State Senate lawmakers pass back-to-work bonuses, but federal law blocks them
A proposal by Senate Republicans to pay back-to-work bonuses passed the state Senate 35-10 Tuesday, despite a federal roadblock that will take an act of Congress to overcome.
Republican lawmakers are looking for ways to get people back to work. They're hoping that new bonuses for unemployed people who find jobs and keep them for two months would lure people back to a workforce that has yet to fully rebound from the pandemic.
Employers in sectors across the economy report they can't find enough workers to meet demand, even though pandemic restrictions have been lifted and more people are getting vaccinated.
The proposal would pay $1,500 to someone who takes a job within 30 days, or $800 if the person is hired within 60 days.
Lawmakers' original plan was to use federal pandemic unemployment funds to pay for the bonuses, but federal law does not allow those funds to be used as bonuses. Congress would have to take action to allow states more flexibility in how the federal funds can be used.
In a press conference on Tuesday, bill sponsor Sen. Chuck Edwards called on Congress to do just that.
"Let's face it, humans are a creature of habit," Edwards said. "And we've created a habit over the last 14 months that many folks can just simply get by, and it's easier to not work than it is to work"
The extended federal unemployment benefits will expire September 6th. But summer tourism season is already underway, and restaurants and hotels are struggling to find enough staff to serve the public. Edwards says the bonuses could help.
"The great thing about this plan is, no one would get cut off If there really was a reason that they need to be on unemployment," said Edwards, R-Henderson, "but we would be offering an incentive for folks to go ahead and go back - sooner rather than later - that are ultimately going to rejoin the workforce anyway."
The state bill would also require jobless people to not just search for a job, but attend an interview if one is offered and take a drug test if required by the hiring employer. Federal law says if you turn down a job opportunity while on unemployment, your benefits can be ended.
Congressman Ted Budd (R-NC13) has proposed a bill that would replace the extended pandemic unemployment benefits - currently worth $300 a week - with a $900 federal back-to-work bonus. He called the extended benefits a "stay home bonus."
"We understand the hardship that people have had, but there's nothing to replace the dignity of actual work and improving oneself," Budd said.
However, Budd is in the minority party in the U.S. House, so it’s not clear the bill will ever come to a vote. It has no Democratic co-sponsors so far.
Budd is running for U.S. Senate in 2022, hoping to replace outgoing Sen. Richard Burr.
Across the country, 24 states - all led by GOP governors - are now refusing to accept the federal extended benefits, , according to a database from CNET, blaming the checks for labor shortages. Edwards said that would be a simpler solution for North Carolina as well, but he's gotten no indication from Democratic Gov. Roy Cooper that he would consider such a move.
Arizona, Montana, New Hampshire and Oklahoma are also planning on offering back-to-work incentives, but they've found other ways to pay for them.
Minimum wage across North Carolina is $7.25 an hour, with workers making $290 a week. With state and federal unemployment benefits, people can make a maxiumum of $650 a week. But state unemployment benefits are very limited, and many of those who lost their jobs early in the pandemic have exhausted those. But people have to prove they're searching for a job to keep the weekly benefits coming.
Indeed, a job posting site, said that postings are back to pre-pandemic levels. Federal data shows that job openings continue to increase across the country. Republicans are blaming unemployment benefits as the reason why people aren't filling those spots.
Childcare options for some parents still remain closed or virtual, meaning one parent will need to stay home. Some families aren't ready to send their kids to childcare due to safety concerns. Not all children are able to get vaccinated, which means many families will have to weigh their risk of exposure when returning to the workforce.
Lack of childcare or schooling has a disproportionate impact on women — who are more likely to be expected to stay home with children. Women make up the majority of the retail and education industry and are more often than men serving as cashiers, the U.S. Census reports.
More than 2.3 million women have left the workforce since the pandemic, federal data shows. In December 2020 alone, women made up 100% of jobs lost.
In the week ending on May 22, more than 400,000 Americans applied for unemployment benefits.
