83R9201 MAW-F
 
  By: Deuell S.B. No. 1537
 
 
 
A BILL TO BE ENTITLED
 
AN ACT
  relating to certain required notices under the Texas Unemployment
  Compensation Act, including employer liability arising from
  failure to provide the notice.
         BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:
         SECTION 1.  Section 205.013, Labor Code, is amended by
  adding Subsection (d) to read as follows:
         (d)  If a reimbursing employer pays a reimbursement to the
  commission for benefits paid to a claimant that are not in
  accordance with the final determination or decision under this
  subtitle, the employer is not entitled to a refund of, or credit
  for, the amount paid by the employer to the commission unless the
  employer has complied with the requirements of Section 208.004 with
  respect to the claimant.
         SECTION 2.  Section 208.004, Labor Code, is amended by
  adding Subsections (a-1), (c), (d), (e), and (f) to read as follows:
         (a-1)  A notification provided by a person under Subsection
  (a), including an initial response to a notice mailed to the person
  under Section 208.002, must include sufficient factual information
  to allow the commission to make a determination regarding the
  claimant's eligibility for benefits under this subtitle.
         (c)  Notwithstanding Subchapter B, Chapter 204, benefits
  paid to a claimant, including benefits paid to a claimant that are
  not in accordance with the final determination or decision under
  this subtitle, shall be charged to the account of a person if:
               (1)  the person, or the person's agent, without good
  cause, fails to provide adequate notification under this section
  within the time required by Subsection (b); and
               (2)  the commission determines that the person, or the
  person's agent, has failed to provide timely and adequate
  notification under this section on at least two prior occasions.
         (d)  For purposes of Subsection (c), a notification is not
  adequate if the notification merely alleges that a claimant is not
  eligible for benefits without providing sufficient factual
  information, other than a general statement of the law, to support
  the allegation.
         (e)  For purposes of Subsection (c), good cause is
  established only by showing that a person, or the person's agent,
  was prevented from complying with this section due to compelling
  circumstances that were beyond the person's control.
         (f)  The commission may adopt rules as necessary to implement
  this section.
         SECTION 3.  Section 212.005, Labor Code, is amended to read
  as follows:
         Sec. 212.005.  CHARGEBACK ON REVERSAL OF DETERMINATION OR
  DECISION ALLOWING BENEFITS PROHIBITED; EXCEPTION. (a) Except as
  provided by Subsection (b), a [A] chargeback may not be made to an
  employer's account because of payments having been made under a
  determination or decision to the claimant for any benefit period
  with regard to which the claimant is finally denied benefits by a
  modification or reversal of the determination or decision.
         (b)  A chargeback shall be made to an employer's account for
  benefits paid to a claimant that are not in accordance with the
  final determination or decision under this subtitle if the benefits
  were paid due to the failure of the employer, or the employer's
  agents, to comply with Section 208.004.
         SECTION 4.  The change in law made by this Act applies only
  to a claim for unemployment compensation benefits filed with the
  Texas Workforce Commission on or after the effective date of this
  Act. A claim filed before the effective date of this Act is
  governed by the law in effect on the date the claim was filed, and
  the former law is continued in effect for that purpose.
         SECTION 5.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2013.