President Joe Biden signs an executive order during an event at the White House state dining hall 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 receive unemployment benefits.
A denial of employment usually stops unemployment benefits. But the law allows them to turn down inappropriate jobs (for example, in cases of unsafe working conditions) and continue to receive help.
There has been confusion in the pandemic era as to how these rules apply and when Americans can reasonably deny a job offer. This can be applied to safety issues such as wearing masks, social distancing and surface disinfection in shops, manufacturing plants and offices, for example.
Biden asked the U.S. Department of Labor to “consider clarifying that workers who reject unsafe working conditions may receive unemployment insurance,” according to an executive order signed Friday.
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Doing so will help ensure that unemployed Americans do not have to choose between paying bills and keeping their families safe from the Covid-19, according to the order.
According to workers’ advocates, the directive will be more impactful for front-line workers and communities of color. They have suffered a disproportionate number of layoffs since March and are at greater risk of contracting Covid-19.
“I think this is really ensuring that there is a federal standard for this program and that states cannot exceed the security risk element of unemployment insurance,” said George Wentworth, senior attorney for National Employment Law Project and former Connecticut Department of Labor official.
About 16 million Americans were receiving unemployment benefits in early January, according to Department of Labor data. That number is likely to grow in the coming weeks.
Different state standards
States establish different rules about what constitutes suitable work when a job offer is made. Trump administration officials postponed state legislation instead of setting a national standard.
“We don’t want workers to go back to unsafe jobs,” said Eugene Scalia, head of the U.S. Department of Labor, led by President Donald Trump, during an unemployment hearing in the Senate in June.
However, safety rules are generally covered by state law, Scalia said at the time.
Republican lawmakers were especially concerned about a higher prevalence of denial of job offers in the spring and summer when unemployed workers received a $ 600 weekly supplement for benefits. Subsequent research showed no evidence that this dynamic had occurred in a broad economy.
Some state governors may also 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 get your employee back to work and they decide not to, it’s a voluntary resignation,” Iowa Governor Kim Reynolds said in April. “Therefore, they would not be eligible for unemployment money.”
Democrats had criticized Scalia for not providing federal security rules during the pandemic, and generally applauded Biden’s executive order.
“Protecting workers from having to choose between unemployment benefits and unsafe working conditions is a long-awaited step,” said Rep. Don Beyer, D-Va., Who is expected to chair the Economic Committee. Mixed Congress.
The order relates to another issued Thursday on workers’ health and safety, which led the U.S. Department of Labor to issue revised guidelines to employers within two weeks.