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Unemployed people in Wisconsin will again have to prove they are looking for work to receive unemployment benefits under a pre-pandemic rule reinstated by GOP state lawmakers on Wednesday.
The Legislature’s administrative rules committee voted 6-4, with Republicans in favor and Democrats against, to reinstate the requirement. It is expected to go back into effect by the end of this week.
Under the rule, unemployed residents must complete four job search activities like submitting a resume to a company or registering with a temporary job agency per week in order to receive state unemployment benefits. The requirement was first waived in May 2020 because of the COVID-19 pandemic and was extended as the pandemic stretched into 2021.
The Legislature's Republican-controlled rules committee voted to reinstate the requirement beginning Sunday, pushing aside Democratic members' complaints that the move is premature and won't help employers fill vacancies.
By Colin A. Young, State House News Service
May 19, 2021
Colin A. Young, State House News Service
Never mind Aug. 1. The Saturday of Memorial Day weekend May 29 is the new target date for the end of nearly all remaining Covid-19 restrictions in Massachusetts.
By that date, which is more than two months ahead of the schedule announced less than three weeks ago, Massachusetts intends to lift its pandemic restrictions, though masks will still be required in certain settings like transportation, in schools, and at health care facilities.
Additionally, the state of emergency that has been in place since March 10, 2020 will be lifted on June 15, Gov. Baker announced late Monday morning. At a later press conference, Boston Mayor Kim Janey said that Boston would follow suit and line up with the statewide schedule since Boston’s COVID-19 trends “continue to move in the right direction.”
Massachusetts House proposal aims to relieve employers from major unexpected unemployment costs
Today 7:15 AM
By Chris Lisinski and Michael P. Norton | State House News Service
The House approved a proposal Tuesday that aims to relieve employers this spring from major unexpected unemployment system costs, while punting the decision on whether to deploy one-time federal funds to address a benefits system that sagged under the weight of pandemic unemployment.
In a move that business groups described as a solid first step, representatives voted 157-0 to shuffle the distribution of unemployment claims costs so that they can be covered over two decades of borrowing and so businesses will not be in line for huge bills in the short term.
The Legislatureâs GOP-led rules committee voted Wednesday to eliminate the stateâs emergency rule waiving work search requirements in order to be eligible for unemployment benefits.
The move came hours after Gov. Tony Evers hinted he would likely veto GOP-authored legislation aimed at eliminating the stateâs participation in enhanced federal unemployment benefits, which provide individuals on unemployment an extra $300 per week.
The work search waiver first went into effect in March 2020 and was set to expire in July. Starting Sunday, unemployed people will again have to perform four work-search activities each week in order to obtain benefits.
âWe need every able-bodied person to re-enter Wisconsinâs workforce to rebuild our economy,â committee co-chairman Sen. Steve Nass, R-Whitewater, said in a statement following the vote, which was opposed by the committeeâs Democratic members.