Governors Cut Off New Unemployment Benefits Before Some People Even Got Checks

[Yo_Mama_Been_Loggin]

In March, Congress boosted unemployment insurance so that people could stay home and not catch the coronavirus currently killing a thousand Americans a day.

But now, as governors lift restrictions on commerce even amid the mounting death toll, some people are losing eligibility for the benefits ― before receiving a single dime.

Tracy McFetridge is a massage therapist in Springdale, Arkansas, who stopped working in March after Gov. Asa Hutchinson (R) ordered a halt to certain business activities.

As a contract worker, McFetridge, 38, would not normally have been eligible for unemployment, but the Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Stability (CARES) Act broadened eligibility to include independent contractors. Many states have struggled to update their systems, however, and it wasn’t until last Friday that McFetridge was finally able to file a claim.

That same day, Hutchinson announced that more businesses could reopen ― including massage therapy. And state Secretary of Commerce Michael Preston said anyone claiming unemployment who refused to return to their job could get in trouble.

https://www.yahoo.com/huffpost/coronavirus-unemployment-benefits-ending-094500441.html

[msongs]

1. at minimum unemployment should cover the time from layoff to back to work nt

[Wellstone ruled]

2. ALEC.

[crickets]

3. K&R for visibility.

[uponit7771]

4. Hmmmm, anyone else thinking these Red State govs fleeced state UI accounts & can't pay out now?

[Hestia]

5. No, not fleecing, no funding at all since, you know, UE was supposed to be at 3%

pre-Covid. Why make corporations pay the .07% (can't find the proper rate at this time) per employee per year to replenish the fund? There is no need for UE any longer - they've made it so onerous that while you can apply all you want nobody can actually get the funds. Now that people see the hoops you have to jump through, I think voting against their own economic self-interest is really starting to sink in.

Been seeing reports that states will insist that corporation reimburse states for UE claims. Yeah, sure, right

[uponit7771]

6. Hmmm, this too

[SammyWinstonJack]

7. And yet, the chickens will still vote for Colonel Sanders. Go figure.