Texans who do not return to work over coronavirus may be eligible for unemployment
As the first wave of businesses prepare to reopen their doors, Gov. Greg Abbott announced Thursday that Texans who choose not to return to work for certain reasons related to the novel coronavirus may be eligible to continue to receive unemployment benefits.
Abbott announced the Texas Workforce Commission has issued new guidance to allow for exceptions to the agency’s longstanding policy that put people at risk of losing their unemployment benefits if they refused an offer of suitable work without good cause.
While each claim will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis, workers may continue to receive benefits if they refuse work for a handful of reasons, including:
- If they are 65 years or older or have household members who are. According to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, those 65 years and older are at higher risk of contracting COVID-19 and developing complications due to it.
- Have tested positive for COVID-19, or have a family member who has tested positive from a source “authorized by the State of Texas.” They must have either not yet recovered or have not yet had 14 days pass since testing positive.
- If they are currently quarantined for 14 days due to exposure to a case of COVID-19.
- Lack childcare and have no alternatives due to a school or daycare closure.
According to a news release, any other situations “will be subject to a case by case review by TWC based on individual circumstances.”
“This flexibility in the unemployment benefit process will help ensure that Texans with certain health and safety concerns will not be penalized for choosing not to return to work,” Abbott said in a statement.
The issue arose after Abbott announced Monday that as part of a phased reopening of Texas businesses, restaurants, retail stores, movie theaters, malls, libraries, museums and more could begin operating at 25% capacity.
That put some employees being told to return to work in a difficult position, as they weighed risking exposure to the virus over the need to earn a paycheck to cover growing bills and the possibility of losing their unemployment benefits altogether.
Among the requirements to be eligible to receive unemployment benefits, workers must be both able and available “to accept any suitable full-time work,” according to the Texas Workforce Commission’s website.
Cisco Gamez, a spokesman for the Texas Workforce Commission, wrote in an email late Tuesday night that given the circumstances due to the pandemic, the agency was “reevaluating good cause situations that take into consideration the governor’s direction towards reopening the economy.”
Abhi Rahman, a spokesman for the Texas Democratic Party, wrote in a statement Thursday that the need to issue revised guidelines to ensure that the elderly be included “was yet another example of how (Abbott’s) utterly mismanaged the crisis and botched the gradual reopening of Texas business.”
“If the decision to open the state prematurely wasn’t bad enough, Abbott proved again that he really had no plan,” Rahman said.
Nearly a dozen organizations and labor advocates had called on the agency Wednesday to issue emergency rules to clarify that “suitable work” include consideration of an individual’s health conditions, age and risk factors, in addition to whether the necessary equipment, training and supplies is provided to employees to prevent infection.
And the organizations’ letter also specifically requested that the commission allow voluntarily leaving work for COVID-19-related reasons to be included under its definition of “good cause.”
“We’re excited to see the changes that he’s implemented, but we feel it still doesn’t go quite far enough. There’s still a lot of concerns around workplace safety that are not being addressed in these,” said Jonathan Lewis, a senior policy analyst with the Center For Public Policy Priorities, an Austin-based think tank that was among the organizations that signed Wednesday’s letter.
Lewis noted that of the exceptions included in the revised guidance, only those who are 65 years or older were listed, and not additional at-risk groups, like people with compromised immune systems, diabetes or respiratory issues like asthma.
“I think that more clarity is going to be needed than what was issued,” Lewis said.
In a webinar earlier Thursday afternoon, attorneys for the Texas Workforce Commission said employers could report to the agency’s fraud department workers who choose not to return in order to keep receiving unemployment benefits.
“When you email the fraud department we will investigate to see if the offer of work was offered and if it was suitable. And if it was, then they could be disqualified from receiving unemployment benefits thereafter,” said Velissa Chapa, legal counsel to Texas Workforce Commissioner Aaron Demerson, who represents employers.
Chapa encouraged employers to submit written proof that the employee was notified about measures to create a safe working environment, in addition to a written offer of work.
This story was originally published April 30, 2020 at 4:59 PM with the headline "Texans who do not return to work over coronavirus may be eligible for unemployment."
