WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2024 REGULAR SESSION
Introduced Senate Bill 840
By Senator Tarr [Introduced February 19, 2024; referred to the Committee on Finance]
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1 A BILL to amend and reenact §21A-2D-2 and §21A-2D-3 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as
2 amended; to amend said code by adding thereto a new section, designated §21A-2D-2a;
3 to amend said code by adding thereto a new article, designated §21A-3-1, §21A-3-2, and
4 §21A-3-3; to amend and reenact §21A-6-1 and §21A-6-10 of said code; and to amend said
5 code by adding thereto a new section, designated §21A-6-1d, all relating to unemployment
6 benefits; modifying the calculation of the taxable wage base; modifying eligibility for and
7 amount of unemployment benefits; modifying methodology for calculating maximum
8 benefit rate; modifying benefit table consistent with adoption of indexing; requiring
9 Workforce West Virginia Commissioner take certain actions to verify unemployment
10 insurance claim program integrity; requiring commissioner to review suspicious or
11 potentially improper claims under certain circumstances; defining "state average
12 unemployment rate"; limiting the maximum duration of unemployment benefits based on
13 the state average unemployment rate; requiring Workforce West Virginia to promulgate
14 legislative rules; establishing an internal effective date; reducing maximum benefit for each
15 wage class; requiring work search activities to qualify for unemployment benefits; defining
16 what constitutes work search activities; mandating submittal of proof of work search
17 activities; providing for verification of work search activities; granting commissioner of
18 Workforce West Virginia discretion in verification of work search activities; mandating
19 establishment of process to refer individuals seeking unemployment benefits to job
20 opportunities; requiring individuals receiving referrals to suitable work to apply for and
21 accept that work; mandating employers to report refusal of offer of employment to
22 commissioner; allowing individuals who accept part-time non-suitable employment to
23 receive unemployment benefits without reduction for wages under certain circumstances;
24 making certain individuals applying for or receiving unemployment benefits exempt from
25 work search requirements; establishing process for notification of work search activity
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25 requirements; requiring rulemaking; setting internal effective date; and removing chart
26 column made incorrect by adoption of indexing.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 2D. UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROGRAM INTEGRITY ACT.
§21A-2D-2. Unemployment insurance program integrity.
1 The commissioner shall, on a weekly basis, unless otherwise specified: be required to
1 (a) (1) Check the unemployment insurance rolls against the Division of Corrections and
2 Rehabilitation’s list of imprisoned individuals to verify eligibility for unemployment benefits and
3 ensure program integrity;
4 (b) (2) Check new hire records against the National Directory of New Hires to verify
5 eligibility for unemployment benefits; and
6 (c) (3) Check the unemployment insurance rolls against a commercially available database
7 that provides cross-matching functions to verify eligibility for unemployment benefits;
8 (4) On a monthly basis, cross-check the unemployment insurance rolls against state death
9 records; and
10 (5) Verify the identity of unemployment claimants by methods including, but not limited to,
11 verifying the identity of an applicant prior to awarding benefits and requiring multi-factor
12 authentication as part of online applications.
§21A-2D-2a. Automatic claim review.
1 The commissioner shall perform a full eligibility review of suspicious or potentially improper
2 claims in cases including, but not limited to:
3 (1) Multiple or duplicative claims filed online originating from the same IP address;
4 (2) Claims filed online from foreign IP addresses;
5 (3) Multiple or duplicative claims filed that are associated with the same mailing address;
6 and
7 (4) Multiple or duplicative claims filed that are associated with the same bank account.
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§21A-2D-3. Data sharing.
1 The commissioner shall have the authority to may execute a memorandum of
2 understanding exchange information with any department, agency, or division for information
3 required to be shared between agencies outlined in this article as necessary to carry out the
4 requirements of this article.
ARTICLE 3. UNEMPLOYMENT BENEFITS INDEXING.
§21A-3-1. Duration of benefits; calculation.
1 (a) For the purposes of this article, "state average unemployment rate" means the average
2 of the seasonally adjusted unemployment rates for the months comprising the previous quarter of
3 the most recent calendar year as published by Workforce West Virginia.
4 (b) For all valid unemployment compensation claims submitted during a calendar year, the
5 maximum duration of benefits will be as follows:
6 (1) If the state average unemployment rate is below 5.5 percent, the maximum duration of
7 benefits will be limited to 12 weeks;
8 (2) If the state average unemployment rate is at or above 5.5 percent, but below 6.0
9 percent, the maximum duration of benefits will be limited to 13 weeks;
10 (3) If the state average unemployment rate is at or above 6.0 percent, but below 6.5
11 percent, the maximum duration of benefits will be limited to 14 weeks;
12 (4) If the state average unemployment rate is at or above 6.5 percent, but below 7.0
13 percent, the maximum duration of benefits will be limited to 15 weeks;
14 (5) If the state average unemployment rate is at or above 7.0 percent, but below 7.5
15 percent, the maximum duration of benefits will be limited to 16 weeks;
16 (6) If the state average unemployment rate is at or above 7.5 percent, but below 8.0
17 percent, the maximum duration of benefits will be limited to 17 weeks;
18 (7) If the state average unemployment rate is at or above 8.0 percent, but below 8.5
19 percent, the maximum duration of benefits will be limited to 18 weeks;
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20 (8) If the state average unemployment rate is at or above 8.5 percent, but below 9.0
21 percent, the maximum duration of benefits will be limited to 19 weeks; and
22 (9) If the state average unemployment rate is at or above 9.0 percent, the maximum
23 duration of benefits will be limited to 20 weeks.
§21A-3-2. Rulemaking.
1 Workforce West Virginia shall promulgate legislative rules to carry out the requirements of
2 this article in accordance with §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code.
§21A-3-3. Effective date.
1 The provisions of this article shall take effect on January 1, 2025.
ARTICLE 6. EMPLOYEE ELIGIBILITY; BENEFITS.
§21A-6-1. Eligibility qualifications.
1 An unemployed individual shall be eligible to receive benefits only if the commissioner
2 finds that:
3 (1) He or she has registered for work at and thereafter continues to report at an
4 employment office in accordance with the regulations of the commissioner;
5 (2) He or she has made a claim for benefits in accordance with the provisions of §21A-7-1
6 et seq. of this code and has furnished his or her Social Security number, or numbers if he or she
7 has more than one such number;
8 (3) He or she is able to work and is available for full-time work for which he or she is fitted
9 by prior training or experience and is doing that which a reasonably prudent person in his or her
10 circumstances would do in seeking work actively seeking work as defined in §21A-6-1d of this
11 code;
12 (4) He or she has been totally or partially unemployed during his or her benefit year for a
13 waiting period of one-week prior to the week for which he or she claims benefits for total or partial
14 unemployment;
15 (5) He or she has within his or her base period been paid wages for employment equal to
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16 not less than $2,200 and must have earned wages in more than one quarter of his or her base
17 period or, if he or she is not eligible under his or her base period, has within his or her alternative
18 base period been paid wages for employment equal to not less than $2,200 and must have earned
19 wages in more than one quarter of his or her alternative base period; and
20 (6) He or she participates in reemployment services as defined in §21A-6-1d of this code,
21 such as job search assistance services, if the individual has been determined to be likely to
22 exhaust regular benefits and needs reemployment services pursuant to a profiling system
23 established by the commissioner, unless the commissioner determines that:
24 (A) The individual has completed such services; or
25 (B) There is justifiable cause for the claimant's failure to participate in such services.
§21A-6-1d. Jobs and Reemployment Act.
1 (a) In addition to compliance with all other eligibility requirements, an individual shall be
2 eligible and shall remain eligible for unemployment benefits only if he or she actively seeks, and
3 continues to seek, work by conducting at least four work search activities weekly, defined as:
4 (1) Registering for work with the state’s labor exchange system, placement firm, temporary
5 work agencies, or educational institution with job placement offices;
6 (2) Logging on and looking for work in the state’s labor exchange or other online job
7 matching system;
8 (3) Using reemployment services in job centers or completing similar online or self-service
9 activities, including, but not limited to, obtaining and using labor market and career information,
10 participating in Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessment activities, participating in skills
11 assessment for occupational matching, instructional workshops, or other specialized activities;
12 (4) Completing job applications for employers that have, or are reasonably expected to
13 have, job openings, or following through on job referrals or job development attempts, as directed
14 by Workforce West Virginia staff;
15 (5) Applying for or participating in employment and training services provided by partner
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16 programs in job centers;
17 (6) Participating in work-related networking events, such as job clubs, job fairs, industry
18 association events, or networking groups;
19 (7) Making contacts with, or in-person visits to, employers that have, or are reasonably
20 expected to have, job openings;
21 (8) Taking a civil service examination;
22 (9) Going on interviews with employers, either in-person or virtually; or
23 (10) Performing any other work search activities prescribed or allowed by rules
24 promulgated by Workforce West Virginia.
25 (b) The commissioner shall:
26 (1) Require an individual, at the time of application for unemployment benefits and weekly
27 thereafter, to provide proof of all his or her work search activities;
28 (2) Verify submissions of proof of work search activities by individuals applying for or
29 receiving unemployment benefits; and
30 (3) Determine any individual who fails to perform work search activities or provide proof of
31 work search activities as required by this section ineligible to receive unemployment benefits
32 unless the individual can reasonably explain his or her failure to do so or timely remedy the failure
33 to provide proof of his or her work search activity.
34 (c) The commissioner shall have discretion to determine the sufficiency of the proof of work
35 search activities submitted, the explanation of a failure to submit such proof, the provision of such
36 proof after an inaccuracy in the proof provided is identified, and whether an individual has
37 otherwise complied with the requirements of this section.
38 (d) The commissioner shall, utilizing existing resources:
39 (1) Establish a process by which Workforce West Virginia will share open positions
40 submitted to or posted by the Division of Personnel or any other state-administered job board by
41 employers directly with individuals applying for or receiving unemployment benefits; and
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42 (2) Establish a process by which, for the purpose of helping individuals applying for or
43 receiving unemployment benefits secure suitable work, Workforce West Virginia shall refer
44 individuals applying for or receiving unemployment benefits to such open positions, including
45 facilitating contact between employers and those individuals, and monitoring whether those
46 individuals are sufficiently responsive to a referral.
47 (e) An individual applying for or receiving unemployment benefits who receives referrals
48 from Workforce West Virginia to a job or jobs considered to be suitable, as that term is defined in
49 this chapter, shall apply for that job or those jobs within one-week of receiving the referrals and
50 accept employment in suitable work if offered.
51 (f) Employers shall report the refusal of any individual who is receiving unemployment
52 benefits and who receives job referrals from Workforce West Virginia to accept an offer of
53 employment to the commissioner. The report shall be made in writing in a manner prescribed by
54 the commissioner and shall be signed by the employer. The report shall become part of the file of
55 the individual’s claim for benefits.
56 (g) Individuals receiving unemployment benefits who accept a referral to a part-time open
57 position or otherwise accept part-time employment for which the wages are less than his or her
58 weekly benefit rate shall continue to receive unemployment benefits without reduction for those
59 wages for the duration of his or her benefits period.
60 (h) With the exception of individuals who have received or been served with a summons for
61 jury duty or are serving on a jury in any court of this state, the United States, or any state of the
62 United States; are receiving vocational training as described in the provisions of §21A-6-4 of this
63 code; or who are members in good standing of a union that refers its members to employment from
64 a union hall; all individuals applying for or receiving unemployment benefits shall be subject to the
65 requirements of this section, including, but not limited to, individuals who are seasonally
66 unemployed or laid off subject to recall by their employer.
67 (i) Workforce West Virginia shall notify individuals seeking benefits, at the time an initial
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68 claim is filed and at any other time during the benefit year that the requirements substantively
69 change, of the obligation to actively seek work. Delivery of the notification shall be made by the
70 method selected by the individual seeking benefits, and may include United States mail, email,
71 online mailbox, or text message. The notification shall include, at a minimum, the types of work
72 search activities that are acceptable; the number of work search activities that are required in any
73 week; the requirement that work search activities be documented; and the requirement to apply,
74 and accept if offered, suitable jobs referred by the agency.
75 (j) The commissioner shall promulgate rules for legislative approval in accordance with the
76 provisions of §29A-3-1 et seq. of this code.
77 (k) The provisions of this section shall become effective January 1, 2025.
§21A-6-10. Benefit rate — total unemployment; annual computation and publication of
rates.
1 (a) Each eligible individual who is totally unemployed in any week shall be paid benefits
2 with respect to that week at the weekly rate appearing in Column (C) in the benefit table in this
3 section, on the line on which in Column (A) there is indicated the employee’s wage class, except
4 as otherwise provided under the term "total and partial unemployment" in §21A-1A-27 of this code.
5 However, such amount shall not be more than the maximum weekly benefit amount as defined in
6 §21A-6-10(b) of this code. The employee’s wage class shall be determined by his or her base
7 period wages as shown in Column (B) in the benefit table. The right of an employee to receive
8 benefits shall may not be prejudiced nor the amount thereof be diminished by reason of failure by
9 an employer to pay either the wages earned by the employee or the contribution due on such
10 wages. An individual who is totally unemployed but earns in excess of $60 as a result of odd job or
11 subsidiary work, or is paid a bonus in any benefit week shall be paid benefits for such week in
12 accordance with the provisions of this chapter pertaining to benefits for partial unemployment.
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