Virginia House Bill 2040 (Prior Session Legislation)

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Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 28-0)
Status: Engrossed on February 4 2021 - 50% progression, died in chamber
Action: 2021-02-05 - Continued to 2021 Sp. Sess. 1 in Commerce and Labor (15-Y 0-N)
Text: Latest bill text (Comm Sub) [HTML]

Unemployment compensation; failure to respond; continuation of benefits; repayment of overpayments. Provides that an employer shall be deemed to have established a pattern of failing to respond timely or adequately to written requests for information relating to claims if the Virginia Employment Commission determines that the employer has failed to respond timely or adequately to a written request for information relating to a claim on two or more occasions within a 48-month window and requires such employer to pay a penalty upon his second such failure to respond timely or adequately. Under current law, such pattern is established after four failures, and the penalty is assessed after the third failure. The bill provides that if an employer fails to respond timely or adequately to a written request by the Commission for information relating to a claim, the employer forfeits any appeal rights to that claim. Unemployment compensation; failure to respond; continuation of benefits; repayment of overpayments. Provides that an employer shall be deemed to have established a pattern of failing to respond timely or adequately to written requests for information relating to claims if the Virginia Employment Commission determines that the employer has failed to respond timely or adequately to a written request for information relating to a claim on two or more occasions within a 48-month window and requires such employer to pay a penalty upon his second such failure to respond timely or adequately. Under current law, such pattern is established after four failures, and the penalty is assessed after the third failure. The bill provides that if an employer fails to respond timely or adequately to a written request by the Commission for information relating to a claim, the employer forfeits any appeal rights to that claim. The bill provides that when a claimant has had a determination of initial eligibility for benefits, as determined by the issuance of compensation or waiting-week credit, payments shall continue, subject to a presumption of continued eligibility, until a determination is made that provides the claimant notice and an opportunity to be heard. The bill provides that the Commission shall waive the obligation to repay any overpayment if (i) the overpayment was made without fault on the part of the individual and (ii) requiring repayment would be contrary to equity and good conscience. The Commission shall have authority to negotiate the terms of repayment for any overpayment where repayment is not forgiven. Overpayments shall not be considered "without fault" if the overpayment was the result of (i) a reversal in the appeals process, unless the employer failed to respond or timely respond or (ii) a programming, technological, or automated system error that results in erroneous payments to a group of individuals. The bill also provides that the Commission shall notify each person with an unpaid overpayment of benefits that they may be entitled to a waiver of repayment and provide 30 days to request such a waiver. The bill applies to overpayments established for the week commencing March 15, 2020 through the week commencing June 26, 2021 and only to those overpayments that have not been fully or partially repaid. Finally, the bill allows the Commission to suspend or forego referring any overpayment to the collections process until June 30, 2022.

Unemployment compensation; failure to respond, continuation of benefits, repayment of overpayments.

Del. Sally Hudson [D]	Del. Alex Askew [D]	Sen. Lamont Bagby [D]	Del. Dan Helmer [D]
Del. Kathy Tran [D]	Del. Hala Ayala [D]	Del. Jeffrey Bourne [D]	Del. Betsy Carr [D]
Del. Lee Carter [D]	Del. Joshua Cole [D]	Del. Elizabeth Guzman [D]	Del. Charniele Herring [D]
Del. Patrick Hope [D]	Del. Chris Hurst [D]	Del. Mark Keam [D]	Del. Kaye Kory [D]
Del. Mark Levine [D]	Del. Delores McQuinn [D]	Del. Kathleen Murphy [D]	Del. Kenneth Plum [D]
Del. Marcia Price [D]	Del. Sam Rasoul [D]	Del. David Reid [D]	Sen. Danica Roem [D]
Del. Ibraheem Samirah [D]	Del. Marcus Simon [D]	Del. Shelly Simonds [D]	Sen. Suhas Subramanyam [D]

2021-02-05 - Senate - Senate: Continued to 2021 Sp. Sess. 1 in Commerce and Labor (15-Y 0-N) (Y: 15 N: 0 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2021-02-05 - House - House: VOTE: Passage (57-Y 43-N) (Y: 57 N: 43 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2021-02-03 - House - House: Reported from Appropriations with substitute (13-Y 9-N) (Y: 13 N: 9 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2021-02-02 - House - House: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (5-Y 3-N) (Y: 5 N: 3 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2021-01-28 - House - House: Reported from Labor and Commerce with substitute (14-Y 8-N) (Y: 14 N: 8 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2021-01-26 - House - House: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (6-Y 2-N) (Y: 6 N: 2 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]
2021-01-26 - House - House: Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (6-Y 2-N) (Y: 6 N: 2 NV: 0 Abs: 0) [PASS]

Date	Chamber	Action
2021-02-05	Senate	Continued to 2021 Sp. Sess. 1 in Commerce and Labor (15-Y 0-N)
2021-02-05	Senate	Referred to Committee on Commerce and Labor
2021-02-05	Senate	Constitutional reading dispensed
2021-02-05	House	VOTE: Passage (57-Y 43-N)
2021-02-05	House	Read third time and passed House (57-Y 43-N)
2021-02-04	House	Engrossed by House - committee substitute HB2040H2
2021-02-04	House	Committee on Appropriations substitute agreed to 21104300D-H2
2021-02-04	House	Committee on Labor and Commerce substitute rejected 21103684D-H1
2021-02-04	House	Read second time
2021-02-03	House	Read first time
2021-02-03	House	Committee substitute printed 21104300D-H2
2021-02-03	House	Reported from Appropriations with substitute (13-Y 9-N)
2021-02-02	House	Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (5-Y 3-N)
2021-01-29	House	Assigned App. sub: Commerce Agriculture & Natural Resources
2021-01-28	House	Incorporates HB1977 (Askew)
2021-01-28	House	Referred to Committee on Appropriations
2021-01-28	House	Committee substitute printed 21103684D-H1
2021-01-28	House	Reported from Labor and Commerce with substitute (14-Y 8-N)
2021-01-26	House	Subcommittee recommends reporting with substitute (6-Y 2-N)
2021-01-14	House	Assigned L & C sub: Subcommittee #1
2021-01-12	House	Referred to Committee on Labor and Commerce
2021-01-12	House	Prefiled and ordered printed; offered 01/13/21 21102511D

HB2040 (Carry Over) 2021-02-05 - Continued to 2021 Sp. Sess. 1 in Commerce and Labor (15-Y 0-N)

Chapter	Article	Section	Citation Type	Statute Text
60	2	528.1	(n/a)	See Bill Text
60	2	619	(n/a)	See Bill Text
60	2	633	(n/a)	See Bill Text

Type	Source
Summary	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?211+sum+HB2040
Text	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?211+ful+HB2040+hil
Text	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?211+ful+HB2040H1+hil
Text	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?211+ful+HB2040H2+hil
Amendment	https://committees.lis.virginia.gov/pdfs/drafts/21103684D.pdf
Amendment	https://committees.lis.virginia.gov/pdfs/21103684.pdf
Amendment	https://committees.lis.virginia.gov/pdfs/drafts/21103896A.pdf
Supplement	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?211+oth+HB2040F122+PDF
Supplement	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?211+oth+HB2040FH1122+PDF
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?211+vot+H1401V0016+HB2040
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?211+vot+H1401V0019+HB2040
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?211+vot+H14V0085+HB2040
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?211+vot+H0201V0010+HB2040
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?211+vot+H02V0107+HB2040
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?211+vot+HV1498+HB2040
Roll Call	https://lis.virginia.gov/cgi-bin/legp604.exe?211+vot+S02V0057+HB2040