Florida Senate - 2021                          SENATOR AMENDMENT
       Bill No. CS for CS for SB 50
       
       
       
       
       
       
                                Ì130190tÎ130190                         
       
                              LEGISLATIVE ACTION                        
                    Senate             .             House              
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                 Floor: WD/2R          .                                
             03/25/2021 01:52 PM       .                                
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       Senator Farmer moved the following:
       
    1         Senate Amendment to Amendment (913612) (with title
    2  amendment)
    3  
    4         Between lines 6 and 7
    5  insert:
    6         Section 2. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section
    7  443.091, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
    8         443.091 Benefit eligibility conditions.—
    9         (1) An unemployed individual is eligible to receive
   10  benefits for any week only if the Department of Economic
   11  Opportunity finds that:
   12         (d) She or he is able to work and is available for work. In
   13  order to assess eligibility for a claimed week of unemployment,
   14  the department shall develop criteria to determine a claimant’s
   15  ability to work and availability for work. A claimant must be
   16  actively seeking work in order to be considered available for
   17  work. This means engaging in systematic and sustained efforts to
   18  find work, including contacting at least five prospective
   19  employers for each week of unemployment claimed. The department
   20  may require the claimant to provide proof of such efforts to the
   21  one-stop career center as part of reemployment services. A
   22  claimant’s proof of work search efforts may not include the same
   23  prospective employer at the same location in 3 consecutive
   24  weeks, unless the employer has indicated since the time of the
   25  initial contact that the employer is hiring. The department
   26  shall conduct random reviews of work search information provided
   27  by claimants. As an alternative to contacting at least five
   28  prospective employers for any week of unemployment claimed, a
   29  claimant may, for that same week, report in person to a one-stop
   30  career center to meet with a representative of the center and
   31  access reemployment services of the center. The center shall
   32  keep a record of the services or information provided to the
   33  claimant and shall provide the records to the department upon
   34  request by the department. However:
   35         1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph,
   36  an individual who is otherwise eligible for benefits may not be
   37  deemed ineligible for benefits for any week if his or her
   38  ability to work, or availability to work, is precluded by the
   39  claimant’s:
   40         a. Lack of available transportation to work;
   41         b. Sickness or disability;
   42         c. Caring for a family member or a child; or
   43         d. Pregnancy.
   44         2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph or
   45  paragraphs (b) and (e), an otherwise eligible individual may not
   46  be denied benefits for any week because she or he is in training
   47  with the approval of the department, or by reason of s.
   48  443.101(2) relating to failure to apply for, or refusal to
   49  accept, suitable work. Training may be approved by the
   50  department in accordance with criteria prescribed by rule. A
   51  claimant’s eligibility during approved training is contingent
   52  upon satisfying eligibility conditions prescribed by rule.
   53         3.2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter,
   54  an otherwise eligible individual who is in training approved
   55  under s. 236(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, may not
   56  be determined ineligible or disqualified for benefits due to
   57  enrollment in such training or because of leaving work that is
   58  not suitable employment to enter such training. As used in this
   59  subparagraph, the term “suitable employment” means work of a
   60  substantially equal or higher skill level than the worker’s past
   61  adversely affected employment, as defined for purposes of the
   62  Trade Act of 1974, as amended, the wages for which are at least
   63  80 percent of the worker’s average weekly wage as determined for
   64  purposes of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended.
   65         4.3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
   66  an otherwise eligible individual may not be denied benefits for
   67  any week because she or he is before any state or federal court
   68  pursuant to a lawfully issued summons to appear for jury duty.
   69         5.4. Union members who customarily obtain employment
   70  through a union hiring hall may satisfy the work search
   71  requirements of this paragraph by reporting daily to their union
   72  hall.
   73         6.5. The work search requirements of this paragraph do not
   74  apply to persons who are unemployed as a result of a temporary
   75  layoff or who are claiming benefits under an approved short-time
   76  compensation plan as provided in s. 443.1116.
   77         7.6. In small counties as defined in s. 120.52(19), a
   78  claimant engaging in systematic and sustained efforts to find
   79  work must contact at least three prospective employers for each
   80  week of unemployment claimed.
   81         8.7. The work search requirements of this paragraph do not
   82  apply to persons required to participate in reemployment
   83  services under paragraph (e).
   84  
   85  ================= T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T ================
   86  And the title is amended as follows:
   87         Delete line 2130
   88  and insert:
   89         An act relating to state financial matters; providing
   90         a short title; amending s. 443.091, F.S.; prohibiting
   91         otherwise eligible individuals from being deemed
   92         ineligible to receive reemployment assistance benefits
   93         if their ability or availability to work is precluded
   94         by specified circumstances;