79R254 KSD-D
By: Thompson H.B. No. 131
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
AN ACT
relating to the eligibility for unemployment compensation benefits
of certain employees who provide at-home infant care after the
birth or adoption of a child.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
SECTION 1. Subchapter B, Chapter 207, Labor Code, is
amended by adding Section 207.026 to read as follows:
Sec. 207.026. BIRTH OR ADOPTION OF CHILD. (a) In this
section, "parent" means a child's birth parent, stepparent,
adoptive parent, or foster parent and includes a child's legal
guardian.
(b) An individual who is the parent of a newborn child may
not be denied benefits solely because the individual is on leave
from or left the individual's last employment to care for the
newborn child if the individual satisfies the requirements of
Subsection (d).
(c) An individual who is on leave or who has left employment
in accordance with Subsection (d):
(1) is eligible for benefits under this section; and
(2) is not required to comply with the provisions of
this chapter relating to the individual's:
(A) availability for work;
(B) active search for work; or
(C) refusal to apply for or refusal to accept
suitable work.
(d) Except as provided by Subsection (e), a parent is
eligible to receive benefits under this section only if:
(1) the parent is providing care for the parent's
newborn child in the home in which the parent or infant lives;
(2) the combined income of the parent or parents
living at the same residence as the newborn child is not more than
300 percent of the federal poverty guidelines for the year in which
the child is born;
(3) the parent or parents living at the same residence
as the newborn child, during each of the four calendar months
immediately preceding the birth of the child, worked:
(A) a combined total of at least 100 hours, if two
parents live at the same residence as the newborn child;
(B) a total of at least 50 hours, if only one
parent lives at the same residence as the newborn child; or
(C) a total of at least 30 hours, if only one
parent lives at the same residence as the newborn child and that
parent is enrolled in and regularly attends high school, a high
school equivalency program, or an institution of postsecondary
education at the time the child is born; and
(4) the parent receiving benefits under this section
is 18 years of age or older or, if the parent is younger than 18
years of age, the parent is enrolled in and regularly attends high
school, a high school equivalency program, or an institution of
postsecondary education or has attained a high school equivalency
certificate or a high school diploma.
(e) A newborn child's parent who is younger than 18 years of
age and who attends high school or a high school equivalency program
may receive benefits under this section during a calendar month or
any portion of a calendar month that is not included in the school
year adopted by the school district in which the parent lives.
(f) A parent receiving benefits under this section may not
be employed outside of the parent's home at the same time the parent
receives benefits under this section.
(g) A parent who is eligible to receive benefits under this
section is entitled to receive benefits for not more than 12 weeks
immediately following the latest of:
(1) the date on which the child is born;
(2) the first date on which the child is released from
the hospital in which the child is born; or
(3) if the woman who gave birth to the child is the
parent receiving benefits under this section, the first date on
which that parent is released from the hospital in which the child
is born.
(h) Notwithstanding any other provision of this subtitle,
the amount of benefits under this section is an amount equal to the
number of weeks a parent receives benefits multiplied by 60 percent
of that parent's average earned weekly wage for the last four
calendar weeks the parent worked immediately preceding the birth of
the child, reduced by:
(1) any amount paid to the individual by an employer
because of the birth or adoption of the child; and
(2) any amount paid to the individual under a
disability insurance plan contributed to by an employer, in
proportion to the employer's contribution to the plan.
(i) An individual may not receive benefits under this
section for more than 12 months during the individual's lifetime.
(j) An employer shall provide notice as prescribed by the
commission by rule regarding the availability of benefits under
this section to each employee before the employee's first day of
employment.
(k) This section shall be applied in accordance with any
applicable regulations of the United States Department of Labor.
SECTION 2. Section 207.045(d), Labor Code, is amended to
read as follows:
(d) Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an
individual who is available to work may not be disqualified for
benefits because the individual left work because of:
(1) a medically verified illness of the individual or
the individual's minor child;
(2) injury;
(3) disability;
(4) pregnancy; [or]
(5) an involuntary separation as described by Section
207.046; or
(6) the birth of the individual's child or the adoption
of a child by the individual, if the individual is eligible for
benefits under Section 207.026.
SECTION 3. Section 204.022(a), Labor Code, as amended by
Chapters 77, 526, and 817, Acts of the 78th Legislature, Regular
Session, 2003, is reenacted and 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; [or]
(10) [(9)] 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) [(9)] resulted from the employee leaving the
employee's workplace to protect the employee from family violence
or stalking as evidenced by:
(A) an active or recently issued protective order
documenting 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 family violence
against, or the stalking of, the employee; and
(C) a physician's statement or other medical
documentation of family violence against the employee; or
(12) resulted from the employee's taking leave or
leaving employment to care for a newborn child, if the individual is
eligible to receive benefits under Section 207.026.
SECTION 4. (a) The changes in law made by this Act apply
only to eligibility for unemployment compensation benefits under a
claim that is filed with the Texas Workforce Commission on or after
December 1, 2005. Eligibility for unemployment compensation
benefits under a claim that is filed before December 1, 2005, 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.
(b) To the extent of any conflict, this Act prevails over
another Act of the 79th Legislature, Regular Session, 2005,
relating to nonsubstantive additions to and corrections in enacted
codes.
(c) The Texas Workforce Commission shall adopt rules as
necessary to implement Section 207.026, Labor Code, as added by
this Act, not later than November 1, 2005.
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2005.