bill loosens the labor dispute unemployment ban

The text as introduced · 426 words

89R3597 RDS-D

By: Turner
H.B. No. 1070

A BILL TO BE ENTITLED

AN ACT

relating to the eligibility for unemployment benefits of

individuals who are unemployed due to certain labor disputes.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:

SECTION 1. Section 207.048, Labor Code, is amended by

amending Subsections (a), (b), and (f) and adding Subsection (g) to

read as follows:

(a) An individual is disqualified for benefits for a benefit

period in which the individual's total or partial unemployment is

caused by[ :

[ (1) ] the individual's stoppage of work because of a

labor dispute at the factory, establishment, or other premises

where the individual is or was last employed[ ; or

[ (2) a labor dispute at another place that:

[ (A) is owned or operated by the same employing

unit that owns or operates the premises where the individual is or

was last employed; and

[ (B) supplies material or services necessary to

the continued and usual operation of the premises where the

individual is or was last employed ].

(b) Disqualification for benefits under this section does

not apply to an individual who shows to the satisfaction of the

commission that the individual:

(1) is not participating in, financing, or directly

interested in the labor dispute; [ and ]

(2) does not belong to a grade or class of workers any

members of which were employed at the premises of the labor dispute

immediately before the beginning of the labor dispute and any of

whom are participating in, financing, or directly interested in the

dispute ;

(3) has been locked out of the individual's place of

employment; or

(4) has been placed on emergency leave without pay by

the individual's employer .

(f) For the purposes of this section :

(1) "Locked out" means the denial of entry by an

employer to the place of employment of employees of that employer

who have not:

(A) gone on strike; or

(B) notified the employer of a date on which the

employees intend to go on strike.

(2) "Premises" [ , "premises" ] includes a vessel.

(g) For the purposes of Subsection (b), the payment of

regular union dues by an individual does not constitute financing a

labor dispute.

SECTION 2. This Act takes effect immediately if it receives

a vote of two-thirds of all the members elected to each house, as

provided by Section 39, Article III, Texas Constitution. If this

Act does not receive the vote necessary for immediate effect, this

Act takes effect September 1, 2025.