By Yarbrough H.B. No. 694
77R4168 PB-D
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
1-1 AN ACT
1-2 relating to eligibility for unemployment compensation benefits of
1-3 certain sheltered workshop employees who are blind.
1-4 BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
1-5 SECTION 1. Section 201.067, Labor Code, is amended to read as
1-6 follows:
1-7 Sec. 201.067. REHABILITATIVE SERVICE; WORK RELIEF; EXCEPTION
1-8 FOR SERVICES PERFORMED BY CERTAIN BLIND INDIVIDUALS. (a) In this
1-9 subtitle, "employment" does not include service performed by an
1-10 individual who:
1-11 (1) receives [service performed by an individual
1-12 receiving] rehabilitative work or paying work in the employ of a
1-13 facility that:
1-14 (A) is conducted to carry [for the purpose of
1-15 carrying] out a program of rehabilitation for individuals whose
1-16 earning capacity is impaired by:
1-17 (i) age;
1-18 (ii) [,] physical impairment, other than
1-19 blindness; or
1-20 (iii) mental deficiency or injury; or
1-21 (B) [that] provides paying work for individuals
1-22 who, because of their impaired physical or mental capacity, cannot
1-23 be readily absorbed in the competitive labor market; [or]
1-24 (2) is blind while the individual is in training at a
2-1 sheltered workshop operated by a charitable organization under a
2-2 rehabilitation program that includes:
2-3 (A) an individual plan for employment as
2-4 required by 29 U.S.C. Section 722, as amended;
2-5 (B) a timeline for completion of the training;
2-6 and
2-7 (C) a planned employment outcome; or
2-8 (3) receives work relief or work training [service
2-9 performed] as a part of an unemployment work-relief or
2-10 work-training program assisted or financed in whole or in part by a
2-11 federal agency, an agency of a state, or a political subdivision of
2-12 a state [by an individual receiving the work relief or work
2-13 training].
2-14 (b) Notwithstanding Subsection (a), in this subtitle
2-15 "employment" includes service performed by an individual who is
2-16 blind and who, after training, is working for a sheltered workshop
2-17 operated by a charitable organization:
2-18 (1) temporarily while awaiting placement in a position
2-19 of employment in the competitive labor market; or
2-20 (2) permanently because the individual is unable to
2-21 compete in the competitive labor market.
2-22 SECTION 2. This Act takes effect September 1, 2001, and
2-23 applies only to a claim for unemployment compensation benefits that
2-24 is filed with the Texas Workforce Commission on or after that date.
2-25 A claim filed before that date is governed by the law in effect on
2-26 the date that the claim was filed, and the former law is continued
2-27 in effect for that purpose.