Bill Text: FL S1906 | 2021 | Regular Session | Comm Sub

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Reemployment Assistance

Spectrum:

Status: (Failed) 2021-04-30 - Died in Messages; companion bill(s) passed, see CS/CS/HB 1463 (Ch. 2021-25) [S1906 Detail]

Download: Florida-2021-S1906-Comm_Sub.html

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       Florida Senate - 2021                             CS for SB 1906
       
       
        
       By the Committee on Commerce and Tourism; and Senators Brodeur,
       Taddeo, Stewart, Garcia, and Gruters
       
       
       
       
       577-03547-21                                          20211906c1
    1                        A bill to be entitled                      
    2         An act relating to reemployment assistance; amending
    3         s. 443.091, F.S.; revising requirements for
    4         reemployment assistance benefits eligibility; amending
    5         s. 443.111, F.S.; increasing the weekly benefit
    6         amounts an individual may receive; increasing the cap
    7         on the total benefit amount an individual is entitled
    8         to receive during a benefit year; reenacting ss.
    9         443.041(2)(b) and 443.1116(6) and (8)(a), F.S.,
   10         relating to fees and short-time compensation,
   11         respectively, to incorporate the amendments made to s.
   12         443.111, F.S., in references thereto; providing an
   13         effective date.
   14          
   15  Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
   16  
   17         Section 1. Paragraphs (c) and (d) of subsection (1) of
   18  section 443.091, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
   19         443.091 Benefit eligibility conditions.—
   20         (1) An unemployed individual is eligible to receive
   21  benefits for any week only if the Department of Economic
   22  Opportunity finds that:
   23         (c) To make continued claims for benefits, she or he is
   24  reporting to the department in accordance with this paragraph
   25  and department rules. Department rules may not conflict with s.
   26  443.111(1)(b), which requires that each claimant continue to
   27  report regardless of any pending appeal relating to her or his
   28  eligibility or disqualification for benefits.
   29         1. For each week of unemployment claimed, each report must,
   30  at a minimum, include the name and, address, and telephone
   31  number of each prospective employer contacted, or the date the
   32  claimant reported to a one-stop career center, pursuant to
   33  paragraph (d). For the purposes of this subparagraph, the term
   34  “address” means a website address, a physical address, or an e
   35  mail address.
   36         2. The department shall offer an online assessment aimed at
   37  identifying an individual’s skills, abilities, and career
   38  aptitude. The skills assessment must be voluntary, and the
   39  department shall allow a claimant to choose whether to take the
   40  skills assessment. The online assessment shall be made available
   41  to any person seeking services from a local workforce
   42  development board or a one-stop career center.
   43         a. If the claimant chooses to take the online assessment,
   44  the outcome of the assessment shall be made available to the
   45  claimant, local workforce development board, and one-stop career
   46  center. The department, local workforce development board, or
   47  one-stop career center shall use the assessment to develop a
   48  plan for referring individuals to training and employment
   49  opportunities. Aggregate data on assessment outcomes may be made
   50  available to CareerSource Florida, Inc., and Enterprise Florida,
   51  Inc., for use in the development of policies related to
   52  education and training programs that will ensure that businesses
   53  in this state have access to a skilled and competent workforce.
   54         b. Individuals shall be informed of and offered services
   55  through the one-stop delivery system, including career
   56  counseling, the provision of skill match and job market
   57  information, and skills upgrade and other training
   58  opportunities, and shall be encouraged to participate in such
   59  services at no cost to the individuals. The department shall
   60  coordinate with CareerSource Florida, Inc., the local workforce
   61  development boards, and the one-stop career centers to identify,
   62  develop, and use best practices for improving the skills of
   63  individuals who choose to participate in skills upgrade and
   64  other training opportunities. The department may contract with
   65  an entity to create the online assessment in accordance with the
   66  competitive bidding requirements in s. 287.057. The online
   67  assessment must work seamlessly with the Reemployment Assistance
   68  Claims and Benefits Information System.
   69         (d) She or he is able to work and is available for work. In
   70  order to assess eligibility for a claimed week of unemployment,
   71  the department shall develop criteria to determine a claimant’s
   72  ability to work and availability for work. A claimant must be
   73  actively seeking work in order to be considered available for
   74  work. This means engaging in systematic and sustained efforts to
   75  find work, including contacting at least three five prospective
   76  employers for each week of unemployment claimed. For the
   77  purposes of meeting the requirements of this paragraph, a
   78  claimant may contact a prospective employer by submitting a
   79  resume to an employer through an online job search service. A
   80  claimant who submits a resume to at least three employers
   81  through an online job search service satisfies the work search
   82  requirements of this paragraph. The department may require the
   83  claimant to provide proof of such efforts to the one-stop career
   84  center as part of reemployment services. A claimant’s proof of
   85  work search efforts may not include the same prospective
   86  employer at the same location in 3 consecutive weeks, unless the
   87  employer has indicated since the time of the initial contact
   88  that the employer is hiring. The department shall conduct random
   89  reviews of work search information provided by claimants. As an
   90  alternative to contacting at least three five prospective
   91  employers for any week of unemployment claimed, a claimant may,
   92  for that same week, report in person to a one-stop career center
   93  to meet with a representative of the center and access
   94  reemployment services of the center. The center shall keep a
   95  record of the services or information provided to the claimant
   96  and shall provide the records to the department upon request by
   97  the department. However:
   98         1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph or
   99  paragraphs (b) and (e), an otherwise eligible individual may not
  100  be denied benefits for any week because she or he is in training
  101  with the approval of the department, or by reason of s.
  102  443.101(2) relating to failure to apply for, or refusal to
  103  accept, suitable work. Training may be approved by the
  104  department in accordance with criteria prescribed by rule. A
  105  claimant’s eligibility during approved training is contingent
  106  upon satisfying eligibility conditions prescribed by rule.
  107         2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, an
  108  otherwise eligible individual who is in training approved under
  109  s. 236(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, may not be
  110  determined ineligible or disqualified for benefits due to
  111  enrollment in such training or because of leaving work that is
  112  not suitable employment to enter such training. As used in this
  113  subparagraph, the term “suitable employment” means work of a
  114  substantially equal or higher skill level than the worker’s past
  115  adversely affected employment, as defined for purposes of the
  116  Trade Act of 1974, as amended, the wages for which are at least
  117  80 percent of the worker’s average weekly wage as determined for
  118  purposes of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended.
  119         3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an
  120  otherwise eligible individual may not be denied benefits for any
  121  week because she or he is before any state or federal court
  122  pursuant to a lawfully issued summons to appear for jury duty.
  123         4. Union members who customarily obtain employment through
  124  a union hiring hall may satisfy the work search requirements of
  125  this paragraph by reporting daily to their union hall.
  126         5. The work search requirements of this paragraph do not
  127  apply to persons who are unemployed as a result of a temporary
  128  layoff or who are claiming benefits under an approved short-time
  129  compensation plan as provided in s. 443.1116.
  130         6. In small counties as defined in s. 120.52(19), a
  131  claimant engaging in systematic and sustained efforts to find
  132  work must contact at least three prospective employers for each
  133  week of unemployment claimed.
  134         7. The work search requirements of this paragraph do not
  135  apply to persons required to participate in reemployment
  136  services under paragraph (e).
  137         Section 2. Subsection (3) and paragraph (b) of subsection
  138  (5) of section 443.111, Florida Statutes, are amended, and
  139  paragraph (b) of subsection (1) is republished, to read:
  140         443.111 Payment of benefits.—
  141         (1) MANNER OF PAYMENT.—Benefits are payable from the fund
  142  in accordance with rules adopted by the Department of Economic
  143  Opportunity, subject to the following requirements:
  144         (b) As required under s. 443.091(1), each claimant must
  145  report at least biweekly to receive reemployment assistance
  146  benefits and to attest to the fact that she or he is able and
  147  available for work, has not refused suitable work, is seeking
  148  work and has met the requirements of s. 443.091(1)(d), and, if
  149  she or he has worked, to report earnings from that work. Each
  150  claimant must continue to report regardless of any appeal or
  151  pending appeal relating to her or his eligibility or
  152  disqualification for benefits.
  153         (3) WEEKLY BENEFIT AMOUNT.—An individual’s “weekly benefit
  154  amount” is an amount equal to one twenty-sixth of the total
  155  wages for insured work paid during that quarter of the base
  156  period in which the total wages paid were the highest, but not
  157  less than $100 $32 or more than $375 $275. The weekly benefit
  158  amount, if not a multiple of $1, is rounded downward to the
  159  nearest full dollar amount. The maximum weekly benefit amount in
  160  effect at the time the claimant establishes an individual weekly
  161  benefit amount is the maximum benefit amount applicable
  162  throughout the claimant’s benefit year.
  163         (5) DURATION OF BENEFITS.—
  164         (b) Each otherwise eligible individual is entitled during
  165  any benefit year to a total amount of benefits equal to 25
  166  percent of the total wages in his or her base period, not to
  167  exceed $8,625 $6,325 or the product arrived at by multiplying
  168  the weekly benefit amount with the number of weeks determined in
  169  paragraph (c), whichever is less. However, the total amount of
  170  benefits, if not a multiple of $1, is rounded downward to the
  171  nearest full dollar amount. These benefits are payable at a
  172  weekly rate no greater than the weekly benefit amount.
  173         Section 3. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
  174  made by this act to section 443.111, Florida Statutes, in a
  175  reference thereto, paragraph (b) of subsection (2) of section
  176  443.041, Florida Statutes, is reenacted to read:
  177         443.041 Waiver of rights; fees; privileged communications.—
  178         (2) FEES.—
  179         (b) An attorney at law representing a claimant for benefits
  180  in any district court of appeal of this state or in the Supreme
  181  Court of Florida is entitled to counsel fees payable by the
  182  department as set by the court if the petition for review or
  183  appeal is initiated by the claimant and results in a decision
  184  awarding more benefits than provided in the decision from which
  185  appeal was taken. The amount of the fee may not exceed 50
  186  percent of the total amount of regular benefits permitted under
  187  s. 443.111(5)(b) during the benefit year.
  188         Section 4. For the purpose of incorporating the amendment
  189  made by this act to section 443.111, Florida Statutes, in a
  190  reference thereto, subsection (6) and paragraph (a) of
  191  subsection (8) of section 443.1116, Florida Statutes, are
  192  reenacted to read:
  193         443.1116 Short-time compensation.—
  194         (6) WEEKLY SHORT-TIME COMPENSATION BENEFIT AMOUNT.—The
  195  weekly short-time compensation benefit amount payable to an
  196  individual is equal to the product of her or his weekly benefit
  197  amount as provided in s. 443.111(3) and the ratio of the number
  198  of normal weekly hours of work for which the employer would not
  199  compensate the individual to the individual’s normal weekly
  200  hours of work. The benefit amount, if not a multiple of $1, is
  201  rounded downward to the next lower multiple of $1.
  202         (8) EFFECT OF SHORT-TIME COMPENSATION BENEFITS RELATING TO
  203  THE PAYMENT OF REGULAR AND EXTENDED BENEFITS.—
  204         (a) The short-time compensation benefits paid to an
  205  individual shall be deducted from the total benefit amount
  206  established for that individual in s. 443.111(5).
  207         Section 5. This act shall take effect July 1, 2021.