HBA-MPA H.B. 1325 76(R) BILL ANALYSIS Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1325 By: Solis, Jim Economic Development 3/12/1999 Introduced BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE Currently, the law provides that a person who quits a job "voluntarily without good cause connected with the individual's work" (Section 207.045(a), Labor Code), is disqualified from collecting unemployment compensation. Among the circumstances currently considered "good cause" are injury, disability, pregnancy, or a medically verified illness of a person or the person's child. Alternately, other circumstances requiring a worker to take time off from work, such as emergency care of a family member, and court appearances to gain to gain a protective order in a case of domestic violence, are considered disqualifying. H.B. 1325 adds medically verified illness of a family member and verified instances of family violence to the conditions of leaving work that do not disqualify a person from collecting unemployment compensation. RULEMAKING AUTHORITY It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that rulemaking authority is expressly delegated to the Texas Workforce Commission in SECTION 2 (Section 207.045, Labor Code) of this bill. SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS SECTION 1. Amends Section 204.022(a), Labor Code, to prohibit benefits computed on benefit wage credits from being charged to the account of an employer, if the employee's last separation from the employer's employment before the employee's benefit year was caused by a medically verifiable illness of another member of the employee's household for whom the employee is responsible for providing necessary care. SECTION 2. Amends Section 207.045, Labor Code, by amending Subsections (d) and (e) and adding Subsection (j), as follows: (d) Prohibits an individual who is available to work from being disqualified for benefits because the individual left work because of a medically verifiable illness of another member of the individual's household for whom the individual is responsible for providing necessary care; a situation occurred in the individual's household involving family violence as defined by Section 71.004 (Family Violence), Family Code, against the individual or a minor child, verified as provided by commission rule; or the unavailability of child care for the individual's child who is younger than 11 years old. (e) Makes conforming and nonsubstantive changes. (j) Requires the Texas Workforce Commission to adopt rules as necessary to implement Subsection (d). SECTION 3.Effective date: September 1, 1999. Makes application of this Act prospective. SECTION 4.Emergency clause.