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SF1013 • 2021

Unemployment benefits-failure to comply with federal law-2.

AN ACT relating to labor and employment; specifying that persons who voluntarily leave their employment due to an employer's failure to comply with federal COVID 19 prevention requirements are qualified to receive unemployment benefits; and providing for an effective date.

Labor
Did Not Pass

The latest official action shows that this bill did not move forward in that session.

Sponsor
Senator Rothfuss
Last action
2021-11-03
Official status
inactive
Effective date
3/1/2021

Plain English Breakdown

The bill text does not provide specific details about enforcement or penalties for employers, leaving this aspect unclear.

Unemployment Benefits for Workers Leaving Due to Employer's Noncompliance with COVID-19 Rules

This act allows people who quit their jobs because their employers did not follow federal rules about preventing the spread of COVID-19 to get unemployment benefits.

What This Bill Does

  • Changes the law so that workers can receive unemployment if they leave a job due to an employer's failure to comply with federal COVID-19 prevention requirements.

Who It Names or Affects

  • Workers who leave their jobs because their employer did not follow federal guidelines on preventing the spread of COVID-19.
  • Employers whose non-compliance with federal health rules could lead to workers leaving and claiming unemployment benefits.

Terms To Know

Disqualification
A rule that stops someone from getting certain benefits or rights.

Limits and Unknowns

  • The bill did not pass and was never considered for introduction.
  • It is unclear how many workers would be affected if the bill had passed.
  • Details about enforcement or penalties for employers are not included in this legislation.

Bill History

  1. 2021-11-03 Senate

    S Did Not Consider for Introduction

  2. 2021-10-26 Senate

    S Received for Introduction

  3. 2021-10-21 LSO

    Bill Number Assigned

Current Bill Text

Read the full stored bill text
21LSO-1046
2021
STATE OF WYOMING
21LSO-1046
Numbered
2.0

SENATE FILE NO. SF1013

Unemployment benefits-failure to comply with federal law-2.

Sponsored by: Senator(s) Rothfuss and Representative(s) Connolly

A BILL

for

AN ACT relating to labor and employment; specifying that persons who voluntarily leave their employment due to an employer's failure to comply with federal COVID 19 prevention requirements are qualified to receive unemployment benefits; and providing for an effective date.

Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Wyoming:

Section 1
.

W.S.
27
‑
3
‑
311(a)(i)(C), (D) and

by creating a new subparagraph (E) is amended to read:

27
‑
3
‑
311.

Disqualifications from entitlement; grounds; forfeiture.

(a)

An individual shall be disqualified from benefit entitlement beginning with the effective date of an otherwise valid claim or the week during which the failure occurred, until he has been employed in an employee
‑
employer relationship and has earned at least eight (8) times the weekly benefit amount of his current claim for services after that date, if the department finds that he:

(i)

Left his most recent work voluntarily without good cause attributable directly to his employment, except:

(C)

If forced to leave the most recent work as a result of being a victim of documented domestic violence;
or

(D)

If unemployed as a result of relocation due to the transfer of the unemployed individual's spouse, either within or outside the state, from which it is impractical to commute to the place of employment, and upon arrival at the new residence, the individual is in all respects able and available for suitable work and registers
for work with the department of workforce services or an equivalent agency of another state where the individual is residing. To qualify under this subparagraph, the individual shall be married to a member of the United States armed forces whose relocation is the result of an assignment on active duty as defined in 10 U.S.C. 101(d)(1), active guard or reserve duty as defined in 10 U.S.C. 101(d)(6), active duty pursuant to title 10 of the United States Code, or training or other duty performed by a member of the army national guard of the United States or the air national guard of the United States under section 316, 502, 503, 504 or 505 of title 32 of the United States Code.

Any benefits awarded under this subparagraph shall be noncharged benefits and shall not affect an employer's experience rating account
;
.

or

(E)

An employer's failure to comply with any federal law, rule or policy promulgated in response to the COVID
‑
19 pandemic, including any COVID
‑
19 vaccination requirement or any other COVID
‑
19 prevention measure, shall constitute good cause for an individual voluntarily leaving his most recent work under this paragraph.

Section 2
.

This act is effective immediately upon completion of all acts necessary for a bill to become law as provided by Article 4, Section 8 of the Wyoming Constitution.

(END)

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SF1013