|
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 newborn child |
|
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 |
|
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 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; |
|
(5) an involuntary separation as described by Section |
|
207.046; [or] |
|
(6) a move from the area of the individual's employment |
|
that: |
|
(A) was made with the individual'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; or |
|
(7) 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 39, 493, and 728, Acts of the 79th Legislature, Regular |
|
Session, 2005, 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; |
|
(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 |
|
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 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; [or] |
|
(13) [(12)] 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; or |
|
(14) 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, 2007. Eligibility for unemployment compensation |
|
benefits under a claim that is filed before December 1, 2007, 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 80th Legislature, Regular Session, 2007, |
|
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, 2007. |
|
SECTION 5. This Act takes effect September 1, 2007. |