In recent weeks there have been news reports about labor disputes in the entertainment industry and the auto industry. Union representatives have advocated for the payment of unemployment compensation to individuals who are striking despite the accepted norm that individuals who become unemployed due to a labor dispute and are not available for work are not [...]
On April 24, 2023 The Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) posted guidance for use in determining amounts to be set aside in workers’ compensation settlements based on life expectancy. Beginning April 29, 2023, CMS will utilize the CDC’s “Table 1: Life Table for the total population: United States, 2020” for the Workers’ Compensation Medicare [...]
On April 27, 2023, the U.S. Department of Labor Employment and Training Administration (ETA) announced the availability of $200 million in grant funds to states to address Integrity and Equity issues. The funds are part of those provided under the American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA). The UI-PL provides detailed guidance with respect to the requirements of [...]
A review of the report of initial applications for unemployment released March 30th indicates that the recovery from the Pandemic recession may be ending. For the first time since the pandemic recession the number of initial applications for unemployment compensation exceeded the same week in the prior year. The number of applications reported for the week of [...]
On Tuesday, October 11, 2022, the United States Department of Labor released a proposed rule designed to more specifically define the circumstances under which an individual may be classified as an employee or an independent contractor under the Fair Labor Standards Act. See 2022-21454.pdf (federalregister.gov). The proposal has been viewed by some commentators as intended to [...]
On July 9, 2020 the US House or Representatives passed S. 4209 by unanimous consent to provide a much-needed fix to help reimbursing employers manage the required payments in lieu of contributions charged to their accounts for unemployment compensation. The passage came after the US Senate had also passed the bill by unanimous consent. This remarkable [...]
Many comments were submitted in response to proposed rules released by the Centers for Medicare and Medicaid Services (CMS) on February 18, 2020. There has been very little communication from CMS about how it plans to respond to the comments. The process of developing rules goes back to December of 2013 with the first rules proposal [...]
On Monday, June 8, 2020, UWC submitted a letter of opposition to the House and Senate Committees with jurisdiction concerning Title V Section 120501 of the Health and Economic Recovery Omnibus Emergency Solutions Act (HEROES Act) as it was passed by the House of Representatives. The letter was submitted to assure that the committees with jurisdiction [...]
On June 1, 2020, Congressman Kevin Brady (R-TX), the Ranking Member on the House Committee on Ways and Means, announced introduction of the Reopening America by Supporting Workers and Businesses Act of 2020. Background: As part of the CARES Act, Congress provided $600/week in supplemental unemployment benefits to provide much needed support and economic relief for [...]
On March 25, 2020 the Senate passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act of 2020 (CARES Act). The bill is expected to be approved by the House and signed by the President A House Ways and Means summary is provided at https://gop-waysandmeans.house.gov/the-senate-cares-bill-unemployment/ UWC is preparing a detailed summary of Subtitle A – Unemployment Insurance [...]
