Earlier this year, the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) issued a series of Questions and Answers to help states remain in compliance with federal unemployment insurance (UI) law regarding striking employees. For states that offer UI benefits to striking employees, the Q&As clarify when those employees are eligible for federal UI benefits. State UI programs are required to conform to federal requirements to receive grants to administer their UI programs. Currently, four states offer UI benefits to striking workers: New Jersey, New York, Oregon, and Washington.
The Q&As provide that in states that allow striking workers to receive UI benefits, the workers must meet the federal requirements to obtain UI benefits. The Q&As underscore that states that wish to remain eligible to receive federal grants, and employers that wish to remain eligible for credits under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act, must remain in full compliance with these requirements.
As set forth in the Q&As, if a state law permits the payment of UI benefits to striking workers, consistent with federal law, the states must require claimants to be able to work, available for work, and actively seeking work. The state UI agency must verify that a worker’s “effort to secure other work is genuine in nature and that the claimant has not withdrawn from the labor market, including by engaging in activity, such as picketing, to the exclusion of seeking other work.” The Q&As explain that striking...
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