AN ACT Relating to exceptions to disqualification for unemployment insurance benefits when voluntarily leaving employment due to location and the separation from a minor child; reenacting and amending RCW 50.20.050; and creating a new section.

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

Sec. 1. RCW 50.20.050 and 2009 c 493 s 3 and 2009 c 247 s 1 are each reenacted and amended to read as follows:

(1) ((With respect to claims that have an effective date on or after January 4, 2004, and for separations that occur before September 6, 2009:))

(a) An individual shall be disqualified from benefits beginning with the first day of the calendar week in which ((he or she))the individual has left work voluntarily without good cause and thereafter for seven calendar weeks and until ((he or she has obtained))the individual obtains bona fide work in employment covered by this title and earned wages in that employment equal to seven times his or her weekly benefit amount.

The disqualification shall continue if the work obtained is a mere sham to qualify for benefits and is not bona fide work. In determining whether work is of a bona fide nature, the commissioner shall consider factors including but not limited to the following:

(i) The duration of the work;

(ii) The extent of direction and control by the employer over the work; and

(iii) The level of skill required for the work in light of the individual's training and experience.

(b) An individual is not disqualified from benefits under (a) of this subsection when:

(i) ((He or she))The individual has left work to accept a bona fide offer of bona fide work as described in (a) of this subsection;

(ii) The separation was necessary because of the illness or disability of the ((claimant))individual or the death, illness, or disability of a member of the ((claimant's))individual's immediate family if:

(A) The ((claimant))individual pursued all reasonable alternatives to preserve his or her employment status by requesting a leave of absence, by having promptly notified the employer of the reason for the absence, and by having promptly requested reemployment when again able to assume employment. These alternatives need not be pursued, however, when they would have been a futile act, including those instances when the futility of the act was a result of a recognized labor/management dispatch system; and

(B) The ((claimant))individual terminated his or her employment status, and is not entitled to be reinstated to the same position or a comparable or similar position;

(iii)(((A) With respect to claims that have an effective date before July 2, 2006, he or she: (I)))The individual: (A) Left work to relocate for the ((spouse's employment that, due to a mandatory military transfer: (1) Is outside the existing labor market area; and (2) is in Washington or another state that, pursuant to statute, does not consider such an individual to have left work voluntarily without good cause; and (II) remained employed as long as was reasonable prior to the move;

(B) With respect to claims that have an effective date on or after July 2, 2006, he or she: (I) Left work to relocate for the spouse's employment that, due to a mandatory military transfer,))employment of a spouse or domestic partner that is outside the existing labor market area; and (((II)))(B) remained employed as long as was reasonable prior to the move;

(iv) The separation was necessary to protect the ((claimant))individual or the ((claimant's))individual's immediate family members from domestic violence, as defined in RCW 26.50.010, or stalking, as defined in RCW 9A.46.110;

(v) The individual's usual compensation was reduced by twenty-five percent or more;

(vi) The individual's usual hours were reduced by twenty-five percent or more;

(vii) The individual's worksite changed, such change caused a material increase in distance or difficulty of travel, and, after the change, the commute was greater than is customary for workers in the individual's job classification and labor market;

(viii) The individual's worksite safety deteriorated, the individual reported such safety deterioration to the employer, and the employer failed to correct the hazards within a reasonable period of time;

(ix) The individual left work because of illegal activities in the individual's worksite, the individual reported such activities to the employer, and the employer failed to end such activities within a reasonable period of time;

(x) The individual's usual work was changed to work that violates the individual's religious convictions or sincere moral beliefs; ((or))

(xi) The individual left work to enter an apprenticeship program approved by the Washington state apprenticeship training council. Benefits are payable beginning Sunday of the week prior to the week in which the individual begins active participation in the apprenticeship program; or

(xii) The individual left work to relocate outside the existing labor market because of the geographical location of or proximity to and the separation from a minor child.

(2) ((With respect to separations that occur on or after September 6, 2009:

(3))) Notwithstanding subsection (((2)))(1) of this section, ((for separations occurring on or after July 26, 2009,)) an individual who was simultaneously employed in full-time employment and part-time employment and is otherwise eligible for benefits from the loss of the full-time employment shall not be disqualified from benefits because the individual:

(a) Voluntarily quit the part-time employment before the loss of the full-time employment; and

(b) Did not have prior knowledge that he or she would be separated from full-time employment.

--- END ---