Bill: HB 3373, 84(R) - 2015

Committee

House Economic & Small Business Development

Vote Recommendation

Vote Recommendation Economic Freedom Property Rights Personal Responsibility Limited Government Individual Liberty
Yes Neutral Neutral Positive Positive Neutral

Author(s)

Doug Miller

Bill Caption

Relating to the liability of reimbursing employers under the Texas Unemployment Compensation Act.

Fiscal Notes

A fiscal note dated April 8, 2015 anticipates a negative two-year net impact to General Revenue Related Funds of $3,046,883 through the biennium ending August 31, 2017.

The bill would make no appropriation but could provide the legal basis for an appropriation of funds to implement the provisions of the bill.

Bill Analysis

House Bill 3373 would amend Chapter 205 of the Labor Code to provide that a reimbursing employer is not liable for paying reimbursement for benefits paid to an individual, whether the employer was an individual's last employer or not, if the individual was either discharged for misconduct, or voluntarily left work without good cause connected with the individual's work.

House Bill 3373 would also provide that a reimbursing employer could contest reimbursements billed by the Texas Workforce Commission in such cases.

Vote Recommendation Notes

5/22/15 update:

No amendments have been introduced on the House floor and no changes have been made to the bill in Senate committee. We continue to support it.

The second chamber sponsor is Senator Kelly Hancock.

First chamber recommendation:

Under current law, a state, a political subdivision of a state, an Indian tribe, or an instrumentality of a state, political subdivision of a state, or Indian tribe may elect to pay reimbursements for benefits instead of contributions (Section 205.001 of the Labor Code). "Reimbursing employers" do not contribute to the Unemployment Compensation Fund by paying a tax. In the event of their former employees applying and receiving unemployment compensation benefits, the Texas Workforce Commission bills the reimbursing employer concerned for the amount of regular benefits and federal extended benefits.

Still under current law, when an individual working for an employer contributing to the Unemployment Compensation Fund is discharged for misconduct (Section 207.044 of the Labor Code) or voluntarily leaves the individual's last employer without good cause connected with the individual's work (Section 207.045 of the Labor Code), the individual is generally disqualified for benefits. House Bill 3373 would apply the same rules to former employees of reimbursing employers.

House Bill 3373 would favor a limited government in the sense that it would apply the law equally to all individuals, regardless of the kind of entity their former employer is.

It would also favor personal responsibility. Unemployment compensation benefits are part of a safety net that helps people face situations in which they find themselves out of work due to no fault of their own, the situation is unexpected, and they are actively looking for work. If an individual either is discharged for misconduct, or leaves voluntarily without good reason, he should not qualify.

As a consequence, we support House Bill 3373.

Source URL (retrieved on 03/29/2024 10:03 AM): http://reports.texasaction.com/bill/84r/hb3373?print_view=true