Fri, 05/07/2021 - 12:38pm tim
by Timothy McQuiston, Vermont Business Magazine Regular weekly unemployment claims continue to grow to their highest levels this year and remain at a very high level, as claimants were required to refile based on their annual eligibility. The Vermont Department of Labor has also reverted to call-in only for new claims, as the online system has been barraged by large numbers of fraudulent filings.
In addition, Commissioner Michael Harrington is urging the Legislature to change the law regarding how employers are charged to meet UI Trust Fund obligations (see his letter below).
The Vermont UI Trust Fund was well-stocked with over $500 million before the pandemic and is still flush with over $200 million. Despite the Stay Home order from a year ago and layoffs at their highest levels since the Great Depression because of the pandemic, current law would require a steep increase in employer charges because of those pandemic-related layoffs. At current l
As pandemic continues and nearly 500,000 file for unemployment, US states seek to blackmail workers back on the job
As part of the bipartisan assault by the ruling class to blackmail workers back into accepting low-paying, dangerous work in crowded factories and dangerous face-to-face service, retail and hospitality industries, moves are being made to eliminate any COVID-19-related health, safety and social assistance, including extended weekly unemployment payments.
The latest attacks on the health and well-being of the working class come even as the coronavirus continues to spread throughout the country, with nearly 5,000 reported deaths in the last week alone and over 590,000 since February 2020, a figure which has been shown to be a vast undercount.
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A series of employment-related actions in President Biden’s first 100 days in office signal the likelihood of additional actions and legislative proposals. Employers should expect a decidedly pro-worker tilt.
COVID-19
President Biden signed the $1.9 trillion American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) on March 11, 2021. It includes the following programs impacting employees and former employees:
Expanded unemployment. The APRA extends the following unemployment programs until September 6, 2021: Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (additional $300 weekly payments on top of state unemployment benefits), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (aid to those who exhaust state benefits) and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (aid to those traditionally ineligible for unemployment assistance, such as independent contractors and self-employed individuals).
Some unemployed in N.J. have trouble getting benefits after state said issues resolved
Updated 11:20 AM;
Today 8:30 AM
New Jersey claimants are receiving emails that their claims are not payable at this time after the state Labor Department switched people over from High Extended Benefits to the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program.
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But John Flynn was one of the people the Labor Department’s programming mistakenly excluded from the transition, and he was unable to certify as his claim showed up expired. After a week, the department said the issue had been resolved and claimants should continue certifying during open hours.
The DOL reported:
In the week ending May 1, the advance figure for
seasonally adjusted initial claims was 498,000, a decrease of 92,000
from the previous week s revised level. This is the lowest level for initial claims since March 14, 2020 when it was
256,000. The previous week s level was revised up by 37,000 from 553,000 to 590,000. The 4-week moving average was
560,000, a decrease of 61,000 from the previous week s revised average. This is the lowest level for this average since
March 14, 2020 when it was 225,500. The previous week s average was revised up by 9,250 from 611,750 to 621,000.
emphasis addedThis does not include the 101,214 initial claims for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) that was down from 121,414 the previous week.