Bill to give North Carolina returning workers bonuses approved by Senate Gary Robertson RALEIGH, N.C.— Giving bonuses to North Carolina's unemployment benefit recipients who get a job soon would help both business struggling to fill vacancies and residents who need a nudge to return to work, Republican lawmakers said Tuesday. The state Senate voted 35-10 for legislation that would provide $1,500 to people who accept reemployment within 30 days of the bonus program starting. The bonus would drop to $800 if they begin employment on or after 30 days but before 60 days. The bonuses would come from federal funds that have raised individual unemployment benefits by $300 per week during the COVID-19 pandemic. But the one-time payments won't happen unless the U.S. Department of Labor allows the state to use the money that way. That can't occur unless Congress first passes its own law permitting such use, said Sen. Chuck Edwards, a Henderson County Republican and chief proponent of the bill.