By: Hernandez, Guillen H.B. No. 3697       A BILL TO BE ENTITLED   AN ACT   relating to the eligibility for unemployment compensation of   certain employees who leave the workplace to care for a minor child   and to a requirement that the Texas Workforce Commission pilot the   use of certain third-party employment and income information to   assist with determining unemployment benefit eligibility.          BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF TEXAS:          SECTION 1.  Section 207.046(a), Labor Code, is amended to   read as follows:          (a)  An individual is not disqualified for benefits under   this subchapter if:                (1)  the work-related reason for the individual's   separation from employment was urgent, compelling, and necessary so   as to make the separation involuntary;                (2)  the individual leaves the workplace to protect the   individual from family violence or stalking or the individual or a   member of the individual's immediate family from violence related   to a sexual assault as evidenced by:                      (A)  an active or recently issued protective order   documenting sexual assault of the individual or a member of the   individual's immediate family or family violence against, or the   stalking of, the individual or the potential for family violence   against, or the stalking of, the individual;                      (B)  a police record documenting sexual assault of   the individual or a member of the individual's immediate family or   family violence against, or the stalking of, the individual;                      (C)  a physician's statement or other medical   documentation that describes the sexual assault of the individual   or a member of the individual's immediate family or family violence   against the individual that:                            (i)  is recorded in any form or medium that   identifies the individual or member of the individual's immediate   family, as applicable, as the patient; and                            (ii)  relates to the history, diagnosis,   treatment, or prognosis of the patient; or                      (D)  written documentation from a family violence   center or rape crisis center that describes the sexual assault of   the individual or a member of the individual's immediate family or   family violence against the individual; [or]                (3)  the individual leaves the workplace to care for   the individual's terminally ill spouse as evidenced by a   physician's statement or other medical documentation, but only if   no reasonable, alternative care was available; or                (4)  the individual leaves the workplace to care for   the individual's minor child due to an unexpected illness,   accident, or other unforeseeable event, but only if no reasonable,   alternative care was available.          SECTION 2.  (a)  In this section, "real-time employment and   income information" means up-to-date, non-modeled employment and   income data provided by employers and payroll providers.          (b)  In order to improve the timeliness of unemployment   compensation payments, operational efficiencies, and cost savings   and to minimize fraud, the Texas Workforce Commission shall   participate in a no-cost pilot by which the commission shall obtain   real-time employment and income information from a third-party   commercial consumer reporting agency, in accordance with the   federal Fair Credit Reporting Act (15 U.S.C. Section 1681 et seq.),   for the purpose of assisting with the determination of an   individual's eligibility to receive unemployment benefits,   including to conduct an analysis on the pilot.          (c)  The Texas Workforce Commission shall report on the value   of integrating real-time employment and income information into   existing verification and eligibility determination procedures and   the potential to identify fraud and produce cost savings.          SECTION 3.  The change in law made by this Act to Section   207.046(a), Labor Code, 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 4.  This Act takes effect September 1, 2021.