New unemployment law fixes snag-Measure will restore reduced benefits

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New unemployment law fixes snag
Measure will restore reduced benefits
By Robert Gavin
Globe Staff / July 23, 2010


New federal legislation that extends emergency unemployment benefits through November also fixes a glitch that drastically cut the benefits of workers who took low-paying part-time or temporary jobs while collecting.

The legislation, passed by the House yesterday and signed into law by President Obama, restores benefits for an estimated 2 million Americans, including 70,000 in Massachusetts, who lost them after the extension program expired in early June. The extensions allow laid-off workers to collect for up to nearly two years. The Senate passed the bill Tuesday after a long partisan stalemate.

The law will also help workers who would have had benefits reduced because they took part-time or temporary jobs to supplement their unemployment checks.

As the economic downturn has dragged on, laid-off workers seeking to renew benefits for a second year were penalized for performing some alternate work while looking for a permanent job. When they did renew, their benefits were recalculated based on low pay from part-time or temporary work.

Earlier this year, for example, the Globe interviewed a carpenter who had benefits cut by 70 percent because he took a construction job that lasted three weeks. A transportation worker who took a six-week job with a lawn service lost 60 percent of his benefits when he renewed his claim after a year.

The fix, which applies to workers who would lose more than $100 a week, or 25 percent of their benefits, means that many who accepted part-time or temporary work will be able to continue to collect full benefits after a year. The provision, however, is not retroactive, and will only help workers who renew their claims after the bill takes effect.

Rhode Island Senator Jack Reed and other Democrats initially proposed that the provision be retroactive. But concerns over costs that held up the larger unemployment bill forced them to scale back the fix, according to Reed’s office.

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http://www.boston.com/business/articles/2010/07/23/new_unemployment_law_fixes_snag/