1.This Act may be cited as
the Extended Unemployment Benefits
Reform Act of 2012
.
2.Congress makes the following
findings:
(1)The Founding
Fathers of this Nation held the value and virtue of work to be an integral part
of the American spirit of freedom and unity.
(2)Honest work of an
individual's choice, whether paid or unpaid, benefits both the individual and
society as a whole.
(3)The betterment of
communities through public service should be encouraged by the Federal
Government.
(4)After the first
months of eligibility for unemployment benefits, involvement by an individual
in public service will not infringe on such individual's readiness to work or
their ability to search for employment.
3.Additional
requirements for receipt of extended unemployment benefits
(a)Section 3304 of the
Internal Revenue Code of 1986 (relating to approval of State unemployment
compensation laws) is amended—
(1)in subsection
(a)—
(A)in paragraph
(18), by striking and
at the end;
(B)by redesignating
paragraph (19) as paragraph (20); and
(C)by inserting
after paragraph (18) the following new paragraph:
(19)extended
compensation, including any such compensation under a temporary program, shall
not be payable to an individual for any week in which such individual does
not—
(A)perform at least
20 hours of public service (as described in subsection (g)); and
(B)engage in at
least 20 hours of active job searching (as described in subsection (h));
and
;
and
(2)by adding at the
end the following new subsections:
(g)
(1)For purposes of subsection (a)(19)(A), the term
public service means unpaid service by an individual to an
organization described in section 501(c)(3), or a Federal, State, or local
agency (as permitted in accordance with applicable Federal, State, and local
law), with tangible evidence to be provided to the State agency by the
individual on a weekly basis demonstrating that the individual has performed
such service during the previous week.
(2)For
purposes of the public service requirement under subsection (a)(19)(A), an
individual shall be deemed to have satisfied such requirement for that week if
the individual—
(A)provides tangible
evidence to the State agency demonstrating that such individual was unable to
perform the required public service for that week due to an illness or family
emergency;
(B)is a parent of a
qualifying child (as defined in section 152(c)) and provides tangible evidence
to the State agency demonstrating an inability to perform the required number
of hours of public service due to responsibility for child care;
(C)provides tangible
evidence to the State agency demonstrating an inability to perform the required
number of hours of public service due to a lack of available transportation,
telephone, or internet services; or
(D)provides tangible
evidence of a bona fide attempt to perform public service and, pursuant to such
criteria as is determined appropriate by the State agency, is determined to be
unable to perform such service due to a lack of available public service
opportunities in the area in which the individual resides.
(3)Performance of
work activities
(A)Subject to subparagraph (B), the total number of hours of
public service required under subsection (a)(19)(A) shall be reduced by 1 hour
for each hour during that week that an individual performs work
activities.
(B)Minimum public
service requirementFor purposes of subparagraph (A), any
reduction in the total number of hours of public service required under
subsection (a)(19)(A) based upon performance of work activities shall not be
greater than 15 hours for each week.
(C)Definition of
work activitiesFor purposes of this paragraph, the term
work activities has the same meaning as provided under subsection
(d) of section 407 of the Social Security Act (42 U.S.C. 607), except that such
activities shall not include job searching, as described in paragraph (6) of
such subsection.
(h)Active search
for employment
(1)For purposes of subsection (a)(19)(B), the term
active job searching means an active and ongoing search for
employment by an individual, with tangible evidence of such search to be
provided to the State agency by the individual on a weekly basis, which shall
include a record of potential employers contacted by the individual (including
relevant contact information for such employers) and such other information as
determined appropriate by the State agency.
(2)Alternative job
search requirementsThe State agency may reduce the total number
of hours of active job searching required under subparagraph (A) of subsection
(a)(19) and provide alternative job search requirements for an individual who
has met the requirements under subparagraphs (A) and (B) of such subsection for
a period of not less than 12
weeks.
.
(b)
(1)Except as provided in paragraph (2), the amendments made
by this section shall take effect on July 1, 2012.
(2)Delay permitted
if State legislation requiredIn the case of a State which the
Secretary of Labor determines requires State legislation (other than
legislation appropriating funds) in order for the State law to meet the
additional requirements imposed by the amendments made by subsection (a), the
State law shall not be regarded as failing to comply with the requirements of
such section 3304(a)(19) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1986, as added by such
amendments, solely on the basis of the failure of the State law to meet such
additional requirements before the 1st day of the 1st calendar quarter
beginning after the close of the 1st regular session of the State legislature
that begins after the date of enactment of this Act. For purposes of the
previous sentence, in the case of a State that has a 2-year legislative
session, each year of such session shall be deemed to be a separate regular
session of the State legislature.