By: Deshotel H.B. No. 2120

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the operation of the unemployment compensation system and eligibility for and computation of an individual's unemployment compensation benefits.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. 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; or [and]

(C) a physician's statement or other medical documentation that describes the [of] family violence against the employee that:

(i) is recorded in any form or medium that identifies the employee as the patient; and

(ii) relates to the history, diagnosis, treatment, or prognosis of the patient; [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.

SECTION 2. Section 204.022(c), Labor Code, is amended to read as follows:

(c) Except as provided by law, evidence regarding an employee described by Subsection (a)(11) [(a)(9)] may not be disclosed to any person without the consent of the employee.

SECTION 3. Section 207.002, Labor Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsections (a-1) and (a-2) to read as follows:

(a) An eligible individual who is totally unemployed in a benefit period is entitled to benefits for the benefit period at the rate of 1/25 of the wages received by the individual from employment by employers during that quarter in the individual's base period in which wages were highest. For purposes of this subsection, the wages received by the individual from employment by employers during the individual's base period include wages ordered to be paid to the individual by a final order of the commission under Chapter 61 that:

(1) were due to be paid to the individual by an employer during the individual's base period; and

(2) will be credited to the date or dates on which the payment of those wages was due.

(a-1) The commission by rule shall determine the method of crediting wages to a particular quarter for purposes of Subsection (a).

(a-2) The rate of benefits paid under this section may not be more than the maximum weekly benefit amount computed under Subsection (b) or less than the minimum weekly benefit amount computed under Subsection (b) for each benefit period.

SECTION 4. Section 207.004, Labor Code, is amended by amending Subsection (a) and adding Subsection (a-1) to read as follows:

(a) The commission shall credit as benefit wage credits during an individual's base period:

(1) [an individual's] wages the individual received for employment from an employer during the individual's base period; and

(2) wages ordered to be paid by a final order issued by the commission under Chapter 61 that:

(A) were due to be paid by an employer during the individual's base period; and

(B) will be credited to the date or dates on which the payment of those wages was due [as the individual's benefit wage credits].

(a-1) The commission by rule shall determine the method of crediting wages to an individual's base period for purposes of Subsection (a).

SECTION 5. Section 207.021, Labor Code, is amended by adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:

(d) An individual is available for work for purposes of Subsection (a)(4) even if the individual is available only for part-time work if:

(1) the individual establishes to the satisfaction of the commission that the individual has a legitimate reason to limit the individual's employment to part-time work; and

(2) the individual's last work was part-time work.

SECTION 6. Section 207.046(a), Labor Code, is amended to read as follows:

(a) An individual is not disqualified for benefits under this subchapter if:

(1) the work-related reason for the individual's separation from employment was urgent, compelling, and necessary so as to make the separation involuntary; or

(2) the individual leaves the workplace to protect the individual 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; or [and]

(C) a physician's statement or other medical documentation that describes the [of] family violence against the employee that:

(i) is recorded in any form or medium that identifies the employee as the patient; and

(ii) relates to the history, diagnosis, treatment, or prognosis of the patient.

SECTION 7. Section 208.002, Labor Code, is amended to read as follows:

Sec. 208.002. [NOTICE OF] INITIAL CLAIM; LAST WORK. (a) When used in connection with an initial claim, "last work" and "person for whom the claimant last worked" refer to:

(1) the last person for whom the claimant actually worked, if the claimant worked for that person in six or more consecutive weeks and was paid wages by that person equal to at least six times the claimant's weekly benefit amount; or

(2) the employer, as defined by Subchapter C, Chapter 201, or by the unemployment law of any other state, for whom the claimant last worked.

(b) The commission shall mail a notice of the filing of an initial claim to the person for whom the claimant last worked before the effective date of the initial claim. If the person for whom the claimant last worked has more than one branch or division operating at different locations, the commission shall mail the notice to the branch or division at which the claimant last worked.

(c) [(b)] Mailing of a notice under this section to the correct address of the person, branch, or division for which the claimant last worked constitutes notice of the claim to the person.

SECTION 8. Sections 301.081(c) and (d), Labor Code, are amended to read as follows:

(c) Employment information [thus] obtained or otherwise secured under this section may not be published and is not open to public inspection, other than to a public employee in the performance of public duties, except as the commission considers necessary for the proper administration of this title or as provided by commission rule and consistent with federal law.

(d) A person commits an offense if the person [is an employee or member of the commission who] violates any provision of this section. An offense under this subsection is a Class A misdemeanor [is punishable by a fine of not less than $20 nor more than $200, confinement in jail for not more than 90 days, or both fine and confinement].

SECTION 9. Subchapter F, Chapter 301, Labor Code, is amended by adding Section 301.085 to read as follows:

Sec. 301.085. UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION INFORMATION; OFFENSE; PENALTY. (a) In this section, "unemployment compensation information" means information in the records of the commission that pertains to the administration of Subtitle A, including any information collected, received, developed, or maintained in the administration of unemployment compensation benefits or the unemployment compensation tax system.

(b) Consistent with federal law, the commission shall adopt and enforce reasonable rules governing the confidentiality, custody, use, preservation, and disclosure of unemployment compensation information. The rules must include safeguards to protect the confidentiality of identifying information regarding any individual or any past or present employer or employing unit contained in unemployment compensation information, including any information that foreseeably could be combined with other publicly available information to reveal identifying information regarding the individual, employer, or employing unit, as applicable.

(c) Unemployment compensation information is not public information for purposes of Chapter 552, Government Code.

(d) Unless permitted by this subchapter or commission rule, a person commits an offense if the person solicits, discloses, receives, or uses, or authorizes, permits, participates in, or acquiesces in another person's use of, unemployment compensation information that reveals:

(1) identifying information regarding any individual or past or present employer or employing unit; or

(2) information that foreseeably could be combined with other publicly available information to reveal identifying information regarding any individual or past or present employer or employing unit.

(e) An offense under Subsection (d) is a Class A misdemeanor.

SECTION 10. The change in law made by this Act to Section 301.081(d), Labor Code, applies only to an offense committed on or after the effective date of this Act. An offense committed before the effective date of this Act is governed by the law in effect at the time the offense was committed, and the former law is continued in effect for that purpose. For purposes of this section, an offense was committed before the effective date of this Act if any element of the offense was committed before that date.

SECTION 11. 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.

SECTION 12. The changes in law made by this Act apply only to eligibility for unemployment benefits based on an unemployment compensation claim that is filed with the Texas Workforce Commission on or after the effective date of this Act. A claim filed before that date 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.

SECTION 13. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this Act takes effect September 1, 2007.