1125 Committee Amendment sponsors: Scott and Bryant
The Committee amendment strikes each instance of the word “cause” and inserts the word “misconduct”. The US DOL does not recognize the word “cause” but does recognize the word “misconduct”.
The amendment mandates that termination for misconduct results in a full disqualification, i.e. twenty weeks.
The amendment defines “misconduct” as does the US Department of Labor.
The amendment maintains the discretion of DEW to award benefits in the event of “extreme hardship, emergency, sickness, or other extraordinary circumstance”. It also directs that, “mere inefficiency, unsatisfactory conduct, failure in good performance as the result of inability or incapacity, inadvertencies, or ordinary negligence in isolated instances, or good-faith errors in judgment or discretion are not misconduct for the purposes of this item.”
Section 2 ensures that in the event that an employee is disqualified and then separated from future employment and eligible for benefits, those benefits will not be charged to the employer who fired the person.
Section 3 provides that if benefits are found to be fraudulent, then the employer will not be charged. Those charges previously were removed only if the money was recovered from the employee that committed fraud.
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