HBA-NLM H.B. 1385 76(R)    BILL ANALYSIS


Office of House Bill AnalysisH.B. 1385
By: Keffer
Economic Development
3/9/1999
Introduced

BACKGROUND AND PURPOSE 

The Texas Unemployment Compensation Act allows an individual who is
partially unemployed to draw unemployment benefits. Currently, "partial
unemployment"  is defined by the Act without reference to the reason which
caused an individual to become partially unemployed. An employee whose
hours are reduced as a result of disciplinary action can file a claim for
partial unemployment benefits and the Act does not require an individual to
return to work after a disciplinary action or unpaid suspension. This bill
proposes to prohibit such partial claims when they result from a valid
disciplinary action or an unpaid suspension. 

H.B. 1385 provides that an individual is not partially unemployed if the
individual's work hours are reduced by the individual's employer as a
result of a disciplinary action.  This bill also requires an individual to
return to work after a disciplinary suspension or be disqualified for
benefits. 

RULEMAKING AUTHORITY

It is the opinion of the Office of House Bill Analysis that this bill does
not expressly delegate any additional rulemaking authority to a state
officer, department, agency, or institution. 

SECTION BY SECTION ANALYSIS

SECTION 1.  Amends Section 201.091, Labor Code, by adding Subsection (e),
as follows: 

(e)  Provides that notwithstanding Subsection (b), an individual is not
partially unemployed, for the purposes of this subtitle, if the individual
is suspended by the individual's employer from a position of employment
without compensation as a disciplinary action during a benefit period.
Subsection (b) states that an individual is partially unemployed in a
benefit period of less than full-time work if the individual's wages
payable for that benefit period are less than the sum of the benefit amount
the individual would be entitled to receive if the individual was totally
unemployed and  the greater of $5 or 25 percent of the benefit amount. 


SECTION 2.  Amends Section 207.045, Labor Code, by adding Subsection (j),
as follows: 

(j)  Provides that an individual who is suspended by the individual's
employer as a disciplinary action from a position of employment, for a term
not to exceed five days without compensation, is considered to have left
the position of employment voluntarily without good cause connected to the
employment if the individual does not return to the position of employment
after the expiration of the period of suspension. Provides that the
disqualification for benefits under this subsection continues until the
individual satisfies the conditions for requalification under Subsection
(b). Subsection (b) states that a disqualification for benefits under this
section continues until the individual has returned to employment and
worked for six weeks or earned wages equal to six times the individual's
benefit amount. 

SECTION 3.  Effective date: September 1, 1999.
                       Makes application of this Act prospective.

SECTION 4.  Emergency clause.