Workforce
State and local governments face a tight labor market and a competitive disadvantage with the private sector. But salaries aren’t the only issue, with cities, counties and states all grappling with training, retention, remote work and increased union activity.
GOP leaders urged citizens to flag social media posts about Kirk, leading to investigations and dismissals across state and local agencies.
Pushed by unions, Virginia, Oregon and California aren’t waiting for federal guidance any longer and are creating worker protection rules to prevent the spread of COVID-19 while on the job.
The state will begin paying one-time relief checks to as many as 70,000 residents who haven’t received unemployment benefit payments from the state. While the $500 payment isn’t sufficient, leaders hope it will help.
Tax competition among the states has squeezed funding over the years, which in turn has meant less generous benefits, narrower eligibility, and administrative systems starved of staffing and technology.
Even as cases of COVID-19 surged, public-sector employment — like the rest of the economy — continued a slow, steady recovery in July. But state and local governments foresee danger as they prep for next year's budgets.
State and local government workers in Washington will continue to work remotely through the end of the year. Officials hope that the advanced notice allows time for adjustment and preparation.
Thousands of federal, state workers risk their lives each day by showing up to work. Legally, they should be receiving hazard pay, but many haven’t gotten anything. For those that did, the payments stopped months ago.
Legislators want to know if the state agency inadvertently abetted the scam by lowering fraud detection protocols to speed up legitimate claims by hundreds of thousands of Washingtonians left jobless by the pandemic.
Gov. Mike DeWine has said that he does not know if Ohio will be able to afford the $100 state match needed to extend the $400 weekly federal unemployment benefits. Ohio isn’t the only state with financial concerns.
The bill would require employers to promptly notify employees and health officials if one of their workers is exposed to COVID-19. Some believe the existing law does not have clear enough requirements for employers’ reporting.
State officials were reminded repeatedly of the outdated unemployment system through several audits, but continued to ignore the issue. Now COVID-19 is forcing the state to deal with the antiquated system.
In 2013, Deloitte was paid $40 million to overhaul Florida’s unemployment system. In March, the system failed immediately. Now, the state is paying Deloitte $135 million to take on the state Medicaid system.
Latest unemployment figures show the state has recovered about 500,000 jobs so far. While some industries have mostly rebounded, others, like government, travel and education, still struggle.
Which states have shed the most public employees? Which have added the most? And what types of jobs are leading the pack? New numbers from the Census Bureau help to illustrate the big picture.
Gov. David Ige vetoed a spending plan that would have added $100 in state weekly unemployment benefits, and hopes Congress comes up with a compromise to continue the $600-a-week federal benefit or something close to it.
Gov. Newsom announced the formation of a team that will focus on resolving nearly 1 million backlogged unemployment benefit claims and then will work to streamline the process for future claim processing.
As workers are asked to return to their physical workplaces, many are nervous about COVID-19 risks. Some workplaces don’t enforce masks or social distancing and won’t pay for sick leave or COVID-19 tests.
COVID-19 has accelerated government's move to new workplace arrangements. A Tennessee program that has significantly cut the state's office space needs shows the way to build on those gains.
The Employment Department has been processing claims more slowly than anticipated, but the original 70,000 claims have been cut to 44,000 and officials are optimistic that they’ll work through the remainder by Aug. 4.
The extra $600 each week in federal unemployment benefits that jobless workers have been receiving during the pandemic is scheduled to end soon. Many are wondering what impacts the program’s end will have on the economy.
A recent study of unemployment numbers ranked all U.S. states in their recovery from COVID-19. States have made progress, but the nation will need months, if not years, to fully recover from this economic crisis.
In some states, COVID-19 is classified as “ordinary disease of life,” like the flu, and is not covered by workers’ compensation. If it were covered, the health system could owe up to $16 billion in workers’ comp nationally.
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Coordination and consistency are key in getting the message out to citizens in times of crisis.
In California, Black and Latinx women have seen a 23 and 22 percent employment decline, respectively, due to COVID-19. “This is really amplifying existing inequalities, especially racial and ethnic inequities.”
Washington state saw an 11 percent decline in unemployment applications in the week ending on July 4. But 736,000 are still jobless and the additional weekly $600 federal benefit payments are set to expire by July 25.
States and localities will need the full range of tools to recover economically. That calls for federal policies that tap infrastructure-building's power to boost local jobs and small-business growth.
A report finds that the coronavirus-caused shift to remote work has altered the idea of a workspace. Some are uncomfortable with returning to an office and many hope to continue working from home even after offices reopen.
Nearly 2 million unemployment claims that were filed months ago still haven’t been paid. Residents and lawmakers are frustrated by the state’s inability to keep up. “EDD is utterly failing millions of Californians.”
The state has been inundated with more than 600,000 residents filing for unemployment benefits. Even with hundreds of workers helping, approximately 40,000 phone calls each week go unanswered.
The Employment Development Department announced last week that unemployment applicants will now be able to receive benefits for a total of 59 weeks as a part of the Federal-State Extended Duration benefits program.
Thousands of Alabama residents have taken to sleeping outside of the makeshift unemployment claims help center, to hopefully get assistance in person. But the state’s unemployment fund is quickly running out of money.
