Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1260 By Senator Trumbull 2-00783B-24 20241260__ Page 1 of 12 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. A bill to be entitled 1

An act relating to verification of reemployment 2 assistance benefit eligibility; providing a short 3 title; amending s. 443.091, F.S.; providing 4 requirements for reemployment assistance benefit 5 conditions for non-Florida residents; removing 6 requirements that certain skills assessments of 7 claimants be voluntary; providing specified 8 requirements for claimants; requiring the Department 9 of Commerce to implement rules; amending s. 443.101, 10 F.S.; making a technical change; revising 11 circumstances under which the department disqualifies 12 claimants from benefits; requiring the department to 13 maintain a web page and an e-mail address for a 14 specified purpose and to notify employers each year of 15 the web page and e-mail address; creating s. 443.1112, 16 F.S.; requiring the department to verify claimants’ 17 identities before paying benefits; requiring the 18 department to weekly cross-check certain information; 19 providing sources against which such information is 20 cross-checked; prohibiting benefits from being paid 21 for claims that have not been cross-checked; providing 22 duties of the department; providing annual reporting 23 requirements; amending s. 443.151, F.S.; conforming a 24 cross-reference; amending s. 445.003, F.S.; requiring 25 the department to procure an online workforce search 26 and match tool for a specified purpose; providing 27 requirements for such tool; providing an effective 28 date. 29

Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1260 2-00783B-24 20241260__ Page 2 of 12 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. 30 Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida: 31 32

Section 1. This act may be cited as the “Promoting Work, 33 Deterring Fraud Act of 2024.” 34

Section 2. Present subsections (2) through (5) of

section 35 443.091, Florida Statutes, are redesignated as subsections (3) 36 through (6), respectively, a new subsection (2) is added to that 37 section, and subsection (1) of that

section is amended, to read: 38 443.091 Benefit eligibility conditions.— 39

(1) An unemployed individual is eligible to receive 40 benefits for any week only if the Department of Commerce finds 41 that: 42 (

a) She or he has made a claim for benefits for that week 43 in accordance with the rules adopted by the department. 44 (

b) She or he has completed the department’s online work 45 registration and subsequently reports to the one-stop career 46 center as directed by the local workforce development board for 47 reemployment services, or to a workforce center in the state of 48 his or her residence if he or she is a non-Florida resident. 49 This requirement does not apply to persons who are: 50 1. Non-Florida residents; 51 1.2. On a temporary layoff; 52 2.3. Union members who customarily obtain employment 53 through a union hiring hall; 54 3.4.

Claiming benefits under an approved short-time 55 compensation plan as provided in s. 443.1116; or 56 4.5. Unable to complete the online work registration due to 57 illiteracy, physical or mental impairment, a legal prohibition 58

Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1260 2-00783B-24 20241260__ Page 3 of 12 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. from using a computer, or a language impediment. If a person is 59 exempted from the online work registration under this 60 subparagraph, then the filing of his or her claim constitutes 61 registration for work. 62 (

c) To make continued claims for benefits, she or he is 63 reporting to the department in accordance with this paragraph 64 and department rules. Department rules may not conflict with s. 65 443.111(1)(b), which requires that each claimant continue to 66 report regardless of any pending appeal relating to her or his 67 eligibility or disqualification for benefits. 68 1. For each week of unemployment claimed, each report must, 69 at a minimum, include the name and address of each prospective 70 employer contacted, or the date the claimant reported to a one-71 stop career center, pursuant to paragraph (d).

For the purposes 72 of this subparagraph, the term “address” means a website 73 address, a physical address, or an e-mail address. 74 2. The department shall offer an online assessment aimed at 75 identifying an individual’s skills, abilities, and career 76 aptitude. The skills assessment must be voluntary, and the 77 department shall allow a claimant to choose whether to take the 78 skills assessment. The online assessment shall be made available 79 to any person seeking services from a local workforce 80 development board or a one-stop career center. 81 a.

If the claimant chooses to take the online assessment, 82 The outcome of the assessment shall be made available to the 83 claimant, local workforce development board, and one-stop career 84 center. The department, local workforce development board, or 85 one-stop career center shall use the assessment to develop a 86 plan for referring individuals to training and employment 87

Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1260 2-00783B-24 20241260__ Page 4 of 12 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. opportunities. Aggregate data on assessment outcomes may be made 88 available to CareerSource Florida, Inc., for use in the 89 development of policies related to education and training 90 programs that will ensure that businesses in this state have 91 access to a skilled and competent workforce. 92 b.

Individuals shall be informed of and offered services 93 through the one-stop delivery system, including career 94 counseling, the provision of skill match and job market 95 information, and skills upgrade and other training 96 opportunities, and shall be encouraged to participate in such 97 services at no cost to the individuals.

The department shall 98 coordinate with CareerSource Florida, Inc., the local workforce 99 development boards, and the one-stop career centers to identify, 100 develop, and use best practices for improving the skills of 101 individuals who choose to participate in skills upgrade and 102 other training opportunities. The department may contract with 103 an entity to create the online assessment in accordance with the 104 competitive bidding requirements in s. 287.057. The online 105 assessment must work seamlessly with the Reemployment Assistance 106 Claims and Benefits Information System. 107 (

d) She or he is able to work and is available for work. In 108 order to assess eligibility for a claimed week of unemployment, 109 the department shall develop criteria to determine a claimant’s 110 ability to work and availability for work. A claimant must be 111 actively seeking work in order to be considered available for 112 work. This means engaging in systematic and sustained efforts to 113 find work, including contacting at least five prospective 114 employers for each week of unemployment claimed. Each week, a 115 claimant must complete at least one job application in person 116

Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1260 2-00783B-24 20241260__ Page 5 of 12 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. with an employer that has an expected job opening. A claimant 117 must certify and attest biweekly that he or she will, to the 118 best of his or her ability, appear for all scheduled interviews 119 and is actively seeking work. The department may require the 120 claimant to provide proof of such efforts to the one-stop career 121 center as part of reemployment services.

A claimant’s proof of 122 work search efforts may not include the same prospective 123 employer at the same location in 3 consecutive weeks, unless the 124 employer has indicated since the time of the initial contact 125 that the employer is hiring. The department shall conduct random 126 reviews of work search information provided by claimants.

As an 127 alternative to contacting at least five prospective employers 128 for any week of unemployment claimed, a claimant may, for that 129 same week, report in person to a one-stop career center to meet 130 with a representative of the center and access reemployment 131 services of the center. The center shall keep a record of the 132 services or information provided to the claimant and shall 133 provide the records to the department upon request by the 134 department. However: 135 1. Notwithstanding any other provision of this paragraph or 136 paragraphs (

b) and (e), an otherwise eligible individual may not 137 be denied benefits for any week because she or he is in training 138 with the approval of the department, or by reason of s. 139 443.101(2) relating to failure to apply for, or refusal to 140 accept, suitable work. Training may be approved by the 141 department in accordance with criteria prescribed by rule. A 142 claimant’s eligibility during approved training is contingent 143 upon satisfying eligibility conditions prescribed by rule. 144 2. Notwithstanding any other provision of this chapter, an 145

Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1260 2-00783B-24 20241260__ Page 6 of 12 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. otherwise eligible individual who is in training approved under 146 s. 236(a)(1) of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended, may not be 147 determined ineligible or disqualified for benefits due to 148 enrollment in such training or because of leaving work that is 149 not suitable employment to enter such training.

As used in this 150 subparagraph, the term “suitable employment” means work of a 151 substantially equal or higher skill level than the worker’s past 152 adversely affected employment, as defined for purposes of the 153 Trade Act of 1974, as amended, the wages for which are at least 154 80 percent of the worker’s average weekly wage as determined for 155 purposes of the Trade Act of 1974, as amended. 156 3.

Notwithstanding any other provision of this section, an 157 otherwise eligible individual may not be denied benefits for any 158 week because she or he is before any state or federal court 159 pursuant to a lawfully issued summons to appear for jury duty. 160 4. Union members who customarily obtain employment through 161 a union hiring hall may satisfy the work search requirements of 162 this paragraph by reporting daily to their union hall. 163 5.

The work search requirements of this paragraph do not 164 apply to persons who are unemployed as a result of a temporary 165 layoff or who are claiming benefits under an approved short-time 166 compensation plan as provided in s. 443.1116. 167 6. In small counties as defined in s. 120.52(19), a 168 claimant engaging in systematic and sustained efforts to find 169 work must contact at least three prospective employers for each 170 week of unemployment claimed. 171 7.

The work search requirements of this paragraph do not 172 apply to persons required to participate in reemployment 173 services under paragraph (e). 174

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e) She or he participates in reemployment services, such 175 as job search assistance services, whenever the individual has 176 been determined, by a profiling system established by the rules 177 of the department, to be likely to exhaust regular benefits and 178 to be in need of reemployment services. 179 (

f) She or he has been unemployed for a waiting period of 1 180 week. A week may be counted as a waiting week under this 181 subsection only if: 182 1. It occurs within the benefit year that includes the week 183 for which she or he claims payment of benefits; 184 2. Benefits have not been paid for that week; and 185 3. The individual was eligible for benefits for that week 186 as provided in this

section and s. 443.101, except for the 187 requirements of this subsection and s. 443.101(5). 188 (

g) She or he has been paid wages for insured work equal to 189 1.5 times her or his high quarter wages during her or his base 190 period, except that an unemployed individual is not eligible to 191 receive benefits if the base period wages are less than $3,400. 192 (

h) She or he submitted to the department a valid social 193 security number assigned to her or him. The department may 194 verify the social security number with the United States Social 195 Security Administration and may deny benefits if the department 196 is unable to verify the individual’s social security number, the 197 social security number is invalid, or the social security number 198 is not assigned to the individual. 199

(2) The department shall adopt rules regarding work search 200 requirements for the purpose of ensuring claimants’ good faith 201 participation. 202

Section 3. Subsection (2) of

section 443.101, Florida 203

Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1260 2-00783B-24 20241260__ Page 8 of 12 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. Statutes, is amended to read: 204 443.101 Disqualification for benefits.—An individual shall 205 be disqualified for benefits: 206

(2) If the Department of Commerce Economic Opportunity 207 finds that the individual has failed without good cause to apply 208 for available suitable work, failed to contact at least five 209 prospective employers per week in accordance with s. 443.091 210 unless otherwise exempt, failed to appear on three or more 211 occasions for a scheduled job interview, failed to accept within 212 2 business days suitable work when offered to him or her, or 213 failed to return to the individual’s customary self-employment 214 when directed by the department or when recalled to work by his 215 or her former employer, the disqualification continues for the 216 full period of unemployment next ensuing after he or she failed 217 without good cause to apply for available suitable work, accept 218 suitable work, or return to his or her customary self-219 employment, and until the individual has earned income of at 220 least 17 times his or her weekly benefit amount.

The department 221 shall by rule adopt criteria for determining the “suitability of 222 work,” as used in this section. In developing these rules, the 223 department shall consider the duration of a claimant’s 224 unemployment in determining the suitability of work and the 225 suitability of proposed rates of compensation for available 226 work. Further, after an individual has received 25 weeks of 227 benefits in a single year, suitable work is a job that pays the 228 minimum wage and is 120 percent or more of the weekly benefit 229 amount the individual is drawing. 230 (

a) In determining whether or not any work is suitable for 231 an individual, the department shall consider the degree of risk 232

Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1260 2-00783B-24 20241260__ Page 9 of 12 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. to the individual’s health, safety, and morals; the individual’s 233 physical fitness, prior training, experience, prior earnings, 234 length of unemployment, and prospects for securing local work in 235 his or her customary occupation; and the distance of the 236 available work from his or her residence. 237 (

b) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter, 238 work is not deemed suitable and benefits may not be denied to 239 any otherwise eligible individual for refusing to accept new 240 work under any of the following conditions: 241 1. The position offered is vacant due directly to a strike, 242 lockout, or other labor dispute. 243 2. The wages, hours, or other conditions of the work 244 offered are substantially less favorable to the individual than 245 those prevailing for similar work in the locality. 246 3. As a condition of being employed, the individual is 247 required to join a company union or to resign from or refrain 248 from joining any bona fide labor organization. 249 (

c) If the department finds that an individual was rejected 250 for offered employment as the direct result of a positive, 251 confirmed drug test required as a condition of employment, the 252 individual is disqualified for refusing to accept an offer of 253 suitable work. 254 (

d) The department shall maintain a web page and an e-mail 255 address through which employers may report known or suspected 256 violations of this section. Each year the department shall 257 notify employers in the state of this web page and e-mail 258 address for reporting violations. 259

Section

Section 443.1112, Florida Statutes, is created 260 to read: 261

Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1260 2-00783B-24 20241260__ Page 10 of 12 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. 443.1112 Verification of reemployment assistance benefit 262 eligibility.— 263

(1) The Department of Commerce shall verify the identity of 264 each claimant who applies for reemployment assistance benefits 265 before paying any benefits to that individual. 266

(2) In determining the eligibility of a claim for 267 reemployment assistance benefits, the department shall weekly 268 cross-check the information contained in the claim with all of 269 the following sources or similar sources of information: 270 (

a) The National Association of State Workforce Agencies 271 Integrity Data Hub. 272 (

b) The United States Department of Health and Human 273 Services National Directory of New Hires. 274 (

c) The State Directory of New Hires created in s. 275 409.2576. 276 (

d) The Department of Corrections inmate database. 277 (

e) The Social Security Administration Prisoner Update 278 Processing System. 279 (

f) The Centers for Disease Control and Prevention National 280 Vital Statistics System death records database. 281 (

g) The Department of Health Bureau of Vital Statistics 282 death records database. 283 (

h) The United States Citizenship and Immigration Services 284 SAVE database. 285

(3) Reemployment assistance benefits administered by the 286 department may not be paid for any claim that has not been 287 cross-checked against all the sources specified in subsection 288 (2) or similar sources of information. 289

(4) The department shall do all of the following: 290

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a) Investigate any claim indicating suspicious activity 291 associated with a mailing address, a bank account, an e-mail 292 address, a telephone number, or an Internet protocol address 293 that is associated with another existing claim for reemployment 294 assistance benefits and verify that the claim is legitimate and 295 not fraudulent before paying any benefits for the claim. 296 (

b) Scrutinize any claim filed from a foreign Internet 297 protocol address before paying any benefits for the claim. 298 (

c) Work with the United States Department of Labor, other 299 workforce agencies outside the state, the Office of the Attorney 300 General, the Department of Law Enforcement, or other relevant 301 law enforcement entities to share information related to 302 fraudulent claims or attempted fraudulent claims to the extent 303 feasible for further investigation and prosecution. 304 (

d) Each year, submit to the Legislature and make available 305 on its website, a report identifying the number of fraudulent 306 reemployment assistance claims identified for the prior year, 307 the number of claims not paid due to successful detection of 308 fraudulent intentions, the number of claims and the amount of 309 reemployment assistance benefits paid against claims 310 subsequently identified as fraudulent, the amount of fraudulent 311 overpayments recovered, and the number of fraudulent claims 312 referred for investigation and possible prosecution. The report 313 must also list the sources of information that were used to 314 cross-check claims during the reporting period. 315

Section 5. Paragraph (

b) of subsection (2) of

section 316 443.151, Florida Statutes, is amended to read: 317 443.151 Procedure concerning claims.— 318

(2) FILING OF CLAIM INVESTIGATIONS; NOTIFICATION OF 319

Florida Senate - 2024 SB 1260 2-00783B-24 20241260__ Page 12 of 12 CODING: Words stricken are deletions; words underlined are additions. CLAIMANTS AND EMPLOYERS.— 320 (

b) Process.—When the Reemployment Assistance Claims and 321 Benefits Information System described in s. 443.1113 is fully 322 operational, the process for filing claims must incorporate the 323 process for registering for work with the consumer-first 324 workforce system established under s. 445.011. Unless exempted 325 under s. 443.091(1)(b)4. s. 443.091(1)(b)5., a claim for 326 benefits may not be processed until the work registration 327 requirement is satisfied. The department may adopt rules as 328 necessary to administer the work registration requirement set 329 forth in this paragraph. 330

Section 6. Subsection (8) is added to

section 445.003, 331 Florida Statutes, to read: 332 445.003 Implementation of the federal Workforce Innovation 333 and Opportunity Act.— 334

(8) ONLINE WORKFORCE SEARCH AND MATCH TOOL.—The department, 335 in alignment with the implementation of 20 C.F.R. s. 652.3 to 336 administer a public labor exchange services system, shall 337 procure a modernized online workforce search and match tool that 338 includes artificial intelligence generation for the purpose of 339 matching participants to jobs and training opportunities.

The 340 tool must be interoperable through an application programming 341 interface with the consumer-first workforce system implemented 342 in s. 445.011, and the tool must include a knowledge, skills, 343 and interests assessment for the purpose of guiding participants 344 to jobs and training opportunities. 345

Section 7. This act shall take effect July 1, 2024. 346