Bill Text: TX SB819 | 2021-2022 | 87th Legislature | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating to unemployment compensation eligibility and chargebacks regarding certain persons who are separated from employment due to family violence or stalking.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2021-03-11 - Referred to Natural Resources & Economic Development [SB819 Detail]
Download: Texas-2021-SB819-Introduced.html
87R8274 SGM-F | ||
By: Powell | S.B. No. 819 |
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relating to unemployment compensation eligibility and chargebacks | ||
regarding certain persons who are separated from employment due to | ||
family violence or stalking. | ||
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS: | ||
SECTION 1. Section 204.022(a), Labor Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(a) Benefits computed on benefit wage credits of an employee | ||
or former employee may not be charged to the account of an employer | ||
if the employee's last separation from the employer's employment | ||
before the employee's benefit year: | ||
(1) was required by a federal statute; | ||
(2) was required by a statute of this state or an | ||
ordinance of a municipality of this state; | ||
(3) would have disqualified the employee under Section | ||
207.044, 207.045, 207.051, or 207.053 if the employment had been | ||
the employee's last work; | ||
(4) imposes a disqualification under Section 207.044, | ||
207.045, 207.051, or 207.053; | ||
(5) was caused by a medically verifiable illness of | ||
the employee or the employee's minor child; | ||
(6) was based on a natural disaster that results in a | ||
disaster declaration by the president of the United States under | ||
the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act | ||
(42 U.S.C. Section 5121 et seq.), if the employee would have been | ||
entitled to unemployment assistance benefits under Section 410 of | ||
that act (42 U.S.C. Section 5177) had the employee not received | ||
state unemployment compensation benefits; | ||
(7) was caused by a natural disaster, fire, flood, or | ||
explosion that causes employees to be separated from one employer's | ||
employment; | ||
(8) was based on a disaster that results in a disaster | ||
declaration by the governor under Section 418.014, Government Code; | ||
(9) resulted from the employee's resigning from | ||
partial employment to accept other employment that the employee | ||
reasonably believed would increase the employee's weekly wage; | ||
(10) was caused by the employer being called to active | ||
military service in any branch of the United States armed forces on | ||
or after January 1, 2003; | ||
(11) resulted from the employee leaving the employee's | ||
workplace to protect the employee from family violence or stalking | ||
or the employee or a member of the employee's immediate family from | ||
violence related to a sexual assault as evidenced by: | ||
(A) an active or recently issued protective order | ||
documenting sexual assault of the employee or a member of the | ||
employee's immediate family or family violence against, or the | ||
stalking of, the employee or the potential for family violence | ||
against, or the stalking of, the employee; | ||
(B) a police record documenting sexual assault of | ||
the employee or a member of the employee's immediate family or | ||
family violence against, or the stalking of, the employee; | ||
(C) a physician's statement or other medical | ||
documentation that describes the sexual assault of the employee or | ||
a member of the employee's immediate family or family violence | ||
against the employee that: | ||
(i) is recorded in any form or medium that | ||
identifies the employee or member of the employee's immediate | ||
family, as applicable, as the patient; and | ||
(ii) relates to the history, diagnosis, | ||
treatment, or prognosis of the patient; [ |
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(D) written documentation from a family violence | ||
center or rape crisis center that describes the sexual assault of | ||
the employee or a member of the employee's immediate family or | ||
family violence against the employee; or | ||
(E) the employee's testimony and corroborating | ||
testimony or other evidence that establishes the employee was the | ||
victim of family violence or stalking; | ||
(12) resulted from a move from the area of the | ||
employee's employment that: | ||
(A) was made with the employee's spouse who is a | ||
member of the armed forces of the United States; and | ||
(B) resulted from the spouse's permanent change | ||
of station of longer than 120 days or a tour of duty of longer than | ||
one year; | ||
(13) was caused by the employee being unable to | ||
perform the work as a result of a disability for which the employee | ||
is receiving disability insurance benefits under 42 U.S.C. Section | ||
423; | ||
(14) resulted from the employee leaving the employee's | ||
workplace to care for the employee's terminally ill spouse as | ||
evidenced by a physician's statement or other medical | ||
documentation, but only if no reasonable, alternative care was | ||
available; | ||
(15) was caused by the employer's reinstatement of a | ||
qualified uniformed service member with reemployment rights and | ||
benefits and other employment benefits in accordance with the | ||
Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 | ||
(38 U.S.C. Section 4301 et seq.); or | ||
(16) was due to a reason that: | ||
(A) constitutes an involuntary separation under | ||
Section 207.046(a)(1); and | ||
(B) does not constitute good cause connected with | ||
the employee's work under Section 207.045 for the employee to | ||
voluntarily leave the employment. | ||
SECTION 2. Section 207.046(a), Labor Code, is amended to | ||
read as follows: | ||
(a) An individual is not disqualified for benefits under | ||
this subchapter if: | ||
(1) the work-related reason for the individual's | ||
separation from employment was urgent, compelling, and necessary so | ||
as to make the separation involuntary; | ||
(2) the individual leaves the workplace to protect the | ||
individual from family violence or stalking or the individual or a | ||
member of the individual's immediate family from violence related | ||
to a sexual assault as evidenced by: | ||
(A) an active or recently issued protective order | ||
documenting sexual assault of the individual or a member of the | ||
individual's immediate family or family violence against, or the | ||
stalking of, the individual or the potential for family violence | ||
against, or the stalking of, the individual; | ||
(B) a police record documenting sexual assault of | ||
the individual or a member of the individual's immediate family or | ||
family violence against, or the stalking of, the individual; | ||
(C) a physician's statement or other medical | ||
documentation that describes the sexual assault of the individual | ||
or a member of the individual's immediate family or family violence | ||
against the individual that: | ||
(i) is recorded in any form or medium that | ||
identifies the individual or member of the individual's immediate | ||
family, as applicable, as the patient; and | ||
(ii) relates to the history, diagnosis, | ||
treatment, or prognosis of the patient; [ |
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(D) written documentation from a family violence | ||
center or rape crisis center that describes the sexual assault of | ||
the individual or a member of the individual's immediate family or | ||
family violence against the individual; or | ||
(E) the individual's testimony and corroborating | ||
testimony or other evidence that establishes the individual was the | ||
victim of family violence or stalking; or | ||
(3) the individual leaves the workplace to care for | ||
the individual's terminally ill spouse as evidenced by a | ||
physician's statement or other medical documentation, but only if | ||
no reasonable, alternative care was available. | ||
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, 2021. |