Senate Bill No. 690
(By Senator Bowman)
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[Introduced February 23, 2004; referred to the Committee on the
Judiciary.]
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A BILL to amend and reenact §21A-6-3 of the code of West
Virginia, 1931, as amended, relating to requiring that an
employee present a physician certification to the employer
prior to leaving employment rather than after the fact.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
That §21A-6-3
of the code of West Virginia,1931, as amended,
be amended and reenacted to read as follows:
ARTICLE 6. EMPLOYEE ELIGIBILITY; BENEFITS.
§21A-6-3. Disqualification for benefits.
Upon the determination of the facts by the commissioner, an
individual shall be disqualified for benefits:
(1) For the week in which he or she left his or her most
recent work voluntarily without good cause involving fault on the
part of the employer and until the individual returns to covered
employment and has been employed in covered employment at least thirty working days.
For the purpose of this subdivision (1), an individual shall
not be deemed is not considered to have left his or her most
recent work voluntarily without good cause involving fault on the
part of the employer, if such the individual leaves his or her
most recent work with an employer and if he or she in fact,
within a fourteen-day calendar period, does return to employment
with the last preceding employer with whom he or she was
previously employed within the past year prior to his or her
return to work day, and which last preceding employer, after
having previously employed such the individual for thirty working
days or more, laid off such the individual because of lack of
work, which layoff occasioned the payment of benefits under this
chapter or could have occasioned the payment of benefits under
this chapter had such the individual applied for such
the benefits. It is the intent of this paragraph to cause no
disqualification for benefits for such an individual who complies
with the foregoing set of requirements and conditions. Further,
for the purpose of this subdivision, an individual shall not be
deemed is not considered to have left his or her most recent work
voluntarily without good cause involving fault on the part of the
employer, if such the individual was compelled to leave his or
her work for his or her own health-related reasons and presents
certification from a licensed physician that was obtained prior to leaving his or her employment, that his
or her work
aggravated, worsened, or will worsen the individual's health
problem.
(2) For the week in which he or she was discharged from his
or her most recent work for misconduct and the six weeks
immediately following such week; or for the week in which he or
she was discharged from his or her last thirty-day employing unit
for misconduct and the six weeks immediately following such week.
Such The disqualification shall carry a reduction in the maximum
benefit amount equal to six times the individual's weekly
benefit. However, if the claimant returns to work in covered
employment for thirty days during his or her benefit year,
whether or not such these days are consecutive, the maximum
benefit amount shall be increased by the amount of the decrease
imposed under the disqualification; except that:
If he or she were discharged from his or her most recent
work for one of the following reasons, or if he or she were
discharged from his or her last thirty days employing unit for
one of the following reasons: Misconduct consisting of willful
destruction of his or her employer's property; assault upon the
person of his or her employer or any employee of his or her
employer; if such the assault is committed at such the
individual's place of employment or in the course of employment;
reporting to work in an intoxicated condition, or being intoxicated while at work; reporting to work under the influence
of any controlled substance, or being under the influence of any
controlled substance while at work; arson, theft, larceny, fraud
or embezzlement in connection with his
or her work; or any other
gross misconduct; he
or she shall be and remain disqualified for
benefits until he
or she has thereafter worked for at least
thirty days in covered employment:
Provided,
That for the
purpose of this subdivision the words "any other gross
misconduct" shall include, but not be limited to, any act or acts
of misconduct where the individual has received prior written
warning that termination of employment may result from such act
or acts.
(3) For the week in which he or she failed without good
cause to apply for available, suitable work, accept suitable work
when offered, or return to his or her customary self-employment
when directed to do so by the commissioner, and for the four
weeks which immediately follow for such additional period as any
offer of suitable work shall continue open for his or her
acceptance. Such The disqualification shall carry a reduction in
the maximum benefit amount equal to four times the individual's
weekly benefit amount.
(4) For a week in which his or her total or partial
unemployment is due to a stoppage of work which exists because of
a labor dispute at the factory, establishment or other premises at which he
or she was last employed, unless the commissioner is
satisfied that he
or she: (1) Was not participating, financing,
or directly interested in such dispute; and (2) did not belong to
a grade or class of workers who were participating, financing or
directly interested in the labor dispute which resulted in the
stoppage of work. No disqualification under this subdivision
shall be imposed if the employees are required to accept wages,
hours or conditions of employment substantially less favorable
than those prevailing for similar work in the locality, or if
employees are denied the right of collective bargaining under
generally prevailing conditions, or if an employer shuts down his
or her plant or operation or dismisses his
or her employees in
order to force wage reduction, changes in hours or working
conditions.
For the purpose of this subdivision, if any stoppage of work
continues longer than four weeks after the termination of the
labor dispute which caused stoppage of work, there shall be a
rebuttable presumption that part of the stoppage of work which
exists after said period of four weeks after the termination of
said the labor dispute did not exist because of said the labor
dispute; and in such this event the burden shall be is upon the
employer or other interested party to show otherwise.
(5) For a week with respect to which he or she is receiving
or has received:
(a) Wages in lieu of notice;
(b) Compensation for temporary total disability under the
workers' compensation law of any state or under a similar law of
the United States; or
(c) Unemployment compensation benefits under the laws of the
United States or any other state.
(6) For the week in which an individual has voluntarily quit
employment to marry or to perform any marital, parental or family
duty, or to attend to his or her personal business or affairs and
until the individual returns to covered employment and has been
employed in covered employment at least thirty working days.
(7) Benefits shall may not be paid to any individual on the
basis of any services, substantially all of which consist of
participating in sports or athletic events or training or
preparing to so participate, for any week which commences during
the period between two successive sport seasons (or similar
periods) if such the individual performed such these services in
the first of such seasons (or similar periods) and there is a
reasonable assurance that such the individual will perform such
these services in the later of such seasons (or similar periods).
(8) (a) Benefits shall may not be paid on the basis of
services performed by an alien unless such the alien is an
individual who was lawfully admitted for permanent residence at
the time such the services were performed, was lawfully present for purposes of performing
such these services, or was
permanently residing in the United States under color of law at
the time
such these services were performed (including an alien
who is lawfully present in the United States as a result of the
application of the provisions of section 203(a)(7) or section
212(d)(5) of the Immigration and Nationality Act):
Provided,
That any modifications to the provisions of section 3304(a)(14)
of the federal unemployment tax act as provided by Public Law
94-566 which specify other conditions or other effective date
than stated herein for the denial of benefits based on services
performed by aliens and which modifications are required to be
implemented under state law as a condition for full tax credit
against the tax imposed by the federal unemployment tax act shall
be deemed is considered applicable under the provisions of this
section;
(b) Any data or information required of individuals applying
for benefits to determine whether benefits are not payable to
them because of their alien status shall be uniformly required
from all applicants for benefits;
(c) In the case of an individual whose application for
benefits would otherwise be approved, no determination that
benefits to such the individual are not payable because of his or
her alien status shall be made except upon a preponderance of the
evidence.
(9) For each week in which an individual is unemployed
because, having voluntarily left employment to attend a school,
college, university or other educational institution, he or she
is attending such a school, college, university or other
educational institution, or is awaiting entrance thereto or is
awaiting the starting of a new term or session thereof, and until
the individual returns to covered employment.
(10) For each week in which he or she is unemployed because
of his or her request, or that of his or her duly authorized
agent, for a vacation period at a specified time that would leave
the employer no other alternative but to suspend operations.
(11) For each week with respect to which he or she is
receiving or has received benefits under Title II of the Social
Security Act or similar payments under any act of Congress and/or
remuneration in the form of an annuity, pension or other
retirement pay from a base period and/or chargeable employer or
from any trust or fund contributed to by a base period and/or
chargeable employer, the weekly benefit amount payable to such
this individual for such the week shall be reduced (but not below
zero) by the prorated weekly amount of said benefits, payments
and/or remuneration: Provided,
That if such the amount of
benefits is not a multiple of one dollar, it shall be computed to
the next lowest multiple of one dollar: Provided, however,
That
there shall be no disqualification if, in the individual's base period, there are no wages which were paid by the base period
and/or chargeable employer paying
such the remuneration, or by a
fund into which the employer has paid during
said the base
period. Claimant may be required to certify as to whether or not
he
or she is receiving or has been receiving remuneration in the
form of an annuity, pension or other retirement pay from a base
period and/or chargeable employer or from a trust fund
contributed to by a base period and/or chargeable employer.
(12) For each week in which and for fifty-two weeks
thereafter, beginning with the date of the decision, if the
commissioner finds such individual who within twenty-four
calendar months immediately preceding such the decision, has made
a false statement or representation knowing it to be false or
knowingly fails to disclose a material fact, to obtain or
increase any benefit or payment under this article: Provided,
That disqualification under this subdivision shall does not
preclude prosecution under section seven, article ten of this
chapter.
NOTE: The purpose for this bill is to is to require an
individual to receive a physician certification prior to leaving
employment rather than after the fact.
Strike-throughs indicate language that would be stricken
from the present law, and underscoring indicates new language
that would be added.
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