eligibility and initial claims under the
unemployment compensation system.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Section 207.021(a), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) Except as provided by Chapter 215, an unemployed
individual is eligible to receive benefits for a benefit period if
the individual:
(1) has registered for work at an employment office
and has continued to report to the employment office as required by
rules adopted by the commission;
(2) has made a claim for benefits under Section
208.001;
(3) is able to work;
(4) is available for work;
(5) is actively seeking work in accordance with rules
adopted by the commission;
(6) for the individual's base period, has benefit wage
credits:
(A) in at least two calendar quarters; and
(B) in an amount not less than 37 times the
individual's benefit amount;
(7) after the beginning date of the individual's most
recent prior benefit year, if applicable, earned wages in an amount
equal to not less than six times the individual's benefit amount;
(8) has been totally or partially unemployed for a
waiting period of at least seven consecutive days; [and]
(9) participates in reemployment services, such as a
job search assistance service, if the individual has been
determined, according to a profiling system established by the
commission, to be likely to exhaust eligibility for regular
benefits and to need those services to obtain new employment,
unless:
(A) the individual has completed participation
in such a service; or
(B) there is reasonable cause, as determined by
the commission, for the individual's failure to participate in
those services; and
(10) has satisfied any outstanding obligation in
relation to benefits forfeited by the individual under Section
214.003, including the amount of any penalty assessed against the
individual under that section, but only if the benefit period for
which the individual is seeking benefits is not in the same benefit
year in which the nondisclosure or misrepresentation of a material
fact occurred.
SECTION 2. Section 208.002(a), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(a) When used in connection with an initial claim, "last
work" and "person for whom the claimant last worked" refer to [:
[(1) the last person for whom the claimant actually
worked, if the claimant worked for that person for at least 30 hours
during a week; or
[(2)] the employer, as defined by Subchapter C,
Chapter 201, [or by the unemployment law of any other state,] for
whom the claimant last worked.
SECTION 3. The changes in law made by this Act apply 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 4. This Act takes effect September 1, 2023.