Amendment
Bill No. HB 5019

Amendment No. 863345

CHAMBER ACTION
Senate		House
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1	Representative Rader offered the following:
2
3	Amendment (with title amendment)
4	Remove line 140 and insert:
5	Section 2.  Effective October 1, 2009, subsection (7) of
6	section 443.036, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
7	443.036  Definitions.--As used in this chapter, the term:
8	(7)  "Base period" means the first four of the last five
9	completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the first day
10	of an individual's benefit year. Wages in a base period used to
11	establish a monetarily eligible benefit year may not be used to
12	establish monetary eligibility in a subsequent benefit year.
13	(a)  If information regarding wages for the calendar
14	quarters immediately preceding the benefit year has not been
15	entered into the Agency for Workforce Innovation's mainframe
16	database from the regular quarterly reports of wage information
17	submitted under s. 443.163 or is otherwise unavailable, the
18	agency shall request the information from the employer by mail.
19	The employer must provide the requested information within 10
20	days after the agency mails the request. An employer that fails
21	to provide the requested wage information within the required
22	time period is subject to the penalty for delinquent reports
23	under s. 443.141.
24	(b)  For a benefit year commencing on or after January 1,
25	2010, if an individual is not monetarily eligible in the base
26	period to qualify for benefits, the Agency for Workforce
27	Innovation must designate an alternative base period. As used in
28	this subsection, the term "alternative base period" means the
29	last four completed calendar quarters immediately preceding the
30	first day of an individual's benefit year. If the agency is
31	unable to access wage information through its mainframe database
32	for determining monetary eligibility for benefits based on the
33	individual's alternative base period, the agency may base the
34	determination on an affidavit submitted by the individual
35	attesting to his or her wages for those calendar quarters. The
36	individual must also furnish payroll information, if available,
37	in support of the affidavit. Benefits based on an alternative
38	base period must be adjusted if the quarterly report of wage
39	information received from the employer under s. 443.141 results
40	in a change in the monetary determination.
41	Section 3.  Effective October 1, 2009, paragraph (a) of
42	subsection (1) and paragraph (a) of subsection (2) of section
43	443.101, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
44	443.101  Disqualification for benefits.--An individual
45	shall be disqualified for benefits:
46	(1)(a)  For the week in which he or she has voluntarily
47	leaves left his or her work without good cause attributable to
48	his or her employing unit or is in which the individual has been
49	discharged by his or her employing unit for misconduct connected
50	with his or her work, based on a finding by the Agency for
51	Workforce Innovation. As used in this paragraph, the term "work"
52	means any work, whether full-time, part-time, or temporary.
53	1.  Disqualification for voluntarily quitting continues for
54	the full period of unemployment next ensuing after the
55	individual leaves he or she has left his or her full-time, part-
56	time, or temporary work voluntarily without good cause and until
57	the individual earns has earned income equal to or in excess of
58	17 times his or her weekly benefit amount. As used in this
59	subsection, the term "good cause" includes only that cause
60	attributable to the employing unit or an which consists of
61	illness or disability of the individual requiring separation
62	from his or her work. Any other disqualification may not be
63	imposed. An individual may not be is not disqualified for
64	benefits under this subsection for voluntarily leaving temporary
65	work to return immediately when called to work by the permanent
66	employing unit that temporarily terminated his or her work
67	within the previous 6 calendar months, or. For benefit years
68	beginning on or after July 1, 2004, an individual is not
69	disqualified under this subsection for voluntarily leaving work
70	to relocate as a result of his or her military-connected
71	spouse's permanent change of station orders, activation orders,
72	or unit deployment orders.
73	2.  An unemployed individual may not be disqualified for
74	benefits if he or she separates from work for the following
75	compelling family reasons:
76	a.  Domestic violence, as defined in s. 741.28 and verified
77	by an injunction, protective order, or other such reasonable and
78	confidential documentation authorized by state law, which causes
79	the individual to reasonably believe that continued employment
80	will jeopardize the individual's safety, the safety of a member
81	of his or her immediate family, or the safety of other
82	employees.
83	b.  The illness or disability of a member of the
84	individual's immediate family.
85	c.  The need for the individual to accompany his or her
86	spouse to a place from which it is impractical for the
87	individual to commute or due to a change in the location of the
88	spouse's employment.
89	3.2.  Disqualification for being discharged for misconduct
90	connected with his or her work continues for the full period of
91	unemployment next ensuing after being having been discharged and
92	until the individual is has become reemployed and earns has
93	earned income of at least 17 times his or her weekly benefit
94	amount and for not more than 52 weeks that immediately follow
95	that week, as determined by the agency for Workforce Innovation
96	in each case according to the circumstances in each case or the
97	seriousness of the misconduct, under the agency's rules adopted
98	for determinations of disqualification for benefits for
99	misconduct.
100	(2)  If the Agency for Workforce Innovation finds that the
101	individual has failed without good cause to apply for available
102	suitable work when directed by the agency or the one-stop career
103	center, to accept suitable work when offered to him or her, or
104	to return to the individual's customary self-employment when
105	directed by the agency, the disqualification continues for the
106	full period of unemployment next ensuing after he or she failed
107	without good cause to apply for available suitable work, to
108	accept suitable work, or to return to his or her customary self-
109	employment, under this subsection, and until the individual has
110	earned income at least 17 times his or her weekly benefit
111	amount. The Agency for Workforce Innovation shall by rule adopt
112	criteria for determining the "suitability of work," as used in
113	this section. The Agency for Workforce Innovation in developing
114	these rules shall consider the duration of a claimant's
115	unemployment in determining the suitability of work and the
116	suitability of proposed rates of compensation for available
117	work. Further, after an individual has received 25 weeks of
118	benefits in a single year, suitable work is a job that pays the
119	minimum wage and is 120 percent or more of the weekly benefit
120	amount the individual is drawing.
121	(a)  In determining whether or not any work is suitable for
122	an individual, the agency for Workforce Innovation shall
123	consider the degree of risk involved to his or her health,
124	safety, and morals; the individual's his or her physical
125	fitness, and prior training,; the individual's experience, and
126	prior earnings,; his or her length of unemployment, and
127	prospects for securing local work in his or her customary
128	occupation; and the distance of the available work from his or
129	her residence. An unemployed individual may not be disqualified
130	from eligibility for benefits solely because he or she is
131	available for only part-time work. If an individual restricts
132	his or her availability to part-time work, he or she may be
133	considered able and available for work if it is determined that
134	the claimant:
135	1.  Has a history of part-time employment;
136	2.  Is actively seeking and is willing to accept work under
137	essentially the same conditions that existed when the wage
138	credits were accrued; and
139	3.  Imposes no other restrictions and is in a labor market
140	in which there is a reasonable demand for the part-time services
141	he or she offers.
142	Section 4.  Except as otherwise expressly provided in this
143	act, this act shall take effect July 1, 2009.
144
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146	T I T L E  A M E N D M E N T
147	Remove lines 2-15 and insert:
148	An act relating to unemployment compensation; creating s.
149	443.1113, F.S.; creating the Unemployment Compensation Claims
150	and Benefits Information System Project; requiring the Agency
151	for Workforce Innovation to replace and enhance the
152	functionality provided in specified systems with an integrated
153	Internet-based system; providing project business objectives;
154	excluding certain functionality from the scope of the project;
155	providing phases and timeframes for the project; requiring the
156	agency to implement a specified project governance structure for
157	a certain duration; providing membership and responsibilities of
158	the executive steering committee and a project management team;
159	amending s. 443.036, F.S.; redefining the term "base period";
160	requiring an employer to provide wage information to support an
161	individual's eligibility for benefits; providing for an
162	alternative base period after a certain date; defining the term
163	"alternative base period"; authorizing the Agency for Workforce
164	Innovation to accept an affidavit from the claimant to support
165	eligibility for benefits; amending s. 443.101, F.S.; prohibiting
166	an individual from being disqualified from benefits if he or she
167	leaves work due to certain compelling family reasons;
168	prohibiting unemployed individuals from being disqualified for
169	unemployment benefits based solely on the individual's
170	availability for only part-time work under certain
171	circumstances; providing effective dates.

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