President Joe Biden signs an executive order during an event in the state living room of the White House on January 21, 2021.
Alex Wong | Getty Images News | Getty Images
President Joe Biden on Friday ordered federal labor officials to clarify when unemployed workers can turn down a job offer and continue to collect jobless benefits.
A refusal to work generally stops the benefits for the unemployed for the beneficiaries. But the law allows them to refuse inappropriate work – for example, in unsafe working conditions – and continue to receive help.
There was confusion in the pandemic era about how such rules apply and when Americans can reasonably turn down a job offer. This can apply to safety issues such as wearing a mask, social distancing, and disinfecting surfaces in shops, factories, and offices, for example.
Biden called on the US Department of Labor to “consider clarifying that workers who refuse unsafe working conditions can still receive unemployment insurance”, according to an executive order signed on Friday.
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By doing so, you will ensure that the unemployed Americans do not have to choose between paying bills and keeping Covid-19 families safe, as ordered.
The directive will have the greatest impact on front-line workers and communities of color, according to workers’ supporters. They have suffered a disproportionate number of layoffs since March and are at greater risk of contracting Covid-19.
“I think this really ensures that there is a federal standard for this program and that states cannot withstand the risk-safety element of unemployment insurance,” said George Wentworth, a senior adviser to the National Employment Law Project and a former Labor Department official. from Connecticut.
About 16 million Americans were collecting unemployment benefits in early January, according to the Department of Labor. This number is likely to increase in the coming weeks.
Different state standards
States establish different rules as to what constitutes a suitable job when a job offer is made. Trump administration labor officials have delayed state law, rather than setting a national standard.
“We don’t want workers to return to insecure jobs,” Eugene Scalia, head of the U.S. Department of Labor under President Donald Trump, said during the June Senate unemployment session.
However, safety standards are generally covered by state law, Scalia said at the time.
Republican lawmakers were particularly concerned about the higher prevalence of job declines in the spring and summer, when unemployed workers received a weekly supplement of $ 600 for benefits. Subsequent research has not shown evidence that this dynamic took place in the wider economy.
Some state governors may have confused workers about their rights by making black and white statements during the pandemic, Wentworth said.
“If you’re an employer and you offer to bring your employee back to work and they decide not to, it’s a voluntary resignation,” Iowa Gov. Kim Reynolds said in April. “Therefore, they would not be eligible for unemployment benefits.”
Democrats criticized Scalia for failing to provide federal safety standards during the pandemic and generally applauded Biden’s executive order.
“Protecting workers from the need to choose between unemployment benefits and unsafe working conditions is a long-standing step,” said Don Beyer, a D-Va representative who is expected to chair the Joint Economic Committee of Congress.
The order meets with another issued on Thursday in connection with workers’ health and safety, instructing the US Department of Labor to issue revised guidance to employers within two weeks.