Title II — Modernization of regular unemployment

“(19) the minimum duration of benefits is at least 26 weeks and no variable duration formula that provides for maximum weeks of benefits of fewer than 26 weeks is used, or, in the case of a State that uses a maximum benefit entitlement, an individual’s maximum benefit entitlement may not be less than 26 times the individual’s weekly benefit amount; and”

“(20) an individual’s weekly benefit amount is equal to the lesser of—

“(A) the maximum weekly benefit amount under the State law; or

“(B) an amount equal to the quotient of—

“(i) an amount equal to at least 75 percent of the total earnings in the quarter of the individual’s base period with the highest earnings; divided by

“(ii) 13; and”

“(21) the maximum weekly benefit amount may not be less than 2/3 of the State's average weekly wage (as determined by the Secretary of Labor) as of October 1 of each calendar year and applied for claims effective on or after January 1 of the subsequent calendar year; and”

“(22) an individual is not denied unemployment compensation under any State law provisions relating to ability to work, availability for work, active search for work, or refusal to accept work, solely on the basis of the number of hours of work such individual is seeking, provided that the individual is seeking at least the lesser of—

“(A) 20 hours of work per week; or

“(B) a number of hours of work per week equal to at least 1/2 of the typical number of hours worked per week in the individual’s base period;

“(23) an unemployed individual may claim benefits for a week of partial unemployment where the individual performs less than full-time work while continuing to search for additional part-time or full-time work in accordance with State law if their earnings are less than the individual’s weekly benefit amount;

“(24) when determining the weekly benefit amount for an individual claiming a benefit for a week of partial unemployment, the State disregards, at a minimum, earnings equal to 1/3 of the individual’s weekly benefit amount in computing the individual’s weekly benefit for partial unemployment; and”

“(25) the State law—

“(A) uses a base period that consists of 4 completed calendar quarters preceding the effective date of the claim and includes the most recently completed calendar quarter before the start of the benefit year for purposes of determining eligibility for unemployment compensation; or

“(B) provides that, in the case of an individual who would not otherwise be eligible for unemployment compensation under the State law because of the use of a base period that does not meet the requirements described in subparagraph (A), eligibility is determined using a base period that consists of 4 completed calendar quarters preceding the effective date of the claim and includes the most recently completed calendar quarter before the start of the benefit year;

“(26) in the case of an individual who would not otherwise be eligible for unemployment compensation under State law because the individual took unpaid leave or reduced pay for medical, parental, or caregiving purposes during the base period, or because the individual was incapable of work due to illness, injury, or disability during the base period, eligibility shall be determined using a base period that includes the State’s standard or alternative base period and at least 4 additional consecutive quarters immediately before the base period or alternative base period; and”

“(g) Definition of compelling reason

“(1) In general—For purposes of subsection (a)(27), the Secretary of Labor shall establish a definition for the term “compelling reason”.

“(2) Requirements—In defining the term compelling reason, the Secretary shall include the following reasons:

“(A) Illness or disability of a qualified family member

“(i) In general—The illness or disability of a qualified family member of the individual.

“(ii) Qualified family member—For purposes of clause (i), the term qualified family member means, with respect to an individual—

“(I) a spouse (including a domestic partner in a civil union or other registered domestic partnership recognized by a State) and a spouse's parent;

“(II) a child and a child's spouse;

“(III) a parent and a parent's spouse;

“(IV) a sibling and a sibling's spouse;

“(V) a grandparent, a grandchild, or a spouse of a grandparent or grandchild; and

“(VI) any other individual who is related by blood or affinity and whose association with the individual is the equivalent of a family relationship (as determined under regulations issued by the Secretary of the Labor).

“(B) Accompany the individual's spouse—In order to accompany such individual's spouse—

“(i) to a place which is outside of the individual’s commuting area; and

“(ii) due to a change in location of the spouse's employment.

“(C) Relocation of workplace—The relocation of the workplace of the individual to a place which is outside of the individual’s commuting area.

“(D) Care for a child—The need to care for a child when child care has been lost and an alternative arrangement cannot be reasonably secured.

“(E) Unusual risk—The individual’s job presents any unusual risk to the health or safety of the individual.

“(F) Employer’s failure to conform to State and Federal laws—The employee’s reasonable belief that the employer failed to conform to any State or Federal law relating to wages, hours, working conditions, collective bargaining, harassment, discrimination, retaliation, or reasonable accommodations.

“(G) Other reasons—Other reasons determined appropriate by the State.”

“(h) Victims of a qualifying act of violence or harassment

“(1) Documentation—For purposes of subsection (a)(28), a voluntary separation of an individual shall be considered to be attributable to such individual being a victim of a qualifying act of violence or harassment if such individual submits such evidence as the State deems sufficient.

“(2) Sufficient documentation—For purposes of paragraph (1), a State shall deem sufficient—

“(A) evidence of such qualifying act of violence or harassment in the form of—

“(i) a sworn statement and a form of identification;

“(ii) a police or court record;

“(iii) documentation from a professional from whom such individual has sought assistance, including those associated with medical, legal, or religious professions or a victim service provider; or

“(iv) any other documentation determined appropriate by the Secretary of Labor or the State; and

“(B) an attestation that such voluntary separation is attributable to such qualifying act of violence or harassment.

“(3) Definitions

“(A) In general—Subject to subparagraph (B), in this section:

“(i) Qualifying act of violence or harassment—The term qualifying act of violence or harassment means an act, conduct, or pattern of conduct that is or could constitute any of the following:

“(I) Domestic violence.

“(II) Dating violence.

“(III) Sexual assault.

“(IV) Stalking.

“(V) Sexual harassment.

“(VI) Other harassment.

“(ii) Victim of a qualifying Act of violence or harassment—The term “victim of a qualifying act of violence or harassment includes—

“(I) an individual who has experienced or is experiencing a qualifying act of violence or harassment; and

“(II) an individual whose family or household member has experienced or is experiencing a qualifying act of violence or harassment.

“(iii) Violence Against Women Act definitions—The terms “domestic violence”, “dating violence”, “sexual assault”, “stalking”, and “victim service provider” have the meanings given such terms in section 40002 of the Violence Against Women Act of 1994, except that if the corresponding paragraph for any such term is amended after the date of enactment of this subsection, such amendment shall not apply for the purpose of this subsection until the earlier of—

“(I) the date the State changes its statutes, regulations, or policies in order to comply with such amendment; or

“(II) the date that is 2 years after the date of enactment of such amendment.

“(iv) Sexual harassment—The term sexual harassment means hostile, intimidating, or oppressive behavior based on sex that creates an offensive work environment.

“(v) Other harassment—The term other harassment has the meaning given the term “harassment” (other than sexual harassment) under State law, regulation, or policy.

“(B) States may apply broader definition—A State may adopt a broader definition of any term under clause (i), (ii) (iii), (iv), or (v) of subparagraph (A).”

“(29) compensation is immediately paid to an individual for their first week of otherwise compensable unemployment without a waiting week; and”

“(30) an individual’s completion of a temporary employment assignment is considered to be an involuntary layoff for the purposes of determining eligibility for unemployment compensation, regardless of whether or not the individual has contacted the employer after a temporary assignment has ended; and”

“(34) an individual performing any service shall be considered an employee and not an independent contractor for the purpose of the State law, unless—

“(A) the individual is free from control and direction in connection with the performance of the service, both under the contract for the performance of service and in fact;

“(B) the service is performed outside the usual course of the business of the employer; and

“(C) the individual is customarily engaged in an independently established trade, occupation, profession, or business of the same nature as that involved in the service performed; and”

“3304A. Dependents' allowance

“(a) In general—Subject to the succeeding provisions of this section, for purposes of section 3304(a)(35), a State shall provide, in the case of any individual who is entitled to receive unemployment compensation and who has any dependents, a dependents' allowance in an amount equal to the amount specified in subsection (b) per dependent per week.

“(b) Amount specified

“(1) In general—The amount specified in this subsection is an amount equal to—

“(A) for 2027, $25; and

“(B) for 2028 or a subsequent year, the dollar amount specified in this subsection for the preceding year increased by the percentage change in the Consumer Price Index for All Urban Consumers for the 12-month period ending with June of such preceding year.

“(2) Rounding—If any amount determined under paragraph (1)(B) is not a multiple of $1, such amount shall be rounded to the nearest multiple of $1.

“(c) Dependent defined—In this section, the term “dependent” shall have the meaning given that term under State law, except that such term shall include—

“(1) any child in the care of the individual who is under the age of 18, including a natural child, an adopted child, and a step-child;

“(2) any child, including stepchild, natural child, or adopted child, who, prior to enrollment as full-time student, was in the care of the individual seeking benefits, so long as the child remain enrolled as a full-time student and is under the age of 24;

“(3) any eligible foster child (as defined in section 152(f)(1)(C)) placed with the individual;

“(4) an immediate family member with a disability who is in the care of the individual or their household, regardless of whether or not the family member resides in the individual's household;

“(5) a nonworking senior family member living in the household of the individual;

“(6) a nonworking spouse who is not receiving unemployment compensation; and

“(7) other individuals determined appropriate by the Secretary of Labor.

“(d) Regulations—Not later than 3 months after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary of Labor shall issue regulations to carry out this section.”

“(36) compensation is not denied to an otherwise eligible individual if the separation is due to a labor dispute if—

“(A) the individual has been locked out by their employer;

“(B) the dispute is the result of the employer’s failure to conform to the provisions of a labor contract;

“(C) the dispute is the result of the employer’s failure to conform to any State or Federal law relating to wages, hours, working conditions, or collective bargaining; or

“(D) the individual and others of the same grade or class are not participating in the dispute, financing it, or directly interested in it; and”

“(I) compensation shall”

“(II) if compensation is denied to any individual for any week under subclause (I) and such individual was not offered an opportunity to perform such services for the educational institution for the second of such academic years or terms, such individual shall be entitled to a retroactive payment of the compensation for each week for which the individual filed a timely claim for compensation and for which compensation was denied solely by reason of subclause (I),”

“3304B. Emergency enhanced unemployment compensation

“(a) Compensation

“(1) In general—Subject to the succeeding provisions of this section, for purposes of section 3304(a)(37), during an emergency period with respect to a State, section 3304(a)(20)(B)(i) shall be applied with respect to the State by substituting “100 percent” for “at least 75 percent”. The additional amount an individual receives pursuant to the application of the preceding sentence shall be referred to as “emergency enhanced unemployment compensation”.

“(2) Emergency period—For purposes of paragraph (1), the term “emergency period” means, with respect to a State, any period during which—

“(A) a public health emergency has been declared under section 319 of the Public Health Service Act with respect to the State (including a nationwide emergency); or

“(B) a major disaster or emergency has been declared by the President under section 401 or 501, respectively, of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. 5170, 5191).

“(b) Payments to States

“(1) In general

“(A) Full reimbursement—There shall be paid to each State an amount equal to 100 percent of—

“(i) the total amount of emergency enhanced unemployment compensation paid to individuals by the State pursuant to this section; and

“(ii) any additional administrative expenses incurred by the State by reason of making such payments (as determined by the Secretary of Labor).

“(B) Terms of payments—Sums payable to any State under this section shall be payable, either in advance or by way of reimbursement (as determined by the Secretary of Labor), in such amounts as the Secretary of Labor estimates the State will be entitled to receive under this section for each calendar month, reduced or increased, as the case may be, by any amount by which the Secretary of Labor finds that the Secretary’s estimates for any prior calendar month were greater or less than the amounts that should have been paid to the State. Such estimates may be made on the basis of such statistical, sampling, or other method as may be agreed upon by the Secretary of Labor and the State agency of the State involved.

“(2) Certifications—The Secretary of Labor shall from time to time certify to the Secretary of the Treasury for payment to each State the sums payable to such State under this section.

“(3) Deposit—Sums payable to any State under this section shall be deposited in the account of such State in the Unemployment Trust Fund. Amounts deposited under preceding sentence may only be used by the State for the payment of emergency enhanced unemployment compensation under this section.

“(4) Funding—There are appropriated from the general fund of the Treasury, without fiscal year limitation, such sums as may be necessary for purposes of this section.

“(c) Fraud and overpayments

“(1) In general—If an individual knowingly has made, or caused to be made by another, a false statement or representation of a material fact, or knowingly has failed, or caused another to fail, to disclose a material fact, and as a result of such false statement or representation or of such nondisclosure such individual has received an amount of emergency enhanced unemployment compensation to which such individual was not entitled, such individual—

“(A) shall be ineligible for further emergency enhanced unemployment compensation in accordance with the provisions of the applicable State unemployment compensation law relating to fraud in connection with a claim for unemployment compensation; and

“(B) shall be subject to prosecution under section 1001 of title 18, United States Code.

“(2) Repayment—In the case of individuals who have received amounts of emergency enhanced unemployment compensation to which they were not entitled, the State shall require such individuals to repay the amounts of such emergency enhanced unemployment compensation to the State agency, except that the State agency shall waive such repayment if it determines that—

“(A) the payment of such emergency enhanced unemployment compensation was not based on fraud on the part of any such individual; and

“(B) such repayment would be contrary to equity and good conscience.

“(3) Recovery by State agency

“(A) In general—The State agency may recover the amount to be repaid, or any part thereof, by deductions from any emergency enhanced unemployment compensation payable to such individual or from any unemployment compensation payable to such individual under any State or Federal unemployment compensation law administered by the State agency or under any other State or Federal law administered by the State agency which provides for the payment of any assistance or allowance with respect to any week of unemployment, during the 3-year period after the date such individual received the payment of the emergency enhanced unemployment compensation to which they were not entitled, in accordance with the same procedures as apply to the recovery of overpayments of regular unemployment benefits paid by the State.

“(B) Opportunity for hearing—No repayment shall be required, and no deduction shall be made, until a determination has been made, notice thereof and an opportunity for a fair hearing has been given to the individual, and the determination has become final.

“(4) Review—Any determination by a State agency under this section shall be subject to review in the same manner and to the same extent as determinations under the State unemployment compensation law, and only in that manner and to that extent.

“(5) Deposit in State unemployment fund—Any amount recovered by a State agency pursuant to this section shall be deposited in the account of such State in the Unemployment Trust Fund. Amounts deposited under preceding sentence may only be used by the State for the payment of emergency enhanced unemployment compensation under this section.

“(d) Payment To be disregarded for purposes of all Federal and Federally assisted programs—A emergency enhanced unemployment compensation payment shall not be regarded as income and shall not be regarded as a resource for the month of receipt and the following 12 months, for purposes of determining the eligibility of the recipient (or the recipient’s spouse or family) for benefits or assistance, or the amount or extent of benefits or assistance, under any Federal program or under any State or local program financed in whole or in part with Federal funds.

“(e) Regulations—Not later than 3 months after the date of enactment of this section, the Secretary of Labor shall issue regulations to carry out this section.”