88R6956 RDS-F
By: Patterson H.B. No. 4902
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the eligibility of certain individuals for unemployment
benefits and the validity of certain claims for unemployment
benefits submitted to the Texas Workforce Commission.
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:
(A) is actively seeking work; and
(B) during each week of the benefit period,
performed at least four of the following work search activities,
subject to verification by the commission:
(i) completed and submitted an application
for a job, other than an application submitted while attending a job
fair;
(ii) submitted a resume to an employer that
advertised an active job opening;
(iii) attended a job fair and submitted at
least one application for a job while attending the job fair;
(iv) participated in a job interview;
(v) after submitting a resume or
application or participating in a job interview, responded to an
employer's inquiry; or
(vi) participated in a work search or
professional training sponsored or approved 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.
SECTION 2. Section 207.047, Labor Code, is amended by
amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (c) to read as
follows:
(a) An individual is disqualified for benefits if during the
individual's current benefit year, the individual failed, without
good cause, to:
(1) apply for available, suitable work when directed
to do so by the commission;
(2) accept suitable work offered to the individual;
[or]
(3) return to the individual's customary
self-employment, if any, when directed to do so by the commission;
or
(4) respond to an employer's request for an interview
or to attend a scheduled interview.
(c) An employer shall report to the commission any
individual who:
(1) refuses to return to work;
(2) refuses a suitable offer of employment;
(3) fails to respond to the employer's request for an
interview; or
(4) fails to attend a scheduled interview.
SECTION 3. Section 208.021(b), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(b) For each valid initial claim, the commission shall
determine:
(1) the claimant's identity;
(2) the claimant's benefit year;
(3) [(2)] the benefit amount for total unemployment;
and
(4) [(3)] the duration of benefits.
SECTION 4. Subchapter B, Chapter 208, Labor Code, is
amended by adding Sections 208.0211 and 208.0212 to read as
follows:
Sec. 208.0211. DETERMINATION OF CLAIM VALIDITY. (a) In
determining the validity of a claim under Section 208.021, the
commission shall cross-check all new and recurring claims against:
(1) the integrity data hub operated by the National
Association of State Workforce Agencies;
(2) the national directory of new hires maintained by
the federal Office of Child Support Enforcement and a directory of
new hires maintained by any other state;
(3) death records maintained by this state;
(4) records of persons who are incarcerated maintained
by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and the Federal Bureau
of Prisons; and
(5) the multifactor authentication mechanism
established under Subsection (b).
(b) For purposes of determining a claimant's identity under
this section, the commission shall establish a multifactor
authentication mechanism to verify the identity of a claimant who
files a claim with the commission using the commission's Internet
website. The multifactor authentication mechanism must verify at
least two forms of identification submitted by the claimant.
(c) The commission shall perform an additional cross-check
and identity determination in the manner described by Subsections
(a) and (b), as applicable, for each claim in which more than one
claim is filed:
(1) using the commission's Internet website and
originating from the same Internet protocol address;
(2) by mail using the same mailing address; or
(3) in association with the same bank account.
(d) The commission shall enter into a data-sharing
agreement with each state agency that administers a social welfare
program. The data-sharing agreement must provide that the state
agency notify the commission if a person enrolled in a social
welfare program administered by the agency becomes employed. For
purposes of this subsection, "state agency" means a board,
commission, department, or other agency in the executive branch of
state government.
(e) On confirmation that an individual no longer has a valid
claim, the commission shall suspend the payment of benefits
immediately.
Sec. 208.0212. ANNUAL REPORT. Not later than March 1 of
each year, the commission shall submit a report to the legislature
relating to the validity of claims submitted to the commission
under this chapter. The report must include:
(1) the percentage of claims for benefits for which
the commission was unable to perform a cross-check, as required by
Section 208.0211, before paying or continuing to pay benefits under
this subtitle during the preceding calendar year;
(2) the total amount of benefits paid to claimants who
the commission later found made false statements in their claims
for those benefits during the preceding calendar year;
(3) the number of invalid claims that the commission
determined were invalid by conducting a cross-check required by
Section 208.0211 and the estimated dollar amount of savings to this
state, determined by the commission based on:
(A) the number of claims the commission
determined were invalid under this subdivision;
(B) the average number of weeks each claimant
received benefits under this subtitle; and
(C) the average weekly benefit amount
distributed to each claimant under this subtitle; and
(4) for the total amount of benefits paid for invalid
claims during the preceding calendar year, a list of at least four
of the primary reasons why the commission was not able to recover
those benefit payments.
SECTION 5. Sections 214.003(a) and (b), Labor Code, are
amended to read as follows:
(a) If, by wilful nondisclosure or misrepresentation of a
material fact, whether the nondisclosure or misrepresentation is
made by the person or for the person by another, a person receives a
benefit when a condition imposed by this subtitle for the person's
qualifying for the benefit is not fulfilled or the person is
disqualified from receiving the benefit:
(1) the person forfeits the:
(A) benefit received; [and]
(B) rights to benefits that remain in the benefit
year in which the nondisclosure or misrepresentation occurred; and
(C) rights to any benefits under this subtitle
until the earlier of:
(i) the end of the fifth calendar year
following the last day of the benefit year in which the
nondisclosure or misrepresentation occurred; or
(ii) the date that the commission recovered
from the claimant any benefits received by wilful nondisclosure or
misrepresentation of a material fact and any penalty imposed under
this section; and
(2) the commission shall require the person to pay a
penalty in an amount equal to 15 percent of the amount forfeited
under Subdivision (1)(A).
(b) If a person attempts to obtain or increase benefits by a
nondisclosure or misrepresentation as provided by Subsection (a),
the commission shall [may] cancel the person's right to benefits
that remain in the benefit year in which the nondisclosure or
misrepresentation occurred and the person shall forfeit rights to
any benefit under this subtitle until the end of the fifth calendar
year following the last day of the benefit year in which the
attempted nondisclosure or misrepresentation occurred.
SECTION 6. 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 7. This Act takes effect October 1, 2023.