State lawmakers have passed a bill aiming to streamline the unemployment filing process, but some worry it goes too far.
Representatives advanced House Bill 477 on Monday to streamline the application process for unemployment benefits, in part by allowing documents and decisions to be delivered electronically, instead of by mail.
“It is actually fairly difficult,” said Rep. Jackson Sayama, one of the bill’s introducers.
"The current law requires applications, for the most part, to be a hard copy mailed rather than be processed online. In this modern age, this measure would allow (the Department of Labor and Industrial Relations) to have some of these forms done online, like best practices for many other forms in public service."
Some lawmakers said the measure would make collecting unemployment too easy, instead of compensating those who put in the effort to find work.
Others were concerned that the bill would allow workers on strike to collect unemployment. The measure says employees in “labor disputes” with their employers are eligible for unemployment benefits.
Sayama noted that the bill doesn’t explicitly mention those on strike.
However, the International Union of Painters and Allied, in support of the measure, said HB 477 “could go a long way to help workers and their families maintain economic security during a labor dispute” and “will help level the playing field between workers and employers, thereby encouraging fair negotiations between them when bargaining a new contract.”
The measure will be sent to the governor’s office to be signed.
