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The requirement — temporarily waived during the COVID-19 crisis — will kick back in July 6, according to the Texas Workforce Commission.
Numerous Texas businesses were forced to furlough workers as the pandemic forced them to close or throttle back operation. Even as some business owners are offering the choice to come back, some workers are declining.
“Can you blame them? A line cook that made $15 an hour stands to make 40% more a year on COVID-unemployment,” chef Stefan Bowers of Playland Pizza, Battalion and Rebelle at the St. Anthony Hotel, said in a Facebook post documenting his struggles as a restaurant owner during the pandemic.
Not all unemployed Texans will be required to complete the weekly job search to receive TWC benefits, however.
Exempt individuals include those who live with a high-risk family member, such as someone 65 or older; those still recovering from COVID-19 and those currently self-quarantining due to contact with an infected person.
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