For out of work Texans, the waived job search requirement could be making a comeback

Texans collecting unemployment pay could soon be required to search for a new job, a move labor advocates fear will slow the state’s already struggling system and force some recipients to lose benefits.

State lawmakers say the mandatory search requirement, waived by the Texas Workforce Commission at the outset of the COVID-19 shutdown, could come back as soon as Gov. Greg Abbott begins the second phase of his plan to reopen Texas. Abbott has said that could be as soon as May 18.