Enr CS for SB 841
WEST VIRGINIA LEGISLATURE
2024 REGULAR SESSION
Enrolled Committee Substitute for Senate Bill 841
By Senator Woodrum [Passed March 9, 2024; in effect 90 days from passage]
1 1
 Enr CS for SB 841
1 AN ACT to amend and reenact §21A-1A-28 of the Code of West Virginia, 1931, as amended; to
2 amend and reenact §21A-6-1 and §21A-6-10 of said code; to amend said code by adding
3 thereto an new section, designated §21A-6-1d; to amend and reenact §21A-6A-4 and
4 §21A-6A-5 of said code; and to amend §21A-6B-6 of said code; all relating to the amount
5 of unemployment taxes and benefits; removing definitions; modifying the calculation of the
6 taxable wage base; modifying the maximum benefit rate; requiring work search activities to
7 qualify for unemployment benefits; defining what constitutes work search activities;
8 mandating submittal of proof of work search activities; providing for verification of work
9 search activities; granting commissioner of Workforce West Virginia discretion in
10 verification of work search activities; mandating establishment of process to refer
11 individuals seeking unemployment benefits to job opportunities; requiring individuals
12 receiving referrals to suitable work to apply for and accept that work; mandating employers
13 to report refusal of offer of employment to commissioner and other matters; allowing
14 individuals who accept part-time non-suitable employment to receive unemployment
15 benefits without reduction for wages under certain circumstances; making certain
16 individuals applying for or receiving unemployment benefits exempt from work search
17 requirements; establishing process for notification of work search activity requirements;
18 requiring rulemaking; setting internal effective dates; modifying the total extended benefit
19 amount; and modifying the short-time compensation weekly benefit amount.
Be it enacted by the Legislature of West Virginia:
ARTICLE 1A. DEFINITIONS.
§21A-1A-28. Wages.
1 (a) "Wages" means all remuneration for personal service, including commissions,
2 gratuities customarily received by an individual in the course of employment from persons other
3 than the employing unit, as long as such gratuities equal or exceed an amount of not less than $20
4 each month and which are required to be reported to the employer by the employee, bonuses and
1 2
 Enr CS for SB 841
5 the cash value of all remuneration in any medium other than cash except for agricultural labor and
6 domestic service. The term “wages” includes remuneration for service rendered to the state as a
7 member of the state National Guard or Air National Guard only when serving on a temporary basis
8 pursuant to a call made by the Governor under §15-1D-1 and §15-1D-2 of this code.
9 (b) The term "wages" does not include:
10 (1) That part of the remuneration which, after remuneration equal to $9,500 is paid during
11 a calendar year to an individual by an employer or his or her predecessor with respect to
12 employment during any calendar year, is paid to such individual by such employer during such
13 calendar year unless that part of the remuneration is subject to a tax under a federal law imposing
14 a tax against which credit may be taken for contributions required to be paid into a state
15 unemployment fund. For the purposes of this section, the term "employment" includes service
16 constituting employment under any unemployment compensation law of another state; or which
17 as a condition for full tax credit against the tax imposed by the federal Unemployment Tax Act is
18 required to be covered under this chapter; and, except that for the purposes of §21A-6-1, §21A-6-
19 10, §21A-6-11, and §21A-6-13 of this code, all remuneration earned by an individual in
20 employment shall be credited to the individual and included in his or her computation of base
21 period wages: Provided, That the remuneration paid to an individual by an employer with respect
22 to employment in another state or other states upon which contributions were required of and paid
23 by such employer under an unemployment compensation law of such other state or states shall be
24 included as a part of the remuneration equal to the amounts of $9,500. In applying such limitation
25 on the amount of remuneration that is taxable, an employer shall be accorded the benefit of all or
26 any portion of such amount which may have been paid by its predecessor or predecessors:
27 Provided, however, That if the definition of the term "wages" as contained in Section 3306(b) of the
28 Internal Revenue Code of 1954, as amended, is amended to include remuneration in excess of
29 $9,500 paid to an individual by an employer under the federal Unemployment Tax Act during any
30 calendar year, wages for the purposes of this definition shall include remuneration paid in a
1 3
 Enr CS for SB 841
31 calendar year to an individual by an employer subject to this chapter or his or her predecessor with
32 respect to employment during any calendar year up to an amount equal to the amount of
33 remuneration taxable under the federal Unemployment Tax Act;
34 (2) The amount of any payment made (including any amount paid by an employer for
35 insurance or annuities, or into a fund, to provide for any such payment) to, or on behalf of, an
36 individual in its employ or any of his or her dependents, under a plan or system established by an
37 employer which makes provision for individuals in its employ generally (or for such individuals and
38 their dependents), or for a class or classes of such individuals (or for a class or classes of such
39 individuals and their dependents) on account of: (A) Retirement; or (B) sickness or accident
40 disability payments made to an employee under an approved state workers' compensation law; or
41 (C) medical or hospitalization expenses in connection with sickness or accident disability; or (D)
42 death;
43 (3) Any payment made by an employer to an individual in its employ (including any amount
44 paid by an employer for insurance or annuities, or into a fund, to provide for any such payment) on
45 account of retirement;
46 (4) Any payment made by an employer on account of sickness or accident disability, or
47 medical or hospitalization expenses in connection with sickness or accident disability to, or on
48 behalf of, an individual in its employ after the expiration of six calendar months following the last
49 calendar month in which such individual worked for such employer;
50 (5) Any payment made by an employer to, or on behalf of, an individual in its employ or his
51 or her beneficiary: (A) From or to a trust described in Section 401(a) which is exempt from tax
52 under Section 501(a) of the federal Internal Revenue Code at the time of such payments unless
53 such payment is made to such individual as an employee of the trust as remuneration for services
54 rendered by such individual and not as a beneficiary of the trust; or (B) under or to an annuity plan
55 which, at the time of such payment, is a plan described in Section 403(a) of the federal Internal
56 Revenue Code;
1 4
 Enr CS for SB 841
57 (6) The payment by an employer of the tax imposed upon an employer under Section 3101
58 of the federal Internal Revenue Code with respect to remuneration paid to an employee for
59 domestic service in a private home or the employer of agricultural labor;
60 (7) Remuneration paid by an employer in any medium other than cash to an individual in its
61 employ for service not in the course of the employer's trade or business;
62 (8) Any payment (other than vacation or sick pay) made by an employer to an individual in
63 its employ after the month in which he or she attains the age of 65 years if he or she did not work
64 for the employer in the period for which such payment is made;
65 (9) Payments, not required under any contract of hire, made to an individual with respect to
66 his or her period of training or service in the armed forces of the United States by an employer by
67 which such individual was formerly employed; and
68 (10) Vacation pay, severance pay or savings plans received by an individual before or after
69 becoming totally or partially unemployed but earned prior to becoming totally or partially
70 unemployed: Provided, That the term totally or partially unemployed does not include: (A)
71 Employees who are on vacation by reason of the request of the employees or their duly authorized
72 agent, for a vacation at a specific time, and which request by the employees or their agent is
73 acceded to by their employer; (B) employees who are on vacation by reason of the employer's
74 request provided they are so informed at least 90 days prior to such vacation; or (C) employees
75 who are on vacation by reason of the employer's request where such vacation is in addition to the
76 regular vacation and the employer compensates such employee at a rate equal to or exceeding
77 their regular daily rate of pay during the vacation period.
78 (c) The reasonable cash value of remuneration in any medium other than cash shall be
79 estimated and determined in accordance with rules prescribed by the commissioner, except for
80 remuneration other than cash for services performed in agricultural labor and domestic service.
81 (d) The amendments made to this section during the 2024 Regular Session shall
82 become effective July 1, 2024.
1 5
 Enr CS for SB 841
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 article
6 seven of this chapter §21A-7-1 et seq. of this code and has furnished his or her Social Security
7 number, or numbers if he or she 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 actively seeking work as defined in §21A-6-1d of this code;
10 (4) He or she has been totally or partially unemployed during his or her benefit year for a
11 waiting period of one-week prior to the week for which he or she claims benefits for total or partial
12 unemployment;
13 (5) He or she has within his or her base period been paid wages for employment equal to
14 not less than $2,200 and must have earned wages in more than one quarter of his or her base
15 period or, if he or she is not eligible under his or her base period, has within his or her alternative
16 base period been paid wages for employment equal to not less than $2,200 and must have earned
17 wages in more than one quarter of his or her alternative base period; and
18 (6) He or she participates in reemployment services as defined in §21A-6-1d of this code,
19 such as job search assistance services, if the individual has been determined to be likely to
20 exhaust regular benefits and needs reemployment services pursuant to a profiling system
21 established by the commissioner, unless the commissioner determines that:
22 (A) The individual has completed such services; or
23 (B) There is justifiable cause for the claimant's failure to participate in such services.
24 The amendments made to this section during the 2024 Regular Session shall become
1 6
 Enr CS for SB 841
25 effective July 1, 2024.
§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
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.
1 7
 Enr CS for SB 841
25 (b) The commissioner may:
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
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.
1 8
 Enr CS for SB 841
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 and also report those that accept employment and either leave
54 or are dismissed from that employment within six weeks of the start date of that employment. The
55 report shall be made in writing in a manner prescribed by the commissioner and shall be signed by
56 the employer. The report shall become part of the file of the individual’s claim for benefits.
57 (g) Individuals receiving unemployment benefits who accept a referral to a part-time open
58 position or otherwise accept part-time employment for which the wages are less than his or her
59 weekly benefit rate, shall continue to receive unemployment benefits without reduction for those
60 wages for the duration of his or her benefits period.
61 (h) With the exception of individuals who have received or been served with a summons for
62 jury duty or are serving on a jury in any court of this state, the United States, or any state of the
63 United States; are receiving vocational training as described in the provisions of §21A-6-4 of this
64 code; are partially unemployed and are receiving low-earnings reports from their employer; are
65 eligible to receive short-time compensation under a work-sharing plan as described in §21A-6B-5
66 of this code; or who are members in good standing of a union that refers its members to
67 employment from