Legislators have been busy during this last session regarding unemployment law. Many have already closed the most recent sessions but approximately 25% of the states are still in session at the time of this writing. The topics vary widely but there are uncharacteristically quite a few that affect the claimant and their ability to collect benefits. We monitor pending legislation and when applicable, communicate changes with an impact to our clients or employers in general.
This year, we have seen approximately 120 different Bills related to unemployment insurance. Of those, 20% have been approved and sent to the applicable governor for signature and enactment. The two most common topics for legislation this year were related to trade disputes and a claimant work search requirements. These two topics made up 30% of all legislation we’ve seen.
Unemployment Benefits During a Strike
Trade disputes, otherwise known as strikes, have largely been a disqualifying separation for claimants who file for unemployment benefits. However, the proposed and passed legislation this year finds more and more states changing their stand thereby allowing benefits to employees affected by a strike. In some cases, they’ve changed their statute such that claimants who would previously have been denied all benefits, now will be awarded benefits. Some state legislators added language so that a claimant is eligible after the first week or two of the strike, thereby offering time for the dispute to be resolved. It is our interpretation that the reason for this is because they are hopeful the strike will be concluded within that time frame, thereby negating the need for a claimant to collect unemployment benefits. Seeing as how many state workforce agency trust fund balances are still recovering from the pandemic, it is somewhat surprising this legislation was introduced and passed since it could deplete their fund balances even more. This remains to be seen however, since there are currently no trade disputes occurring.
Benefit Eligibility Based on Work Search
The second most common topic for legislation this year has to do with a claimant being “able, available and actively seeking work”. When a person files for unemployment benefits, they say they are out of work through no fault of their own. Once they return to the workforce, they are no longer eligible. If the person remains unemployed, there are certain requirements that a claimant must adhere to remain eligible for benefits. Among other things, those requirements have to do with the claimant’s work search. Historically, that meant the claimant had to visit “X” number of employers and complete an application for employment. While the regulations still require this, in the digital world in which we currently find ourselves, it is somewhat different.
Some of the reasons a claimant may now be found ineligible are for failure to:
- Make 4 or 5 work searches in the prior week
- Provide proof of the work searches which could be online, in-person, email, fax or completing a civil service exam.
- Attend an employment workshop
- Appear for a scheduled job interview, otherwise known as “ghosting”
- Act on job opportunities provided to them by the workforce agency
One state is even penalizing claimants if they’ve provided false or inaccurate contact information to the state workforce agency or to a prospective employer. All of these should be looked at as good news by the employer community.
Additional Legislation
The next most common topic of legislation is a three-way tie between claims and those with multiple topics or issues.
In relation to claims, the topics vary and are related to the deadline for appeal of determinations, no interest charges on benefits paid and two that are related to passing or submitting to a drug test. The latter of these makes it more difficult for a claimant to receive benefits if they fail a drug test and are in a safety sensitive role or if the claimant declines to submit to a weekly rapid drug test while collecting unemployment benefits. These two are good news for employers since as mentioned previously, they foot the bill for unemployment benefits.
It is important to monitor legislative changes because it can create risk for employers across the country. In certain cases, it may affect unemployment tax rates negatively so if an employer has already budgeted for a certain expenditure in unemployment tax, the legislative change may require a change in the remaining fiscal year for employers. At Experian Employer Services, we understand the value this adds to our clients so we make sure they are all made aware of changes that could impact their business. Check out all of our blogs here and subscribe to be notified as updates are made.