THE BILL ITSELF
HB 191
Verification of Reemployment Assistance Benefit Eligibility
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A bill to be entitled
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An act relating to verification of reemployment
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assistance benefit eligibility; providing a short
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title; amending s. 443.101, F.S.; revising
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circumstances under which the Department of Commerce
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disqualifies claimants from reemployment assistance
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benefits; creating s. 443.1112, F.S.; requiring the
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department to verify claimants' identities before
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paying benefits; requiring the department to cross-
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check certain information to verify claimants'
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eligibility under certain circumstances; providing
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duties of the department; requiring the department to
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maintain a web page for a specified purpose and to
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notify employers each year of the web page; providing
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annual reporting requirements; providing an effective
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date.
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Be It Enacted by the Legislature of the State of Florida:
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Section 1. This act may be cited as the "Promoting Work,
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Deterring Fraud Act of 2026."
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Section 2. Subsection (2) of section 443.101, Florida
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Statutes, is amended to read:
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443.101 Disqualification for benefits.—An individual shall
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be disqualified for benefits:
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(2) If the Department of Commerce finds that the
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individual has failed without good cause to apply for available
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suitable work, to contact the required number of prospective
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employers per week for any week of unemployment claimed in a
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benefit year in accordance with s. 443.091, to appear on three
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or more occasions for a scheduled job interview without
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notifying the prospective employer of the need to cancel or
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reschedule the interview, to accept suitable work when offered
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to him or her, to or return to the individual's customary self-
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employment when directed by the department, or to return to
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employment when recalled to work by the individual's employer
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after a temporary layoff, the disqualification continues for the
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full period of unemployment next ensuing after he or she failed
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without good cause to apply for available suitable work, to
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appear on three or more occasions for a scheduled job interview
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without notification, to accept suitable work, to or return to
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his or her customary self-employment, or to return to his or her
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employment after a temporary layoff, and until the individual
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has earned income of at least 17 times his or her weekly benefit
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amount. The department shall by rule adopt criteria to implement
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this subsection, including criteria for determining the
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"suitability of work," as used in this section. In developing
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these rules, the department shall consider the duration of a
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claimant's unemployment in determining the suitability of work
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and the suitability of proposed rates of compensation for
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available work. Further, after an individual has received 25
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weeks of benefits in a single year, suitable work is a job that
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pays the minimum wage and is 120 percent or more of the weekly
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benefit amount the individual is drawing.
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(a) In determining whether or not any work is suitable for
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an individual, the department shall consider the degree of risk
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to the individual's health, safety, and morals; the individual's
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physical fitness, prior training, experience, prior earnings,
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length of unemployment, and prospects for securing local work in
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his or her customary occupation; and the distance of the
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available work from his or her residence.
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(b) Notwithstanding any other provisions of this chapter,
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work is not deemed suitable and benefits may not be denied to
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any otherwise eligible individual for refusing to accept new
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work under any of the following conditions:
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1. The position offered is vacant due directly to a
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strike, lockout, or other labor dispute.
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2. The wages, hours, or other conditions of the work
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offered are substantially less favorable to the individual than
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those prevailing for similar work in the locality.
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3. As a condition of being employed, the individual is
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required to join a company union or to resign from or refrain
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from joining any bona fide labor organization.
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(c) If the department finds that an individual was
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rejected for offered employment as the direct result of a
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positive, confirmed drug test required as a condition of
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employment, the individual is disqualified for refusing to
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accept an offer of suitable work.
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Section 3. Section 443.1112, Florida Statutes, is created to read:
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443.1112 Verification of reemployment assistance benefit
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eligibility; detection of fraud.—
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(1) The Department of Commerce must verify the identity of
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each claimant who applies for reemployment assistance benefits
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before paying any benefits to the claimant.
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(2) For the initial claim for benefits made by a claimant
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and as necessary to verify a claimant's eligibility for
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benefits, the department must cross-check the information
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contained in the claim with information in the database of the
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Systematic Alien Verification for Entitlements Program
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established by the United States Bureau of Citizenship and
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Immigration Services.
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(3) For every 2 weeks that a claimant makes a claim for
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benefits, including the initial claim for benefits, to verify a
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claimant's eligibility for benefits, the department must cross-
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check the information contained in the claim to ensure that the
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claimant is:
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(a) Living.
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(b) Not incarcerated.
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(c) Not already employed.
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(4) The department shall do all of the following:
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(a) Investigate any claim associated with a mailing
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address, a bank account, an e-mail address, a telephone number,
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or an Internet protocol address that is also associated with
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another existing claim for reemployment assistance benefits in
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this state or another state and verify that the claim in this
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state is legitimate and not fraudulent before paying any
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benefits for the claim.
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(b) Examine each claim filed from a foreign Internet
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protocol address before paying any benefits for the claim.
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(c) Work with the United States Department of Labor, the
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United States Department of Justice, other state workforce
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agencies, the Department of Law Enforcement, the state
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attorneys, or the Office of the Statewide Prosecutor to share
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information related to fraudulent claims or attempted fraudulent
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claims to the extent feasible for further investigation and
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proceedings brought under this chapter.
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(d) Maintain a web page through which an individual or an
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employer may report known or suspected violations of this
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chapter, including identity theft or fraud. Each year, the
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department shall notify employers in this state of the web page
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for reporting violations.
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(e) Each year, make available on its website a report
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identifying for the prior year the number of fraudulent
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reemployment assistance claims identified, the number of claims
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not paid due to successful detection of fraudulent intentions,
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the number of claims and the amount of reemployment assistance
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benefits paid against claims subsequently identified as
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fraudulent, the amount of fraudulent overpayments recovered, and
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the number of fraudulent claims referred for investigation and
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possible prosecution. The report must also list the sources of
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information that were used to cross-check claims during the
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reporting period.
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Section 4. This act shall take effect July 1, 2026.