TABLE OF CONTENTS
Table of Contents
Chapter204. Contributions 3
SubchapterA. General Provisions 3
Sec.204.001. Definition 3
Sec.204.002. Contribution Required 3
Sec.204.003. Contribution Not Deducted from Wages 3
Sec.204.004. Assignment to Major Group 3
Sec.204.005. Establishment of Major Group Contribution Rate 3
Sec.204.006. Initial Contribution Rate 3
Sec.204.007. Special Rate; Certain Employers Engaged in Agriculture 4
Sec.204.008. Time Benefits Are Paid 4
Sec.204.009. Application to Labor Agent 4
Sec.204.010. Payment of Contributions by Indian Tribes 5
SubchapterB. Chargebacks 5
Sec.204.021. Chargebacks 5
Sec.204.022. Exclusions from Chargebacks 5
Sec.204.023. Notice Sent at Time Benefits Paid 8
Sec.204.024. Protest of Potential Chargebacks 8
Sec.204.025. Decision and Administrative Review of Protest 8
Sec.204.026. Judicial Review of Protest 9
Sec.204.027. Notice, Protest, and Appeal; Notice Sent at Time of Claim 9
SubchapterC. General Tax Rate for Experience-Rated Employers 9
Sec.204.041. Tax on Experience-Rated Employers 9
Sec.204.042. Tax Rate Table 10
Sec.204.043. Extension of Tax Rate Table Up to Six Percent 11
Sec.204.044. Benefit Ratio 11
Sec.204.045. Replenishment Ratio 11
Sec.204.046. Effectively Charged Benefits 12
Sec.204.047. Tax Rate Computation Date for Experience Tax Rate 12
Sec.204.048. Voluntary Contributions 12
SubchapterD. Adjustments to Tax Rate for Experience-Rated Employers 13
Sec.204.061. Ceiling and Floor of Compensation Fund 13
Sec.204.062. Replenishment Tax 13
Sec.204.0625. Adjustment to Replenishment Tax Rate 14
Sec.204.063. Deficit Assessment 14
Sec.204.064. Deficit Ratio 14
Sec.204.065. Use of Surplus 15
Sec. 204.0651. Surplus Credit 15
Sec. 204.0652. Surplus Credit Rate 16
Sec.204.066. Surplus Ratio 16
Sec. 204.067. Adjustments to Rate 16
SubchapterE. Acquisition of Experience-Rated Employer 16
Sec.204.081. Definitions 16
Sec.204.082. Effective Date of Acquisition 18
Sec.204.083. Acquisition of All or Part of Experience-Rated Organization, Trade, or Business; Transfer of Compensation Experience 18
Sec.204.084. Acquisition of Part of Experience-Rated Organization, Trade, or Business; Approval of Transfer of Compensation Experience without Substantially Common Management or Control or Substantially Common Ownership; Contribution Rate 18
Sec.204.085. Contribution Rate for Successor Employers When Substantially Common Management or Control or Substantially Common Ownership Exists; Certain Partial Acquisitions 20
Sec. 204.0851. Contribution Rate for Successor Employers When Substantially Common Management or Control or Substantially Common Ownership Exists; Other Acquisitions 21
Sec.204.086. Collection of Contribution, Penalty, or Interest from Successor Employer 22
Sec.204.0861. Surplus Credit for Successor Employing Units 22
Sec.204.087. Offense; Criminal and Civil Penalties 22
Sec. 204.088. Procedures to Identify Experience-Rating Transfers 23
Sec. 204.089. Conformity with Federal Regulations 23
SubchapterF. Special Contributions for Governmental Employers 23
Sec.204.101. Contribution from Governmental Employer 23
Sec.204.102. Contribution Not Deduction from Wages 23
Sec.204.103. Rate of Contributions for Governmental Employers 23
Sec.204.104. Accounting for Governmental Employers 24
Sec.204.105. Past Due Contributions 24
Sec.204.106. Reports and Records 24
SubchapterG. Employment and Training Investment Assessment; Funds 25
Sec.204.121. Employment and Training Investment Assessment 25
Sec. 204.122. Holding Fund 25
Sec. 204.123. Transfer to Skills Development Fund, Training Stabilization Fund, and Compensation Fund 25
5
Chapter204. Contributions
SubchapterA. General Provisions
Sec.204.001. Definition
In this chapter, "manual" means the North American Industrial Classification System Manual published by the United States Office of Management and Budget.
Sec.204.002. Contribution Required
(a) An employer shall pay a contribution on wages for employment paid during a calendar year or the portion of the calendar year in which the employer is subject to this subtitle.
(b) The contribution shall be paid to the commission in accordance with rules adopted by the commission.
Sec.204.003. Contribution Not Deducted from Wages
An employer may not deduct any part of a contribution from the wages of an individual in the employer's employ.
Sec.204.004. Assignment to Major Group
The commission shall assign each employer to a major group in accordance with the definitions contained in the manual.
Sec.204.005. Establishment of Major Group Contribution Rate
(a) For each calendar year, the commission shall establish by industry an average contribution rate for each major group.
(b) The commission shall determine the year's contribution rate for an industry by averaging the contribution rates paid by employers in that industry during the preceding year ending on September 30, as shown by the employment records maintained by the commission.
Sec.204.006. Initial Contribution Rate
(a) A person's contribution rate for the calendar year in which the person becomes an employer is the greater of:
(1) the rate established for that year for the major group to which the employer is assigned under Section 204.004, less one-tenth of one percent; or
(2) two and six-tenths percent.
(b) A rate established under Subsection (a) applies to the employer until the date the experience rate computed under Section 204.041 takes effect for the employer.
Sec.204.007. Special Rate; Certain Employers Engaged in Agriculture
(a) This section applies to an employer identified by the commission as classified in the manual as:
(1) Number 115114, crop preparation services for market; or
(2) Number 115111, cotton ginning.
(b) An employer subject to this section shall pay a contribution at the lowest of the following rates:
(1) five and four-tenths percent;
(2) the general tax rate applicable to that employer, with the deficit tax rate and replenishment tax rate; or
(3) any other tax rate applicable to that employer under this subtitle.
Sec.204.008. Time Benefits Are Paid
For the purpose of this chapter, benefits are paid at the time the claim for the benefits is certified by the commission to the comptroller for payment.
Sec.204.009. Application to Labor Agent
(a) A labor agent who furnishes a farm and ranch laborer is liable for the payment of a tax under this subtitle as if the labor agent were the employer of the laborer, without regard to any factor used to determine an employer-employee relationship, including the right of control.
(b) If a labor agent does not pay the tax in accordance with this subtitle, a person who contracts with the labor agent for the services of a farm and ranch laborer is jointly and severally liable with the labor agent for payment of the tax under this subtitle as an employer.
(c) A labor agent shall notify each person with whom the labor agent contracts whether the labor agent pays the tax under this subtitle.
(d) A labor agent who pays the tax shall present evidence of payment to each person with whom the labor agent contracts.
(e) In this section, "labor agent" means a person who is a farm labor contractor under the Migrant and Seasonal Agricultural Worker Protection Act (29 U.S.C. Section 1801 et seq.).
Sec.204.010. Payment of Contributions by Indian Tribes
An Indian tribe that is subject to this subtitle shall pay contributions under the same terms and conditions as any other subject employer unless the Indian tribe elects under Chapter 205 to make reimbursements for benefits instead of contributions.
SubchapterB. Chargebacks
Sec.204.021. Chargebacks
(a) The amount of benefits paid to a claimant for a benefit year shall be charged to the accounts of each of the claimant's employers during the claimant's base period. The chargebacks of an employer for a calendar quarter are the benefits paid to all of the employer's employees or former employees during that quarter.
(b) The chargeback of benefits of a claimant who has two or more employers during the claimant's base period is allocated among those employers according to the proportion of the total of the claimant's benefit wage credits paid during the base period by each employer.
Sec.204.022. Exclusions from Chargebacks
(a) Benefits computed on benefit wage credits of an employee or former employee may not be charged to the account of an employer if the employee's last separation from the employer's employment before the employee's benefit year:
(1) was required by a federal statute;
(2) was required by a statute of this state or an ordinance of a municipality of this state;
(3) would have disqualified the employee under Section 207.044, 207.045, 207.051, or 207.053 if the employment had been the employee's last work;
(4) imposes a disqualification under Section 207.044, 207.045, 207.051, or 207.053;
(5) was caused by a medically verifiable illness of the employee or the employee's minor child;
(6) was based on a natural disaster that results in a disaster declaration by the president of the United States under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (42 U.S.C. Section 5121 et seq.), if the employee would have been entitled to unemployment assistance benefits under Section 410 of that act (42 U.S.C. Section 5177) had the employee not received state unemployment compensation benefits;
(4) was caused by a natural disaster, fire, flood, or explosion that causes employees to be separated from one employer's employment;
(5) was based on a disaster that results in a disaster declaration by the governor under Section 418.014, Government Code;
(9) resulted from the employee's resigning from partial employment to accept other employment that the employee reasonably believed would increase the employee's weekly wage;
(10) was caused by the employer being called to active military service in any branch of the United States armed forces on or after January 1, 2003;
(11) resulted from the employee leaving the employee's workplace to protect the employee from family violence or stalking or the employee or a member of the employee's immediate family from violence related to a sexual assault as evidenced by:
(A) an active or recently issued protective order documenting sexual assault of the employee or a member of the employee's immediate family or family violence against, or the stalking of, the employee or the potential for family violence against, or the stalking of, the employee;
(B) a police record documenting sexual assault of the employee or a member of the employee's immediate family or family violence against, or the stalking of, the employee;
(C) a physician's statement or other medical documentation that describes the sexual assault of the employee or a member of the employee's immediate family or family violence against the employee that:
(i) is recorded in any form or medium that identifies the employee or member of the employee’s family, as applicable, as the patient; and
(ii) relates to the history, diagnosis, treatment, or prognosis of the patient; or
(D) written documentation from a family violence center or rape crisis center that describes the sexual assault of the employee or a member of the employee's immediate family or family violence against the employee;
(12) resulted from a move from the area of the employee's employment that:
(A) was made with the employee's spouse who is a member of the armed forces of the United States; and
(B) resulted from the spouse's permanent change of station of longer than 120 days or a tour of duty of longer than one year;
(13) was caused by the employee being unable to perform the work as a result of a disability for which the employee is receiving disability insurance benefits under 42 U.S.C. Section 423;
(14) resulted from the employee leaving the employee’s workplace to care for the employee’s terminally ill spouse as evidenced by a physician’s statement or other medical documentation, but only if no reasonable, alternative care was available;
(15) was caused by the employer's reinstatement of a qualified uniformed service member with reemployment rights and benefits and other employment benefits in accordance with the Uniformed Services Employment and Reemployment Rights Act of 1994 (38 U.S.C. Section 4301 et seq.); or
(16) was due to a reason that:
(A) constitutes an involuntary separation under Section 207.046(a)(1); and
(B) does not constitute good cause connected with the employee’s work under Section 207.045 for the employee to voluntarily leave the employment.
(a-1) Benefits computed on benefit wage credits of an employee or former employee may not be charged to the account of an employer if:
(1) the employment did not constitute suitable work for the employee, as determined under Section 207.008; and
(2) the employee worked for the employer for less than four weeks.
(a-2) Benefits computed on benefit wage credits of an employee may not be charged to the account of an employer if the employee continued to work the employee's customary hours for the employer when the employee's benefit year began. This subsection does not apply to a claim for unemployment benefits made under Chapter 215.
(b) For the purpose of this section, if an employee's last separation from the employment of an employer is a separation for which the employee was determined to have been disqualified under Section 207.048, the employee's last separation from the employment of that employer is considered to be the next later separation from the employment of that employer.
(c) Except as provided by law, evidence regarding an employee described by Subsection (a)(11) may not be disclosed to any person without the consent of the employee.
(d) For purposes of Subsection (a)(11):
(1) "Family violence" has the meaning assigned by Section 71.004, Family Code.
(2) "Stalking" means conduct described by Section 42.072, Penal Code.
(3) “Immediate family” means an individual’s parent, spouse, or child under the age of 18.
(4) “Sexual assault” means conduct described by Section 22.011 or 22.021, Penal Code.
(5) “Family violence center” has the meaning assigned by Section 51.002, Human Resources Code.
(e) Benefits may not be charged to the account of an employer, regardless of whether the liability for the chargeback arises in the employee's current benefit year or in a subsequent benefit year, if the employee's last separation from the employer's employment before the employee's benefit year was or would have been excepted from disqualification under Section 207.023(b)(2) or 207.045(j).
(f) Shared work benefits paid under Chapter 215 may not be charged to the account of an employer if the benefits are reimbursed by the federal government under the federal Layoff Prevention Act of 2012 (Pub. L. No. 112-96, Subtitle D, Title II).
Sec.204.023. Notice Sent at Time Benefits Paid
The commission shall mail to an employer a notice of the employer's maximum potential chargebacks when benefits are first paid if:
(1) notice of an initial claim has not already been mailed to the employer under Section 208.002; and
(2) the employer's account is potentially chargeable with benefits as a result of the initial claim and payment of benefits.