Florida Senate - 2021 COMMITTEE AMENDMENT
Bill No. CS for SB 1906
Ì636278NÎ636278
LEGISLATIVE ACTION
Senate . House
Comm: RCS .
04/17/2021 .
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The Committee on Appropriations (Farmer) recommended the
following:
1 Senate Amendment (with title amendment)
2
3 Delete lines 17 - 172
4 and insert:
5 Section 1. Present subsections (3) through (46) of section
6 443.036, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (4)
7 through (47), respectively, a new subsection (3) is added to
8 that section, and present subsection (24) of that section is
9 amended, to read:
10 443.036 Definitions.—As used in this chapter, the term:
11 (3) “Alternative base period” means the four most recently
12 completed calendar quarters before an individual’s benefit year,
13 if such quarters qualify the individual for benefits and were
14 not previously used to establish a prior valid benefit year.
15 (25)(24) “High quarter” means the quarter in an
16 individual’s base period, or in the individual’s alternative
17 base period if an alternative base period is used for
18 determining benefits eligibility, in which the individual has
19 the greatest amount of wages paid, regardless of the number of
20 employers paying wages in that quarter.
21 Section 2. Paragraphs (c), (d), and (g) of subsection (1)
22 of section 443.091, Florida Statutes, are amended to read:
23 443.091 Benefit eligibility conditions.—
24 (1) An unemployed individual is eligible to receive
25 benefits for any week only if the Department of Economic
26 Opportunity finds that:
27 (c) To make continued claims for benefits, she or he is
28 reporting to the department in accordance with this paragraph
29 and department rules. Department rules may not conflict with s.
30 443.111(1)(b), which requires that each claimant continue to
31 report regardless of any pending appeal relating to her or his
32 eligibility or disqualification for benefits.
33 1. For each week of unemployment claimed, each report must,
34 at a minimum, include the name and, address, and telephone
35 number of each prospective employer contacted, or the date the
36 claimant reported to a one-stop career center, pursuant to
37 paragraph (d). For the purposes of this subparagraph, the term
38 “address” means a website address, a physical address, or an e
39 mail address.
40 2. The department shall offer an online assessment aimed at
41 identifying an individual’s skills, abilities, and career
42 aptitude. The skills assessment must be voluntary, and the
43 department shall allow a claimant to choose whether to take the
44 skills assessment. The online assessment shall be made available
45 to any person seeking services from a local workforce
46 development board or a one-stop career center.
47 a. If the claimant chooses to take the online assessment,
48 the outcome of the assessment shall be made available to the
49 claimant, local workforce development board, and one-stop career
50 center. The department, local workforce development board, or
51 one-stop career center shall use the assessment to develop a
52 plan for referring individuals to training and employment
53 opportunities. Aggregate data on assessment outcomes may be made
54 available to CareerSource Florida, Inc., and Enterprise Florida,
55 Inc., for use in the development of policies related to
56 education and training programs that will ensure that businesses
57 in this state have access to a skilled and competent workforce.
58 b. Individuals shall be informed of and offered services
59 through the one-stop delivery system, including career
60 counseling, the provision of skill match and job market
61 information, and skills upgrade and other training
62 opportunities, and shall be encouraged to participate in such
63 services at no cost to the individuals. The department shall
64 coordinate with CareerSource Florida, Inc., the local workforce
65 development boards, and the one-stop career centers to identify,
66 develop, and use best practices for improving the skills of
67 individuals who choose to participate in skills upgrade and
68 other training opportunities. The department may contract with
69 an entity to create the online assessment in accordance with the
70 competitive bidding requirements in s. 287.057. The online
71 assessment must work seamlessly with the Reemployment Assistance
72 Claims and Benefits Information System.
73 (d) She or he is able to work and is available for work. In
74 order to assess eligibility for a claimed week of unemployment,
75 the department shall develop criteria to determine a claimant’s
76 ability to work and availability for work. A claimant must be
77 actively seeking work in order to be considered available for
78 work. This means engaging in systematic and sustained efforts to
79 find work, including contacting at least three five prospective
80 employers for each week of unemployment claimed. For the
81 purposes of meeting the requirements of this paragraph, a
82 claimant may contact a prospective employer by submitting a
83 resume to an employer through an online job search service. A
84 claimant who submits a resume to at least three employers
85 through an online job search service satisfies the work search
86 requirements of this paragraph. The department may require the
87 claimant to provide proof of such efforts to the one-stop career
88 center as part of reemployment services. A claimant’s proof of
89 work search efforts may not include the same prospective
90 employer at the same location in 3 consecutive weeks, unless the
91 employer has indicated since the time of the initial contact
92 that the employer is hiring. The department shall conduct random
93 reviews of work search information provided by claimants. As an
94 alternative to contacting at least three five prospective
95 employers for any week of unemployment claimed, a claimant may,
96 for that same week, report in person to a one-stop career center
97 to meet with a representative of the center and access
98 reemployment services of the center. The center shall keep a
99 record of the services or information provided to the claimant
100 and shall provide the records to the department upon request by
101 the department. However:
102 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph or
103 paragraphs (b) and (e), an otherwise eligible individual may not
104 be denied benefits for any week because she or he is in training
105 with the approval of the department, or by reason of s.
106 443.101(2) relating to failure to apply for, or refusal to
107 accept, suitable work. Training may be approved by the
108 department in accordance with criteria prescribed by rule. A
109 claimant’s eligibility during approved training is contingent
110 upon satisfying eligibility conditions prescribed by rule.
111 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, an
112 otherwise eligible individual who is in training approved under
113 s. 236(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, may not be
114 determined ineligible or disqualified for benefits due to
115 enrollment in such training or because of leaving work that is
116 not suitable employment to enter such training. As used in this
117 subparagraph, the term “suitable employment” means work of a
118 substantially equal or higher skill level than the worker’s past
119 adversely affected employment, as defined for purposes of the
120 Trade Act of 1974, as amended, the wages for which are at least
121 80 percent of the worker’s average weekly wage as determined for
122 purposes of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended.
123 3. Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an
124 otherwise eligible individual may not be denied benefits for any
125 week because she or he is before any state or federal court
126 pursuant to a lawfully issued summons to appear for jury duty.
127 4. Union members who customarily obtain employment through
128 a union hiring hall may satisfy the work search requirements of
129 this paragraph by reporting daily to their union hall.
130 5. The work search requirements of this paragraph do not
131 apply to persons who are unemployed as a result of a temporary
132 layoff or who are claiming benefits under an approved short-time
133 compensation plan as provided in s. 443.1116.
134 6. In small counties as defined in s. 120.52(19), a
135 claimant engaging in systematic and sustained efforts to find
136 work must contact at least three prospective employers for each
137 week of unemployment claimed.
138 7. The work search requirements of this paragraph do not
139 apply to persons required to participate in reemployment
140 services under paragraph (e).
141 (g) She or he has been paid wages for insured work equal to
142 1.5 times her or his high quarter wages during her or his base
143 period, except that an unemployed individual is not eligible to
144 receive benefits if the base period wages are less than $3,400.
145 If an unemployed individual is ineligible for benefits based on
146 base period wages, his or her wages shall be calculated using
147 the alternative base period, and his or her claim shall be
148 established using such wages.
149 Section 3. Subsections (2) and (3) and paragraph (b) of
150 subsection (5) of section 443.111, Florida Statutes, are
151 amended, and paragraph (b) of subsection (1) is republished, to
152 read:
153 443.111 Payment of benefits.—
154 (1) MANNER OF PAYMENT.—Benefits are payable from the fund
155 in accordance with rules adopted by the Department of Economic
156 Opportunity, subject to the following requirements:
157 (b) As required under s. 443.091(1), each claimant must
158 report at least biweekly to receive reemployment assistance
159 benefits and to attest to the fact that she or he is able and
160 available for work, has not refused suitable work, is seeking
161 work and has met the requirements of s. 443.091(1)(d), and, if
162 she or he has worked, to report earnings from that work. Each
163 claimant must continue to report regardless of any appeal or
164 pending appeal relating to her or his eligibility or
165 disqualification for benefits.
166 (2) QUALIFYING REQUIREMENTS.—
167 (a) To establish a benefit year for reemployment assistance
168 benefits, an individual must have:
169 1.(a) Wage credits in two or more calendar quarters of the
170 individual’s base period or alternative base period.
171 2.(b) Minimum total base period wage credits equal to the
172 high quarter wages multiplied by 1.5, but at least $3,400 in the
173 base period, or in the alternative base period if the
174 alternative base period is used for benefits eligibility.
175 (b)1. If a worker is ineligible for benefits based on base
176 period wages, wages for that worker must be calculated using an
177 alternative base period and the claim shall be established using
178 such wages.
179 2. If the wage information for an individual’s most
180 recently completed calendar quarter is unavailable to the
181 department from regular quarterly reports of systematically
182 accessible wage information, the department must promptly
183 contact the individual’s employer to obtain the wage
184 information.
185 3. Wages that fall within the alternative base period of
186 claims established under this paragraph are not available for
187 reuse in qualifying for any subsequent benefit years.
188 4. The department shall adopt rules to administer this
189 paragraph.
190 (3) WEEKLY BENEFIT AMOUNT.—
191 (a) An individual’s “weekly benefit amount” is an amount
192 equal to one twenty-sixth of the total wages for insured work
193 paid during that quarter of the base period in which the total
194 wages paid were the highest, but not less than $100 $32 or more
195 than $375 $275. The weekly benefit amount, if not a multiple of
196 $1, is rounded downward to the nearest full dollar amount. The
197 maximum weekly benefit amount in effect at the time the claimant
198 establishes an individual weekly benefit amount is the maximum
199 benefit amount applicable throughout the claimant’s benefit
200 year.
201 (b) The weekly benefit amount shall be based on either the
202 claimant’s base period wages or alternative base period wages,
203 whichever period results in the greater benefit amount.
204 (5) DURATION OF BENEFITS.—
205 (b) Each otherwise eligible individual is entitled during
206 any benefit year to a total amount of benefits equal to 25
207 percent of the total wages in his or her base period, not to
208 exceed $8,625 $6,325 or the product arrived at by multiplying
209 the weekly benefit amount with the number of weeks determined in
210 paragraph (c), whichever is less. However, the total amount of
211 benefits, if not a multiple of $1, is rounded downward to the
212 nearest full dollar amount. These benefits are payable at a
213 weekly rate no greater than the weekly benefit amount.
214 Section 4. Paragraph (a) of subsection (4) of section
215 215.425, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
216 215.425 Extra compensation claims prohibited; bonuses;
217 severance pay.—
218 (4)(a) On or after July 1, 2011, a unit of government that
219 enters into a contract or employment agreement, or renewal or
220 renegotiation of an existing contract or employment agreement,
221 that contains a provision for severance pay with an officer,
222 agent, employee, or contractor must include the following
223 provisions in the contract:
224 1. A requirement that severance pay provided may not exceed
225 an amount greater than 20 weeks of compensation.
226 2. A prohibition of provision of severance pay when the
227 officer, agent, employee, or contractor has been fired for
228 misconduct, as defined in s. 443.036(30) s. 443.036(29), by the
229 unit of government.
230 Section 5. Paragraph (a) of subsection (1) and paragraph
231 (f) of subsection (13) of section 443.1216, Florida Statutes,
232 are amended to read:
233 443.1216 Employment.—Employment, as defined in s. 443.036,
234 is subject to this chapter under the following conditions:
235 (1)(a) The employment subject to this chapter includes a
236 service performed, including a service performed in interstate
237 commerce, by:
238 1. An officer of a corporation.
239 2. An individual who, under the usual common-law rules
240 applicable in determining the employer-employee relationship, is
241 an employee. However, whenever a client, as defined in s.
242 443.036(19) s. 443.036(18), which would otherwise be designated
243 as an employing unit has contracted with an employee leasing
244 company to supply it with workers, those workers are considered
245 employees of the employee leasing company. An employee leasing
246 company may lease corporate officers of the client to the client
247 and other workers to the client, except as prohibited by
248 regulations of the Internal Revenue Service. Employees of an
249 employee leasing company must be reported under the employee
250 leasing company’s tax identification number and contribution
251 rate for work performed for the employee leasing company.
252 a. However, except for the internal employees of an
253 employee leasing company, each employee leasing company may make
254 a separate one-time election to report and pay contributions
255 under the tax identification number and contribution rate for
256 each client of the employee leasing company. Under the client
257 method, an employee leasing company choosing this option must
258 assign leased employees to the client company that is leasing
259 the employees. The client method is solely a method to report
260 and pay unemployment contributions, and, whichever method is
261 chosen, such election may not impact any other aspect of state
262 law. An employee leasing company that elects the client method
263 must pay contributions at the rates assigned to each client
264 company.
265 (I) The election applies to all of the employee leasing
266 company’s current and future clients.
267 (II) The employee leasing company must notify the
268 Department of Revenue of its election by July 1, 2012, and such
269 election applies to reports and contributions for the first
270 quarter of the following calendar year. The notification must
271 include:
272 (A) A list of each client company and the unemployment
273 account number or, if one has not yet been issued, the federal
274 employment identification number, as established by the employee
275 leasing company upon the election to file by client method;
276 (B) A list of each client company’s current and previous
277 employees and their respective social security numbers for the
278 prior 3 state fiscal years or, if the client company has not
279 been a client for the prior 3 state fiscal years, such portion
280 of the prior 3 state fiscal years that the client company has
281 been a client must be supplied;
282 (C) The wage data and benefit charges associated with each
283 client company for the prior 3 state fiscal years or, if the
284 client company has not been a client for the prior 3 state
285 fiscal years, such portion of the prior 3 state fiscal years
286 that the client company has been a client must be supplied. If
287 the client company’s employment record is chargeable with
288 benefits for less than 8 calendar quarters while being a client
289 of the employee leasing company, the client company must pay
290 contributions at the initial rate of 2.7 percent; and
291 (D) The wage data and benefit charges for the prior 3 state
292 fiscal years that cannot be associated with a client company
293 must be reported and charged to the employee leasing company.
294 (III) Subsequent to choosing the client method, the
295 employee leasing company may not change its reporting method.
296 (IV) The employee leasing company shall file a Florida
297 Department of Revenue Employer’s Quarterly Report for each
298 client company by approved electronic means, and pay all
299 contributions by approved electronic means.
300 (V) For the purposes of calculating experience rates when
301 the client method is chosen, each client’s own benefit charges
302 and wage data experience while with the employee leasing company
303 determines each client’s tax rate where the client has been a
304 client of the employee leasing company for at least 8 calendar
305 quarters before the election. The client company shall continue
306 to report the nonleased employees under its tax rate.
307 (VI) The election is binding on each client of the employee
308 leasing company for as long as a written agreement is in effect
309 between the client and the employee leasing company pursuant to
310 s. 468.525(3)(a). If the relationship between the employee
311 leasing company and the client terminates, the client retains
312 the wage and benefit history experienced under the employee
313 leasing company.
314 (VII) Notwithstanding which election method the employee
315 leasing company chooses, the applicable client company is an
316 employing unit for purposes of s. 443.071. The employee leasing
317 company or any of its officers or agents are liable for any
318 violation of s. 443.071 engaged in by such persons or entities.
319 The applicable client company or any of its officers or agents
320 are liable for any violation of s. 443.071 engaged in by such
321 persons or entities. The employee leasing company or its
322 applicable client company is not liable for any violation of s.
323 443.071 engaged in by the other party or by the other party’s
324 officers or agents.
325 (VIII) If an employee leasing company fails to select the
326 client method of reporting not later than July 1, 2012, the
327 entity is required to report under the employee leasing
328 company’s tax identification number and contribution rate.
329 (IX) After an employee leasing company is licensed pursuant
330 to part XI of chapter 468, each newly licensed entity has 30
331 days after the date the license is granted to notify the tax
332 collection service provider in writing of their selection of the
333 client method. A newly licensed employee leasing company that
334 fails to timely select reporting pursuant to the client method
335 of reporting must report under the employee leasing company’s
336 tax identification number and contribution rate.
337 (X) Irrespective of the election, each transfer of trade or
338 business, including workforce, or a portion thereof, between
339 employee leasing companies is subject to the provisions of s.
340 443.131(3)(g) if, at the time of the transfer, there is common
341 ownership, management, or control between the entities.
342 b. In addition to any other report required to be filed by
343 law, an employee leasing company shall submit a report to the
344 Labor Market Statistics Center within the Department of Economic
345 Opportunity which includes each client establishment and each
346 establishment of the leasing company, or as otherwise directed
347 by the department. The report must include the following
348 information for each establishment:
349 (I) The trade or establishment name;
350 (II) The former reemployment assistance account number, if
351 available;
352 (III) The former federal employer’s identification number,
353 if available;
354 (IV) The industry code recognized and published by the
355 United States Office of Management and Budget, if available;
356 (V) A description of the client’s primary business activity
357 in order to verify or assign an industry code;
358 (VI) The address of the physical location;
359 (VII) The number of full-time and part-time employees who
360 worked during, or received pay that was subject to reemployment
361 assistance taxes for, the pay period including the 12th of the
362 month for each month of the quarter;
363 (VIII) The total wages subject to reemployment assistance
364 taxes paid during the calendar quarter;
365 (IX) An internal identification code to uniquely identify
366 each establishment of each client;
367 (X) The month and year that the client entered into the
368 contract for services; and
369 (XI) The month and year that the client terminated the
370 contract for services.
371 c. The report must be submitted electronically or in a
372 manner otherwise prescribed by the Department of Economic
373 Opportunity in the format specified by the Bureau of Labor
374 Statistics of the United States Department of Labor for its
375 Multiple Worksite Report for Professional Employer
376 Organizations. The report must be provided quarterly to the
377 Labor Market Statistics Center within the department, or as
378 otherwise directed by the department, and must be filed by the
379 last day of the month immediately after the end of the calendar
380 quarter. The information required in sub-sub-subparagraphs b.(X)
381 and (XI) need be provided only in the quarter in which the
382 contract to which it relates was entered into or terminated. The
383 sum of the employment data and the sum of the wage data in this
384 report must match the employment and wages reported in the
385 reemployment assistance quarterly tax and wage report.
386 d. The department shall adopt rules as necessary to
387 administer this subparagraph, and may administer, collect,
388 enforce, and waive the penalty imposed by s. 443.141(1)(b) for
389 the report required by this subparagraph.
390 e. For the purposes of this subparagraph, the term
391 “establishment” means any location where business is conducted
392 or where services or industrial operations are performed.
393 3. An individual other than an individual who is an
394 employee under subparagraph 1. or subparagraph 2., who performs
395 services for remuneration for any person:
396 a. As an agent-driver or commission-driver engaged in
397 distributing meat products, vegetable products, fruit products,
398 bakery products, beverages other than milk, or laundry or
399 drycleaning services for his or her principal.
400 b. As a traveling or city salesperson engaged on a full
401 time basis in the solicitation on behalf of, and the
402 transmission to, his or her principal of orders from
403 wholesalers, retailers, contractors, or operators of hotels,
404 restaurants, or other similar establishments for merchandise for
405 resale or supplies for use in the business operations. This sub
406 subparagraph does not apply to an agent-driver or a commission
407 driver and does not apply to sideline sales activities performed
408 on behalf of a person other than the salesperson’s principal.
409 4. The services described in subparagraph 3. are employment
410 subject to this chapter only if:
411 a. The contract of service contemplates that substantially
412 all of the services are to be performed personally by the
413 individual;
414 b. The individual does not have a substantial investment in
415 facilities used in connection with the services, other than
416 facilities used for transportation; and
417 c. The services are not in the nature of a single
418 transaction that is not part of a continuing relationship with
419 the person for whom the services are performed.
420 (13) The following are exempt from coverage under this
421 chapter:
422 (f) Service performed in the employ of a public employer as
423 defined in s. 443.036, except as provided in subsection (2), and
424 service performed in the employ of an instrumentality of a
425 public employer as described in s. 443.036(36)(b) or (c) s.
426 443.036(35)(b) or (c), to the extent that the instrumentality is
427 immune under the United States Constitution from the tax imposed
428 by s. 3301 of the Internal Revenue Code for that service.
429 Section 6. Paragraph (f) of subsection (3) of section
430 443.131, Florida Statutes, is amended to read:
431 443.131 Contributions.—
432 (3) VARIATION OF CONTRIBUTION RATES BASED ON BENEFIT
433 EXPERIENCE.—
434 (f) Transfer of employment records.—
435 1. For the purposes of this subsection, two or more
436 employers who are parties to a transfer of business or the
437 subject of a merger, consolidation, or other form of
438 reorganization, effecting a change in legal identity or form,
439 are deemed a single employer and are considered to be one
440 employer with a continuous employment record if the tax
441 collection service provider finds that the successor employer
442 continues to carry on the employing enterprises of all of the
443 predecessor employers and that the successor employer has paid
444 all contributions required of and due from all of the
445 predecessor employers and has assumed liability for all
446 contributions that may become due from all of the predecessor
447 employers. In addition, an employer may not be considered a
448 successor under this subparagraph if the employer purchases a
449 company with a lower rate into which employees with job
450 functions unrelated to the business endeavors of the predecessor
451 are transferred for the purpose of acquiring the low rate and
452 avoiding payment of contributions. As used in this paragraph,
453 notwithstanding s. 443.036(15) s. 443.036(14), the term
454 “contributions” means all indebtedness to the tax collection
455 service provider, including, but not limited to, interest,
456 penalty, collection fee, and service fee. A successor employer
457 must accept the transfer of all of the predecessor employers’
458 employment records within 30 days after the date of the official
459 notification of liability by succession. If a predecessor
460 employer has unpaid contributions or outstanding quarterly
461 reports, the successor employer must pay the total amount with
462 certified funds within 30 days after the date of the notice
463 listing the total amount due. After the total indebtedness is
464 paid, the tax collection service provider shall transfer the
465 employment records of all of the predecessor employers to the
466 successor employer’s employment record. The tax collection
467 service provider shall determine the contribution rate of the
468 combined successor and predecessor employers upon the transfer
469 of the employment records, as prescribed by rule, in order to
470 calculate any change in the contribution rate resulting from the
471 transfer of the employment records.
472 2. Regardless of whether a predecessor employer’s
473 employment record is transferred to a successor employer under
474 this paragraph, the tax collection service provider shall treat
475 the predecessor employer, if he or she subsequently employs
476 individuals, as an employer without a previous employment record
477 or, if his or her coverage is terminated under s. 443.121, as a
478 new employing unit.
479 3. The state agency providing reemployment assistance tax
480 collection services may adopt rules governing the partial
481 transfer of experience rating when an employer transfers an
482 identifiable and segregable portion of his or her payrolls and
483 business to a successor employing unit. As a condition of each
484 partial transfer, these rules must require the following to be
485 filed with the tax collection service provider: an application
486 by the successor employing unit, an agreement by the predecessor
487 employer, and the evidence required by the tax collection
488 service provider to show the benefit experience and payrolls
489 attributable to the transferred portion through the date of the
490 transfer. These rules must provide that the successor employing
491 unit, if not an employer subject to this chapter, becomes an
492 employer as of the date of the transfer and that the transferred
493 portion of the predecessor employer’s employment record is
494 removed from the employment record of the predecessor employer.
495 For each calendar year after the date of the transfer of the
496 employment record in the records of the tax collection service
497 provider, the service provider shall compute the contribution
498 rate payable by the successor employer or employing unit based
499 on his or her employment record, combined with the transferred
500 portion of the predecessor employer’s employment record. These
501 rules may also prescribe what contribution rates are payable by
502 the predecessor and successor employers for the period between
503 the date of the transfer of the transferred portion of the
504 predecessor employer’s employment record in the records of the
505 tax collection service provider and the first day of the next
506 calendar year.
507 4. This paragraph does not apply to an employee leasing
508 company and client contractual agreement as defined in s.
509 443.036, except as provided in s. 443.1216(1)(a)2.a. The tax
510 collection service provider shall, if the contractual agreement
511 is terminated or the employee leasing company fails to submit
512 reports or pay contributions as required by the service
513 provider, treat the client as a new employer without previous
514 employment record unless the client is otherwise eligible for a
515 variation from the standard rate.
516
517 ================= T I T L E A M E N D M E N T ================
518 And the title is amended as follows:
519 Delete lines 3 - 8
520 and insert:
521 s. 443.036, F.S.; defining and revising terms for
522 purposes of the Reemployment Assistance Program Law;
523 amending s. 443.091, F.S.; revising requirements for
524 reemployment assistance benefits eligibility; amending
525 s. 443.111, F.S.; requiring an alternative base period
526 to be used under certain circumstances when
527 calculating wages in determining qualification for
528 reemployment assistance benefits; requiring the
529 Department of Economic Opportunity to contact an
530 individual’s employer if certain wage information is
531 unavailable through specified means; specifying that
532 wages that fall within an alternative base period are
533 not available for reuse in subsequent benefit years;
534 requiring the department to adopt rules; increasing
535 the weekly benefit amounts an individual may receive;
536 providing that weekly benefit amounts be determined
537 based on the greater of the base period or alternative
538 base period; increasing the cap on the total benefit
539 amount an individual is entitled to receive during a
540 benefit year; amending ss. 215.425, 443.1216, and
541 443.131, F.S.; conforming cross-references; reenacting
542 ss.