Florida Senate - 2021 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. SB 1906
Ì238872DÎ238872
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: UNFAV .
03/30/2021 .
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The Committee on Commerce and Tourism (Powell) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Before line 15
4 insert:
5 Section 1. Paragraph (d) of subsection (1) of section
6 443.091, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
7 443.091 Benefit eligibility conditions.—
8 (1) An unemployed individual is eligible to receive
9 benefits for any week only if the Department of Economic
10 Opportunity finds that:
11 (d) She or he is able to work and is available for work. In
12 order to assess eligibility for a claimed week of unemployment,
13 the department shall develop criteria to determine a claimant’s
14 ability to work and availability for work. A claimant must be
15 actively seeking work in order to be considered available for
16 work. This means engaging in systematic and sustained efforts to
17 find work, including contacting at least five prospective
18 employers for each week of unemployment claimed. The department
19 may require the claimant to provide proof of such efforts to the
20 one-stop career center as part of reemployment services. A
21 claimant’s proof of work search efforts may not include the same
22 prospective employer at the same location in 3 consecutive
23 weeks, unless the employer has indicated since the time of the
24 initial contact that the employer is hiring. The department
25 shall conduct random reviews of work search information provided
26 by claimants. As an alternative to contacting at least five
27 prospective employers for any week of unemployment claimed, a
28 claimant may, for that same week, report in person to a one-stop
29 career center to meet with a representative of the center and
30 access reemployment services of the center. The center shall
31 keep a record of the services or information provided to the
32 claimant and shall provide the records to the department upon
33 request by the department. However:
34 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph,
35 an individual who is otherwise eligible for benefits may not be
36 deemed ineligible for benefits for any week if his or her
37 ability to work, or availability to work, is precluded by the
38 claimant’s:
39 a. Lack of available transportation to work;
40 b. Sickness or disability;
41 c. Caring for a family member or a child; or
42 d. Pregnancy.
43 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph or
44 paragraphs (b) and (e), an otherwise eligible individual may not
45 be denied benefits for any week because she or he is in training
46 with the approval of the department, or by reason of s.
47 443.101(2) relating to failure to apply for, or refusal to
48 accept, suitable work. Training may be approved by the
49 department in accordance with criteria prescribed by rule. A
50 claimant’s eligibility during approved training is contingent
51 upon satisfying eligibility conditions prescribed by rule.
52 3.2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter,
53 an otherwise eligible individual who is in training approved
54 under s. 236(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, may not
55 be determined ineligible or disqualified for benefits due to
56 enrollment in such training or because of leaving work that is
57 not suitable employment to enter such training. As used in this
58 subparagraph, the term “suitable employment” means work of a
59 substantially equal or higher skill level than the worker’s past
60 adversely affected employment, as defined for purposes of the
61 Trade Act of 1974, as amended, the wages for which are at least
62 80 percent of the worker’s average weekly wage as determined for
63 purposes of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended.
64 4.3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section,
65 an otherwise eligible individual may not be denied benefits for
66 any week because she or he is before any state or federal court
67 pursuant to a lawfully issued summons to appear for jury duty.
68 5.4. Union members who customarily obtain employment
69 through a union hiring hall may satisfy the work search
70 requirements of this paragraph by reporting daily to their union
71 hall.
72 6.5. The work search requirements of this paragraph do not
73 apply to persons who are unemployed as a result of a temporary
74 layoff or who are claiming benefits under an approved short-time
75 compensation plan as provided in s. 443.1116.
76 7.6. In small counties as defined in s. 120.52(19), a
77 claimant engaging in systematic and sustained efforts to find
78 work must contact at least three prospective employers for each
79 week of unemployment claimed.
80 8.7. The work search requirements of this paragraph do not
81 apply to persons required to participate in reemployment
82 services under paragraph (e).
83
84 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
85 And the title is amended as follows:
86 Between lines 2 and 3
87 insert:
88 s. 443.091, F.S.; prohibiting otherwise eligible
89 individuals from being deemed ineligible to receive
90 reemployment assistance benefits if their ability or
91 availability to work is precluded by specified
92 circumstances; amending