Florida Senate - 2019 SB 990
By Senator Gibson
6-01404A-19 2019990__
1 A bill to be entitled
2 An act relating to unemployment compensation; amending
3 s. 443.101, F.S.; making editorial changes;
4 prohibiting certain victims of domestic violence from
5 being disqualified for benefits for voluntarily
6 leaving work; prohibiting the employment record of an
7 employing unit from being charged in certain
8 circumstances; providing an effective date.
9
10 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
11
12 Section 1. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) of section
13 443.101, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
14 443.101 Disqualification for benefits.—An individual shall
15 be disqualified for benefits:
16 (1)(a) For the week in which he or she has voluntarily left
17 work without good cause attributable to his or her employing
18 unit or for the week in which he or she has been discharged by
19 the employing unit for misconduct connected with his or her
20 work, based on a finding by the Department of Economic
21 Opportunity. As used in this paragraph, the term “work” means
22 any work, whether full-time, part-time, or temporary.
23 1. Disqualification for voluntarily quitting continues for
24 the full period of unemployment next ensuing after the
25 individual has left his or her full-time, part-time, or
26 temporary work voluntarily without good cause and until the
27 individual has earned income equal to or greater than 17 times
28 his or her weekly benefit amount. As used in this subsection,
29 the term “good cause” includes only that cause attributable to
30 the employing unit which would compel a reasonable employee to
31 cease working or attributable to the individual’s illness or
32 disability requiring separation from his or her work. Additional
33 disqualifications Any other disqualification may not be imposed.
34 2. An individual is not disqualified under this subsection
35 for:
36 a. Voluntarily leaving temporary work to return immediately
37 when called to work by the permanent employing unit that
38 temporarily terminated his or her work within the previous 6
39 calendar months;
40 b. , or for Voluntarily leaving work to relocate as a
41 result of his or her military-connected spouse’s permanent
42 change of station orders, activation orders, or unit deployment
43 orders; or
44 c. Voluntarily leaving work if he or she proves that his or
45 her discontinued employment is a direct result of circumstances
46 related to domestic violence as defined in s. 741.28. An
47 individual who voluntarily leaves work under this sub
48 subparagraph must:
49 (I) Make reasonable efforts to preserve employment or to
50 decrease the risk of future incidents of domestic violence. Such
51 efforts may include seeking a protective injunction, relocating
52 to a secure place, or seeking reasonable accommodation from the
53 employing unit, such as a transfer or change of assignment;
54 (II) Provide evidence such as an injunction, a protective
55 order, or other documentation authorized by state law which
56 reasonably proves that domestic violence has occurred; and
57 (III) Reasonably believe that he or she is likely to be the
58 victim of a future act of domestic violence at, in transit to,
59 or departing from his or her place of employment. An individual
60 who is otherwise eligible for benefits under this sub
61 subparagraph is ineligible for each week that he or she no
62 longer meets such criteria or refuses a reasonable accommodation
63 offered in good faith by his or her employing unit.
64 3. The employment record of an employing unit may not be
65 charged for the payment of benefits to an individual who has
66 voluntarily left work under this paragraph.
67 4.2. Disqualification for being discharged for misconduct
68 connected with his or her work continues for the full period of
69 unemployment next ensuing after having been discharged and until
70 the individual is reemployed and has earned income of at least
71 17 times his or her weekly benefit amount and for not more than
72 52 weeks immediately following that week, as determined by the
73 department in each case according to the circumstances or the
74 seriousness of the misconduct, under the department’s rules
75 adopted for determining determinations of disqualification for
76 benefits for misconduct.
77 5.3. If an individual has provided notification to the
78 employing unit of his or her intent to voluntarily leave work
79 and the employing unit discharges the individual for reasons
80 other than misconduct before the date the voluntary quit was to
81 take effect, the individual, if otherwise entitled, shall
82 receive benefits from the date of the employer’s discharge until
83 the effective date of his or her voluntary quit.
84 6.4. If an individual is notified by the employing unit of
85 the employer’s intent to discharge the individual for reasons
86 other than misconduct and the individual quits without good
87 cause before the date the discharge was to take effect, the
88 claimant is ineligible for benefits pursuant to s. 443.091(1)(d)
89 for failing to be available for work for the week or weeks of
90 unemployment occurring before the effective date of the
91 discharge.
92 Section 2. This act shall take effect July 1, 2019.