NELP 2009 Unemployment Insurance Reform Conference

On December 7-8, 2009, leaders from 40 states came together in Washington DC to build on the successes of the Recovery Act, and to chart an agenda for immediate and long-term policy agenda to benefit jobless workers. See below for informative materials from the conference, starting with video highlights that lay out the federal agenda for job creation and unemployment benefit reforms.

Thea Lee, AFL-CIO on the need for Job Creation for the Unemployed

Maurice Emsellem, NELP on the Federal Unemployment Insurance Agenda for 2010

Moving UI Modernization in the States:

Maurice Emsellem, NELP: Modernizing the State Unemployment Insurance Systems: The Basics of the Recovery Act’s Federal Incentive Funding Program
Handout: American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Incentive Funding Allotments, by State
Handout: Report: Federal Stimulus Funding Produces Unprecedented Wave of State Unemployment Insurance Reforms
Handout: Number of Workers to Benefit, and Amount of Benefits to be Paid, in States without UI Modernization Reform Provisions
Handout: Cost of Extended UI While in Training, by State
Handout: Draft Model Unemployment Insurance Modernization (American Recovery and Reinvestment Act Incentive Awards) Language
Handout: Implementing the Model Provisions of the Unemployment Insurance Modernization Act in the States

Financing & Trust Fund Solvency:

Taking on the State UI Solvency Challenge:
Andrew Stettner, NELP: Confronting the UI Solvency Crisis
Robert Pavosevich, US Department of Labor: Unemployment Insurance: State Trust Fund Solvency
Wayne Vroman, The Urban Institute: Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund Solvency
Handout: Status of State UI Trust Funds, November 2009

The Basics of Responsible State UI Financing:
Sharon Dietrich, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia: UI Solvency: What’s An Advocate To Do?
Handout: Facts on Pennsylvania’s Unemployment Compensation Financing (Sharon Dietrich, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia)
Handout: Business’s Unemployment Compensation Cut-Backs Would Be a Bad Idea for Pennsylvanians (Sharon Dietrich, Community Legal Services of Philadelphia)

UI Best Practices:

Model State Legislation Responding to the Recession:
Monica Halas, Greater Boston Legal Services: Shared Work Programs and Other Recession Legislation
Karen Lee, Washington State Employment Security Department: Workforce Development Legislation in Washington State
Handout: Model Legislation for State Unemployment Insurance Programs During a Recession

From Rapid Response to Reemployment:
Robert Bower, Massachusetts AFL-CIO: Rapid Response
Louis Jacobson, Hudson Institute: Better Policies for Jobless Workers
Lynn Minnick, NELP:From Rapid Response to Reemployment: Better Policies for Jobless Workers

Challenging Employer Abuses that Cheat Workers and Trust Funds:
Deborah Chalfie, Change to Win: Change to Win: The American Dream for America’s Workers
Thomas Crowley, US Department of Labor: Employee Misclassification & Unemployment Insurance Audits
Joe Walsh, Iowa Workforce Development: Dealing with Uncooperative TPAs
Handout: Backgrounder: Worker Misclassification Cheats Everyone (Deborah Chalfie, Change to Win)

UI Administrative Infrastructure:

Honoring the Promises of Timely Payment of Benefits:
George Wentworth, NELP: Honoring the Promise of Timely Payment of UI Benefits
Handout: Honoring the Promises of Timely Payment of Benefits-Court Documents (Cynthia Rice, California Rural Legal Assistance)

Building a 21st Century Infrastructure:
Jim Garner, Kansas Department of Labor: Meeting the Needs of UI Claimants in “The Great Recession”
Joseph Vitale, National Association of State Workforce Agencies: Building a 21st. Century UI Infrastructure and Service Delivery System

Improving Access to State UI Benefits:
Nancy Dunphy, New York Department of Labor: NYS Practices to Reach Low Wage Workers

 

I was laid off in 1998. I was the manager of a new recycling yard in Prescott Valley, Az. I have run out of extensions and I am 2 months behind on my rent. My last check was for 170.00 in mid Feb. I was making around 400 a week at my job, and expected more as the business grew, so the 192 a week unemployment checks were less than half of my wage.
Have I been looking for work?..Of course I have!..any job, even McDonalds, would pay far better than unemployment...there are just no jobs here right now.
I have been forced to put my car up for sale which will make it even harder to find work!..
If a new extension doesn't come soon, I will be in a tent with a sick wife. I am 57 years old and my wife is 59 and homelessness at our age would not only be very hard, it would likely kill my wife.
I really don't know what to do at this point...I am recycling aluminum cans and we are living on about 40 dollars a week that this provides, plus food stamps....
We are only paying 350.00 per month for our small rental,
this includes utilities, so we are definitely not living beyond our means!..How do I tell my sick wife that we are losing the little that we have.
 I have worked on ranches, in construction, managed 2 recycling yards, and cooked in restaurants. I never believed that a hard working, willing man would ever be in the situation we are now in.