Press Release
Johnson Amendment Would Protect Workers During Coronavirus Emergency
WASHINGTON — U.S. Senators Ron Johnson (R-Wis.), Pat Toomey (R-Pa.), Mike Lee (R-Utah), Ben Sasse (R-Neb.), Rick Scott (R-Fla.), Mike Braun (R-In.), Tom Cotton (R-Ar.), Ted Cruz (R-Tx.), Marsha Blackburn (R-Tn.), Kelly Loeffler (R-Ga.), and David Perdue (R-Ga.) have introduced an amendment to the House coronavirus legislation to eliminate job-killing paid leave mandates and instead expand eligibility for unemployment insurance to those who aren’t able to earn a paycheck due to coronavirus.
The senators’ amendment would:
- Create a Temporary Emergency Federal Unemployment Insurance Program in which states must expand eligibility for unemployment insurance benefits for individuals who cannot work due to the coronavirus;
- Benefits paid are the lesser of 2/3 an individual’s average weekly earnings or $1,000;
- Affected workers can receive unemployment insurance benefits for up to 14 weeks;
- Waive waiting periods for unemployment insurance benefits;
- Retroactively apply eligibility for these benefits to March 1, 2020;
- Affected workers will not have to search for work to receive benefits;
- Require the federal government to reimburse states for the full costs of expanding the eligibility that is above and beyond each state’s current unemployment insurance law; and
- Require the federal government to reimburse employers who employ fewer than 500 employees and who voluntarily provide paid leave to employees who cannot work due to coronavirus in an amount equal to the unemployment benefits described above.
NOTE: This press release was submitted to Urban Milwaukee and was not written by an Urban Milwaukee writer. It has not been verified for its accuracy or completeness.
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- DHS Details End of Emergency COVID-19 Response - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Apr 26th, 2023
- Milwaukee Health Department Announces Upcoming Changes to COVID-19 Services - City of Milwaukee Health Department - Mar 17th, 2023
- Fitzgerald Applauds Passage of COVID-19 Origin Act - U.S. Rep. Scott Fitzgerald - Mar 10th, 2023
- DHS Expands Free COVID-19 Testing Program - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Feb 10th, 2023
- MKE County: COVID-19 Hospitalizations Rising - Graham Kilmer - Jan 16th, 2023
- Not Enough Getting Bivalent Booster Shots, State Health Officials Warn - Gaby Vinick - Dec 26th, 2022
- Nearly All Wisconsinites Age 6 Months and Older Now Eligible for Updated COVID-19 Vaccine - Wisconsin Department of Health Services - Dec 15th, 2022
- City of Milwaukee Bi-Weekly COVID-19 Update - City of Milwaukee Health Department - Dec 9th, 2022
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