Bill cutting unemployment benefits for large families moving through Iowa House kwwl.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from kwwl.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
Union and industry representatives are at odds about how a proposal to cut unemployment benefits could impact Iowa s broader economy.
The Republican-led Iowa House Labor Committee approved the legislation just after midnight Tuesday, following a contentious 5½-hour hearing. Republicans say the measure will allow businesses to pay lower taxes and hire more workers.
Reacting later Tuesday, union and labor federation members said decreasing payments to laid-off workers will hurt Iowa communities.
They argued that claimants will barely be able to their pay their bills and won t have money to spend at local restaurants or other shops. This legislation is hurting people, and it s an attack on our local economy, Scott Punteney, president of the Western Iowa Labor Federation, said during a news conference on the bill. The money that people get from unemployment, they re not putting (it) in the bank and waiting. They re spending it immediately on things they need: food, clot
Iowa House changes would constrict unemployment benefits 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.
The legislation, which is now eligible for a vote on the House floor, would decrease the maximum weekly benefits that claimants can receive and require workers to wait a week after losing their jobs to begin getting unemployment compensation. It also would require them to accept lower-paying jobs than those they formerly held, potentially moving them off benefits faster.
In addition, the bill would cut a provision that allows claimants to receive standard unemployment insurance for 39 weeks if their place of employment closes. Those workers would instead receive benefits for the usual maximum of 26 weeks.
If signed into law by Gov. Kim Reynolds, the legislation would take effect in July 2022.