Posts tagged unemployment insurance
Labor Dept deploys ‘strike team’ to California over $21B unemployment debt, fraud concerns
February 20, 2026 // In a statement, the department cited an 83-page California State Auditor report that determined the state’s UI system is high-risk, in part due to "inadequate fraud prevention and claimant service [in its employment development department (EDD)], as well as a high rate of overturned eligibility decisions in its Unemployment Insurance Program."
You paid $181 million for union bosses to negotiate against you in 2024, but the Trump administration is doing something about it
February 19, 2026 // Even the “usual” topics of labor-relations negotiations are not part of federal bargaining. As Molly Conway, who served as Chief of Staff to the Department of Labor in the first Trump administration, wrote in a primer for the Institute for the American Worker: Management rights and any matters “specifically provided for by Federal statute” are not bargainable. This includes pay, health insurance, retirement, and certain workplace insurance (e.g., workers’ compensation, unemployment insurance), among others. [citations omitted]
Washington Democrats now let striking workers collect unemployment while businesses bleed
January 3, 2026 // What the law does not address is the imbalance it creates for employers, particularly those who have no comparable safety net when a strike halts operations, disrupts contracts, or threatens the survival of a business entirely. That’s intentional. While workers can now rely on unemployment benefits during a strike, businesses are still expected to absorb the losses, with no relief and little recourse. The law further tips the scales toward unions that already wield extraordinary power in Washington, allowing them to prolong strikes with fewer consequences while businesses shoulder all the risk.
Ocean County Leaders Raise Concerns over NJDOL’s Proposed Gig Worker Rule
November 25, 2025 // “The State’s one-size-fits-all rule may hurt the very people it claims to protect; the independent workers, small businesses, and local economies that depend on flexibility and Ocean County’s local contractors, tradespeople, and entrepreneurs that rely on flexible work arrangements,” Ocean County Commissioner Jennifier Bacchione said on Monday. “The State should not be penalizing them for working independently.”
Labor unions are much stronger in Oregon than nationally
September 2, 2025 // Nearly 300,000 Oregon workers belong to a union, according to federal data, about 1 in 6 workers statewide. Union membership rates have fluctuated since the 1980s but have gradually increased over the past two decades.
Republican senators unveil “portable benefits” bill for gig workers
July 7, 2025 // Sen. Bill Cassidy (R-L.A.) unveiled a bill on Monday that would make it easier for companies to offer benefits to gig workers without making them full-fledged employees. Why it matters: As more Americans turn to gig work and self-employment, there's a growing push to get them access to things like paid sick leave, health insurance and retirement benefits. Zoom in: Called the Unlocking Benefits for Independent Workers Act, the bill is part of legislative package from Cassidy, along with Sen. Tim Scott (R-S.C.) and Sen. Rand Paul (R-Ky.). Both also plan on unveiling related bills Monday.
Governments should protect workers, end cozy relationship with political allies
July 1, 2025 // Unions already collect hundreds of dollars — or more — each year from each member. They should be using that money to support members during strikes, not expecting employers to pay workers not to work. The misguided policy will likely raise costs for public and private employers, harm the majority of workers in the state and weaken the state’s unemployment insurance fund. The government should be neutral between employers and labor, not serve as muscle to force employers to finance a de facto strike fund on behalf of political allies. If lawmakers and public employers truly cared about fairness for workers and the disadvantaged who lose jobs, they’d stop helping unions build political war chests and start giving workers full transparency and choice.
A Taft-Hartley Roundup of Recent Labor News
June 25, 2025 // For just shy of 80 years, conservative Americans and the Republican Party that provides their imperfect electoral vehicle have sought to advance a policy consensus on labor relations based on three principles: ensuring union membership and participation is voluntary, scrutinizing unions’ operations in exchange for their government-granted powers, and protecting the public from the fallout from labor disputes. As America sits by the pool at the beginning of what might prove to be a long, hot summer, what news is there about the Taft-Hartley consensus?
Wisconsin gig workers could become independent contractors under bill headed to governor’s desk
June 19, 2025 // Drivers for transit apps like Uber or DoorDash would be given more flexibility, but they'd also be exempt from worker's compensation or minimum wage requirements
New Jersey Copycats California’s Job-Destroying Policy
June 3, 2025 // This proposal comes five years after the New Jersey legislature attempted and failed to codify the ABC test. A controversial bill in 2019–the same year that California passed AB5——failed to pass after loud public outcry from industries and independent contractors themselves. What policymakers could not enact through the law, they’re now seeking to advance through regulation.