A Roadmap for Change: Model Unemployment Insurance Reforms
Unemployment insurance policy is primarily the domain of the states. State legislatures and governors set the policies and state agency officials operate the program on a daily basis. Every state has an opportunity to update its unemployment insurance policies to ensure that the original goals of the program are still fulfilled in today’s changing workforce and changing economy. Here you’ll find a wide array of UI policy suggestions for your state. Each chapter contains a series of short policy proposals grouped around a theme. Each proposal features a brief explanation, major arguments for and against, state examples, and model legislation. The following topics are covered:
Expanding Access for Low-wage, Women, and Nonstandard Workers: To qualify for unemployment benefits, states have rules that determine if an individual has sufficient prior earnings (monetary eligibility). In addition, state laws require jobless workers to look for available work and disqualify those who are out of work for reasons amounting to voluntary unemployment. The low-wage worker access section presents policies that modify arcane monetary eligibility rules that disqualify many low-wage workers. Our model state policies help women, part-time and temporary workers by changing restrictive “voluntary quit” and work-search rules.
Building Income Security: Every state has rules that set a jobless worker’s benefit amount and the number of weeks that he or she will draw benefits. Look here for the best practices among states to ensure adequate weekly unemployment benefit levels and provide sufficient weeks of benefits, especially during recessions.
Maximizing Training Opportunities: With increased permanent layoffs and structural economic change many jobless workers could benefit from retraining necessary to move into new fields of work. Visit this section for state initiatives designed to help today’s workers access job training and transition to quality jobs with the help of unemployment insurance.
Responsible Financing: Unemployment insurance is a self-financing system, funded by a payroll tax assessed against a portion of each worker’s wages. Click here for model financing reforms necessary to maintain long-term solvency of the unemployment system. This section also addresses policies aimed at ensuring that employers pay their fair share of unemployment taxes.
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Administration: Accessible and accountable administration of state unemployment programs is critical to jobless workers. This section focuses on administrative issues that ensure access to the program, for example translation services necessary for immigrant workers.
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