HB 1057

1
A bill to be entitled
2An act relating to unemployment compensation; amending s.
3443.036, F.S.; redefining the term "base period" for
4purposes of determining eligibility for benefits;
5providing an alternative base period; providing
6applicability and calculation; amending s. 443.101, F.S.;
7prohibiting certain persons choosing to separate from
8employment from being disqualified from regular
9unemployment compensation; prohibiting certain unemployed
10individuals from disqualification for eligibility for
11unemployment compensation benefits based solely on the
12individual's availability for only part-time work;
13providing an effective date.
14
15Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
16
17     Section 1.  Subsection (7) of section 443.036, Florida
18Statutes, is amended to read:
19     443.036  Definitions.--As used in this chapter, the term:
20     (7)  "Base period" means the first four of the last five
21completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the first day
22of an individual's benefit year.
23     (a)  With respect to a benefit year commencing on or after
24October 1, 2008, if an individual is not monetarily eligible in
25his or her base period to qualify for benefits, the division
26must designate the alternative base period to be his or her base
27period. As used in this subsection, the term "alternative base
28period" means the last four completed calendar quarters
29immediately preceding the first day of an individual's benefit
30year. Wages used in a base period to establish a monetarily
31eligible benefit year may not be applied to establish monetary
32eligibility in any succeeding benefit year. If information
33regarding wages for the calendar quarter or quarters immediately
34preceding the benefit year has not been entered into the
35division's mainframe database from the regular quarterly reports
36of wage information or is otherwise unavailable, the division
37shall request such information from the employer. An employer
38must provide the requested wage information within 10 days after
39receiving a request from the division. An employer that fails to
40provide the requested wage information within the required time
41is subject to the penalty for delinquent reports in s.
42443.141(1)(b).
43     (b)  For monetary determinations based upon the alternative
44base period, if the division is unable to access the wage
45information through its mainframe database, the division may
46base the determination of eligibility for benefits on an
47affidavit submitted by the individual with respect to wages for
48those calendar quarters. The individual must furnish payroll
49information, if available, in support of the affidavit. A
50determination of benefits based upon an alternative base period
51shall be adjusted when the quarterly report of wage information
52is received from the employer if that information causes a
53change in the determination.
54     Section 2.  Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and paragraph
55(a) of subsection (2) of section 443.101, Florida Statutes, are
56amended to read:
57     443.101  Disqualification for benefits.--An individual
58shall be disqualified for benefits:
59     (1)(a)  For the week in which he or she has voluntarily
60left his or her work without good cause attributable to his or
61her employing unit or in which the individual has been
62discharged by his or her employing unit for misconduct connected
63with his or her work, based on a finding by the Agency for
64Workforce Innovation. As used in this paragraph, the term "work"
65means any work, whether full-time, part-time, or temporary.
66     1.  Disqualification for voluntarily quitting continues for
67the full period of unemployment next ensuing after he or she has
68left his or her full-time, part-time, or temporary work
69voluntarily without good cause and until the individual has
70earned income equal to or in excess of 17 times his or her
71weekly benefit amount. As used in this subsection, the term
72"good cause" includes only that cause attributable to the
73employing unit or which consists of illness or disability of the
74individual requiring separation from his or her work. Any other
75disqualification may not be imposed. An individual is not
76disqualified under this subsection for voluntarily leaving
77temporary work to return immediately when called to work by the
78permanent employing unit that temporarily terminated his or her
79work within the previous 6 calendar months. For benefit years
80beginning on or after July 1, 2004, an individual is not
81disqualified under this subsection for voluntarily leaving work
82to relocate as a result of his or her military-connected
83spouse's permanent change of station orders, activation orders,
84or unit deployment orders.
85     2.  An individual shall not be disqualified from regular
86unemployment compensation benefits for separating from
87employment if that separation is for compelling family reasons.
88For purposes of this paragraph, the term "compelling family
89reasons" includes:
90     a.  Domestic violence, as defined in s. 741.28, verified by
91an injunction, protective order, or other such reasonable and
92confidential documentation as authorized by state law, that
93causes the individual reasonably to believe that such
94individual's continued employment would jeopardize the safety of
95the individual, any member of the individual's immediate family,
96or other employees.
97     b.  The illness or disability of a member of the
98individual's immediate family.
99     c.  The need for the individual to accompany such
100individual's spouse:
101     (I)  To a place from which it is impractical for such
102individual to commute.
103     (II)  Due to a change in location of the spouse's
104employment.
105     2.  Disqualification for being discharged for misconduct
106connected with his or her work continues for the full period of
107unemployment next ensuing after having been discharged and until
108the individual has become reemployed and has earned income of at
109least 17 times his or her weekly benefit amount and for not more
110than 52 weeks that immediately follow that week, as determined
111by the Agency for Workforce Innovation in each case according to
112the circumstances in each case or the seriousness of the
113misconduct, under the agency's rules adopted for determinations
114of disqualification for benefits for misconduct.
115     (2)  If the Agency for Workforce Innovation finds that the
116individual has failed without good cause to apply for available
117suitable work when directed by the agency or the one-stop career
118center, to accept suitable work when offered to him or her, or
119to return to the individual's customary self-employment when
120directed by the agency, the disqualification continues for the
121full period of unemployment next ensuing after he or she failed
122without good cause to apply for available suitable work, to
123accept suitable work, or to return to his or her customary self-
124employment, under this subsection, and until the individual has
125earned income at least 17 times his or her weekly benefit
126amount. The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall by rule adopt
127criteria for determining the "suitability of work," as used in
128this section. The Agency for Workforce Innovation in developing
129these rules shall consider the duration of a claimant's
130unemployment in determining the suitability of work and the
131suitability of proposed rates of compensation for available
132work. Further, after an individual has received 25 weeks of
133benefits in a single year, suitable work is a job that pays the
134minimum wage and is 120 percent or more of the weekly benefit
135amount the individual is drawing.
136     (a)  In determining whether or not any work is suitable for
137an individual, the Agency for Workforce Innovation shall
138consider the degree of risk involved to his or her health,
139safety, and morals; his or her physical fitness and prior
140training; the individual's experience and prior earnings; his or
141her length of unemployment and prospects for securing local work
142in his or her customary occupation; and the distance of the
143available work from his or her residence. An unemployed
144individual shall not be disqualified for eligibility for
145unemployment compensation benefits solely on the basis that he
146or she is only available for part-time work. If an individual
147restricts his or her availability to part-time work, he or she
148may be considered able and available for work if it is
149determined that the claim is based on the claimant's history of
150part-time employment, the claimant is actively seeking and is
151willing to accept work under essentially the same conditions as
152existed while the wage credits were accrued, and the claimant
153imposes no other restrictions and is in a labor market in which
154a reasonable demand exists for the part-time services he or she
155offers.
156     Section 3.  This act shall take effect October 1, 2008.


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