Employment Law News

Rep. Levin: Republicans Still Refuse To Assist Those Unemployed The Longest

"Providing unemployment insurance benefits not only assists unemployed workers and their families, it also stimulates economic growth because unemployed workers are likely to spend every penny of their benefits just to get by," said Rep. Levin. "For every dollar the federal government invests in unemployment benefits, the return is $1.73 in economic growth.

As recently as last Friday, House Republican leaders had argued that an extension was unnecessary. Republican House Minority Leader Tom DeLay told Members on Friday that "it is a stretch to say that we are at a crisis point."

Just over a month ago, Ways & Means Human Resources Subcommittee Chairman Wally Herger suggested that the availability of unemployment benefits was the reason so many people were out of work. In announcing a hearing, Herger said, "Numerous studies suggest unemployment benefits extend unemployment and delay returns to work, which is troubling."

By acting this week, Republican leaders prevent a repeat of what happened in November, when President Bush remained silent Congress adjourned without acting to extend federal unemployment benefits. 800,000 workers received letters telling them their benefits would end 3 days after Christmas. Congress retroactively restored the benefits in January.

The House-passed legislation will provide no help for those who have been out of work for nine months or longer. Nearly 1.4 million people who have exhausted their state and federal benefits but have not yet found work are left out of the House Republican bill. Another 685,000 people are expected to exhaust their federal benefits over the summer, bringing the number of people without work or benefits to 2 million or higher.

More than twice as many people have run out of unemployment benefits in this recession as did in the last recession, in large measure because the Congress has provided fewer weeks of extended benefits, despite similar rates of long-term unemployment and the longest sustained job loss in the economy since the Great Depression.

According to a recent survey of unemployed workers conducted for the National Employment Law Project, the average unemployed worker has applied for 29 different jobs. Long-term unemployed workers have applied for an average of 39 jobs without finding work. According to data collected by the Department of Labor, there are 3.4 unemployed workers for every job opening.

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	Did You Know?
	There are laws about missed days and injury pay claims at your employment place By law, you must be unable to work for seven days (including weekends and holidays) before you are eligible for temporary disability benefits. Benefits are retroactive to the first day. The seven days need not be consecutive. Please note that there is no similar waiting period to receive medical benefits or permanent disability benefits. Those benefits are due, if warranted, regardless of the number of lost workdays.