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President Donald Trump signed a bill last week to secure the salary arrears of all federal employees affected by the closure, but many workers have been forced to withdraw their savings or take jobs to pay their bills.
Workers on leave – who have not worked or received wages during the closure – may receive unemployment benefits. In an email received by CNN, a Ministry of Labor official told several states last week that essential workers – those who have worked without interruption – have not lost their jobs and are therefore not eligible for " unemployment benefits".
Prior to the closure, the Department's Employment and Training Administration was actively working with states to remind them of longstanding guidelines for federal employees during the interim period, "he said. CNN spokesman said in a statement Thursday.
did not give the Ministry of Labor the power to grant derogations from the legal obligations "of the Unemployment Act, said the spokesman, adding that a letter from this letter was sent to States requesting advice
Here is a list of what States are doing to extend unemployment benefits for essential workers:
California
"The good news is that we will do it and that we will be ashamed," he said, adding: "They threaten us t basically to do what we do. That's why I'm here, to say we're going to do it. "
Colorado
Colorado Governor Jared Polis on Friday issued an emergency rule allowing essential workers to apply for unemployment.
" Federal Employees obliged to report for work feel the same economic hardship as those who have been laid off. They should not be denied the immediate financial assistance provided by unemployment benefits while being mandated to get to work, "Polis said in a statement.
Polis cited statistics from the Department of Labor according to which, out of about 53,200 federal employees in Colorado, they have claimed unemployment benefits since the first week of the closure, adding that beneficiaries made eligible as a result of the closure should repay the benefits once they were given a salary backlog.
Vermont
Vermont Governor Phil Scott on Tuesday urged the Vermont Department of Labor to treat key employees "in the same way as the rest of the world. fired employees "to determine unemployment eligibility."
Vermont Labor Commissioner Lindsay Kurrle told CNN Wednesday that, according to the di of the US Labor Department's 2013 Closure Regulations – which says that essential workers "are generally not eligible for unemployment benefits because states can determine that they are still fully employed" – and other legislative leaders of states are confident in their decision.
"It's really up to the states to determine their eligibility," she said, adding that "the guidelines do not say no, that's looking at the states."
Vermont does not say, "It's all about states." was not one of the recipients of the Labor Department's notification last week, and state officials did not get news after seeking advice from the ministry to extend unemployment benefits to essential workers. Kurrle said.
When asked to comment on Vermont's new policy, a spokesman for the Ministry of Labor referred to an earlier statement that the ministry "was actively engaged with the states, territories and the District of Columbia to keep them informed employees are eligible for unemployment insurance. "
New Mexico
New Mexico offers unemployment benefits to employees who work without pay. Stacy Johnston, marketing coordinator for the New Mexico Department of Manpower, told CNN.
On January 9, the state's designated secretary, Bill McCamley, also issued an emergency clause removing the job search requirement that allows federal employees to 39, be unemployed for a period of up to 180 days. Like Colorado and Vermont, federal employees will have to repay benefits after receiving salary arrears.
Washington State
Washington Governor Jay Inslee and Commissioner Suzi LeVine on Thursday announced an emergency regulation introducing federal legislation. workers, including essential workers, "who are not paid on time, only because of insufficient credit" and who are eligible for unemployment benefits.
As in other states, these beneficiaries would not be forced to actively look for other work and
Washington, DC
Washington Mayor Muriel Bowser announced Tuesday that she would table an emergency law before the council to extend the conditions of eligibility for essential workers.
"We know what the Americans need a solution to this judgment, but up to this point As it happens, we will continue to do everything in our power to ensure that our basic needs are taken into account by our residents – and this includes … providing unemployment insurance benefits. " Said Bowser in a statement.
Michigan and New York
Govs Democrats. Gretchen Whitmer of Michigan, Andrew Cuomo of New York and Jay Inslee of Washington all urged Friday the Trump administration to clarify the eligibility of federal workers for unemployment benefits, claiming that it does not exist. there was "no rational justification" for not providing support to these employees. [19659002] "Current federal regulations prevent us from providing the same assistance to federal employees who continue to work full time, even if they are not paid for their work," the three governors wrote in a statement. "This disparity is patently unfair and wrong: for the hundreds of thousands of federal employees who remain on their jobs … the hands of our states are tied up to provide this much needed relief."
Virginia
Virginia Governor Ralph Northam wrote a letter to Labor Secretary Alexander Acosta calling for clarification by the federal government and additional funding for the extension of unemployment benefits to essential workers.
"I ask you to clarify what course of action, if any, Northam wrote:" The US Department of Labor will take action against states seeking to provide unemployment benefits to vital federal staff, Northam said he also asked "the assurance that federal funds will be available for the reimbursement of unemployment benefits paid to key federal personnel." who work without pay and for all administrative costs related to the payment of these benefits.
Northam added in a statement that that of Virginia's oral education workers, about 64,000 of them are affected by the closure.
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