Bill No.:                     HB0237                                 Drafter:  LGC

LSO No.:                   13LSO-0608                         Effective Date:  7/1/2013

Enrolled Act No.:    HEA0107

Chapter No.:

Prime Sponsor:       Representative Reeder

Catch Title:              Unemployment insurance-worker misconduct.

Subject:                     Defining misconduct connected with work for purposes of the Wyoming employment security law.

Summary/Major Elements:

· Under current law, an employee will not receive benefits and benefits will not be charged against an employee’s account for unemployment benefits if the employee is found to have been discharged from employment for misconduct in connection with his work.  The term is not defined.

· The act defines the term “misconduct in connection with work” as an act of an employee which indicates a disregard of the employer’s interests or the commonly accepted duties, obligations and responsibilities of an employee.  The term does not include ordinary negligence in isolated instances or good faith errors.

COMMENTS:  This bill was vetoed by the Governor.  The veto message noted that as introduced the bill would have provided a definition of “misconduct connected to work” which would have established a clear line as to when an employee was entitled to unemployment insurance.  However, the bill was amended “and the clarity was lost.”  In the Governor’s view, the enacted bill could have been “interpreted that in no case would a discharged employee be eligible for unemployment insurance.”