Senate Bill 1340

    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 1340

    By Senator Mitchell





    4-837-99

  1                      A bill to be entitled

  2         An act relating to unemployment compensation;

  3         amending s. 443.101, F.S.; redefining the term

  4         "just cause" to include circumstances resulting

  5         from domestic violence; providing an effective

  6         date.

  7

  8  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:

  9

10         Section 1.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section

11  443.101, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:

12         443.101  Disqualification for benefits.--An individual

13  shall be disqualified for benefits:

14         (1)(a)  For the week in which he or she has voluntarily

15  left his or her work without good cause attributable to his or

16  her employing unit or in which the individual has been

17  discharged by his or her employing unit for misconduct

18  connected with his or her work, if so found by the division.

19  The term "work," as used in this paragraph, means any work,

20  whether full-time, part-time, or temporary.

21         1.  Disqualification for voluntarily quitting shall

22  continue for the full period of unemployment next ensuing

23  after he or she has left his or her work voluntarily without

24  good cause and until such individual has earned income equal

25  to or in excess of 17 times his or her weekly benefit amount;

26  "good cause" as used in this subsection shall include only

27  such cause as is attributable to the employing unit or which

28  consists of illness or disability of the individual requiring

29  separation from his or her work, or in which an individual is

30  separated from employment due to circumstances directly

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 1340
    4-837-99




  1  resulting from the individual's experience of domestic

  2  violence.

  3         a.  An employee's separation from employment shall be

  4  treated as due to circumstances directly resulting from the

  5  individual's experience of domestic violence if the separation

  6  resulted from one of the following grounds:

  7         (I)  The employee's reasonable fear of future domestic

  8  violence at or en route to or from the employee's place of

  9  employment;

10         (II)  The employee's wish to relocate to another

11  geographic area in order to avoid future domestic violence

12  against the employee or the employee's family;

13         (III)  The employee's need to recover from traumatic

14  stress resulting from the employee's experience of domestic

15  violence; or

16         (IV)  Any other circumstance in which domestic violence

17  causes the employee to reasonably believe that termination of

18  employment is necessary for the future safety of the employee

19  or the employee's family.

20         b.  An individual shall not be disqualified under this

21  subsection for voluntarily leaving temporary work to return

22  immediately when called to work by the permanent employing

23  unit that temporarily terminated his or her work within the

24  previous 6 calendar months.

25         2.  Disqualification for being discharged for

26  misconduct connected with his or her work shall continue for

27  the full period of unemployment next ensuing after having been

28  discharged and until such individual has become reemployed and

29  has earned income not less than 17 times his or her weekly

30  benefit amount and for not more than 52 weeks which

31  immediately follow such week, as determined by the division in

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CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions.






    Florida Senate - 1999                                  SB 1340
    4-837-99




  1  each case according to the circumstances in each case or the

  2  seriousness of the misconduct, pursuant to rules of the

  3  division enacted for determinations of disqualification for

  4  benefits for misconduct.

  5         Section 2.  This act shall take effect July 1, 1999.

  6

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  8                          SENATE SUMMARY

  9    Provides that circumstances directly resulting from
      domestic violence may be good cause for leaving
10    employment and becoming eligible for unemployment
      compensation.
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