Unemployment Compensation Bill Update
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Speaker Rosenberger held a press conference today to say that a compromise has finally been reached that will bring labor, business, and legislative leaders to the table to discuss and hopefully fix Ohio's Unemployment Compensation Trust Fund insolvency. The compromise scraps House Bill 620 and Senate Bill 274, as well as amends Senate Bill 235 to include the following provisions: freezing maximum benefits and increasing the taxable wage base to $9,500, beginning January 1st of 2018 and lasting two years. There is also an understanding that Labor and Business will work together on a compromise bill with the hope of advancing for legislative consideration by April 1st of next year.
During the press conference President Burga stated support of the state federation for the compromise and the decision to take this issue up next session instead of “lame duck” and to include Labor in the ensuing deliberations. Burga stated that his goal will be to achieve solvency of the fund to ensure that unemployment benefits are available to those in need now and into the future. He pledged that the state federation will be at the table representing working people and will put forth a good faith effort to achieve solvency of the fund in a fair and balanced way.
We are appreciative of all of the workers, worker representatives and allied partners that weighed in over the last two years on this important issue and were instrumental in the result which the Speaker laid out. The odds were long in holding this bill off until the next General Assembly convenes and actually getting Labor to the table as a stakeholder. Yet, that is the outcome because of Labor Unity. Thank you.
- Tim Burga, President, Ohio AFL-CIO
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