For the second time this session, some Republicans are pushing legislation to cut unemployment insurance benefits.
Sen. Dan Dawson, R-Council Bluffs, filed a bill Monday that requires workers who lose their jobs to wait a week before receiving payments. During a subcommittee hearing Wednesday, a pair of business lobbyists said the measure would prevent increases in a tax on employers and give Iowa Workforce Development more time to weed out fraudulent claims.
The Senate Ways & Means Committee approved the bill, 10-5, on Wednesday night, moving the legislation to the chamber floor for another vote.
The proposal comes after Iowa issued $1.25 billion in unemployment insurance benefits in 2020, by far the most the state has paid in a single year. Employers laid off a record number of workers because of business shutdowns and curtailments as a result of the COVID-19 pandemic.
Iowa bill calls for laid-off workers to wait a week before unemployment benefits start thegazette.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from thegazette.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
DES MOINES â Iowans who lose their jobs would have to wait one week before they would start receiving unemployment benefits under a bill that won initial Senate approval Wednesday despite complaints it would be a âkick in the teethâ for Iowans in crisis.
Members of the state Senate Ways and Means Committee voted 10-5 to approve Senate Study Bill 1273, which would delay the first week of jobless benefits starting in July 2022 along with making other changes impacting plant closings, road construction lulls and employment issues.
Sen. Waylon Brown, R-St. Ansgar, said Iowa has a âdelicateâ unemployment insurance benefits system that needs to balance the interests of the individuals who are receiving the aid with the employers who are paying into the fund.
Iowa lawmakers taking another run at bill that would limit unemployment benefits Tyler Jett, Des Moines Register
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For the second time in the 2021 Iowa legislative session, some Republicans are pushing legislation to cut unemployment insurance benefits.
Sen. Dan Dawson, R-Council Bluffs, filed a bill Monday that requires workers who lose their jobs to wait a week before receiving payments. During a subcommittee hearing Wednesday, a pair of business lobbyists said the measure would prevent increases in a tax on employers and give Iowa Workforce Development more time to weed out fraudulent claims.