Two US Supreme Court decisions recently addressed the question of whether federal agencies had authority to require that individuals be vaccinated. In one decision the court addressed the authority of the Occupational Safety and Health Administration (OSHA) to require employers with 100 or more employees to require their employees to be vaccinated. In the second decision [...]
The Texas Workforce Commission announced today (November 9, 2021), that Governor Abbott signed SB 8 making supplemental appropriations including appropriating approximately $7.2 billion to be used to retire Title XII Advances and replenish the UI Trust Fund to the statutory floor. The bill is effective immediately. Texas was among the list of 10 states and the [...]
On August 17, 2021, the US DOL ETA released UI PL 23-21 detailing the availability of up to $260 million in funding for activities that promote equitable access to UC programs, which include eliminating administrative barriers to benefit application, reducing state workload backlogs, improving the timeliness of UC payments to eligible individuals, and ensuring equity in [...]
The temporary waiver of interest on state unemployment trust fund loans provided in Section 4103 in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act is ending September 6, 2021, leaving states with remaining loan balances responsible to pay daily interest through September 30, 2021. As of September 2, 2021 the states with outstanding loan balances included CA, CO, [...]
On Thursday, August 19, 2021 the U.S. Secretary of the Treasury and the U.S. Secretary of Labor informed congressional leadership that states could use some of their shares of ARPA funds to further extend expanded unemployment compensation and assistance. Download the PDF here and read the article here. The letter outlines specific steps that the federal [...]
On August 11, 2021 the US Department of Labor released a series of documents describing how it intends to use the $2 billion in funds to assist with UI Modernization and addressing Fraud in the UI system. These funds were part of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 that responded to systems and integrity needs [...]
In May 2021, Governor Mike DeWine notified the United States Department of Labor that Ohio would be terminating its administration of the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (“FPUC”) and the Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation (“MEUC”, together with the FPUC the “Temporary Federal UI Programs”) programs. The Ohio Chamber of Commerce, the Ohio Business Roundtable, the Ohio Restaurant [...]
On June 23rd Connecticut Governor Ned Lamont signed SB 1202, the implementing bill companion to the state budget for the biennium ending June 30, 2023. Included in the bill was a provision that would impose a tremendous reporting burden for employers doing business in the state of Connecticut. The legislation dramatically expands the requirements for quarterly reports [...]
On July 12, 2021, the US Department of Labor, Employment and Training Administration provided guidance to states with respect to the transition from the temporary unemployment benefit programs under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. A link to the guidance may be found at doleta.gov. Highlights of this UI PL No. 14-21, Change [...]
The U.S. Department of the Treasury today released a statement providing guidance on the use of $350 Billion in Coronavirus State and Local Fiscal Recovery Funds. The release provided below includes links to a description of permissible uses and the allocation of funds by state and county. Local governments should expect to receive funds in two [...]
