BILL ANALYSIS

H.B. 1658

By: Vo

Economic & Small Business Development

Committee Report (Unamended)

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE

Interested parties contend that employees of a temporary help firm can currently be disqualified for unemployment benefits for failing to contact the temporary help firm within a short time frame, usually one business day, following the end of an assignment. This short deadline often causes issues when a temporary assignment ends as a result of some catastrophic or unforeseen circumstance. Interested parties assert that adding a good cause exception could mitigate the problems encountered by employees in exceptional circumstances while maintaining the responsibilities inherent in the employee and employer relationship. H.B. 1658 seeks to address this situation.

CRIMINAL JUSTICE IMPACT

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly create a criminal offense, increase the punishment for an existing criminal offense or category of offenses, or change the eligibility of a person for community supervision, parole, or mandatory supervision.

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the committee's opinion that this bill does not expressly grant any additional rulemaking authority to a state officer, department, agency, or institution.

ANALYSIS

H.B. 1658 amends the Labor Code, in a provision conditioning the consideration for unemployment compensation benefits of a temporary employee of a temporary help firm as having left the employee's last work voluntarily without good cause connected with the work on the temporary employee's failure to contact the temporary help firm for reassignment on completion of an assignment, to add to that condition the specification that such failure is without good cause.

EFFECTIVE DATE

September 1, 2015.