Written by Andrew-Rossi on May 12, 2021
Governor Mark Gordon announced Wyoming will end its participation in federal supplemental unemployment benefits to address workforce shortages.
The programs were made available through federal laws initiated in response to the pandemic and include Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act and Continued Assistance to Unemployed Workers Act of 2020. As of June 19, 2021, no additional payments will be available to Wyoming claimants.
“Wyoming needs workers; our businesses are raring to go,” Governor Gordon said. “I recognize the challenges facing Wyoming employers, and I believe it’s critical for us to do what we can to encourage more hiring. Federal unemployment programs have provided short-term relief for displaced and vulnerable workers at a tough time but are now hindering the pace of our recovery. People want to work, and work is available. Incentivizing people not to work is just pla
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Republican elected officials and critics of expanded unemployment have argued that federal unemployment payments, adjusted since the outset of the pandemic, are too high. Below is a summary on state actions to limit supplemental unemployment to date (May 11, 2021). Additional GOP-led states are working towards similar actions and others will likely leave the federal program amid poor recent employment figures and reports of employers facing difficulty finding workers.
The CARES Act provided a Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC) payment of $600 a week to supplement the weekly benefit determined under state UI laws for all programs (regular UI, PEUC, EB, and PUA) through July 31, 2020. A $300 weekly supplement was later added for a period of time following July 31, and the December coronavirus relief legislation provided a $300 supplement from December 26, 2020 to March 14, 2021. The American Rescue Plan Act extended