Bill Text: IL SR1190 | 2019-2020 | 101st General Assembly | Introduced
Bill Title: Urges the Department of Employment Security to seek certification of Section 502 of the Illinois Unemployment Insurance Act from the Secretary of Labor under Section 303 of the Social Security Act and Section 3304 of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act. Urges the Department of Employment Security to immediately seek an agreement with the United States Department of Labor to enact the STC Program. Requests that the STC Program enacted by the Department of Employment Security should not provide benefits to any seasonal, temporary, or intermittent employee and should not charge any employer for claims that are 100% federally reimbursable.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Failed) 2021-01-13 - Session Sine Die [SR1190 Detail]
Download: Illinois-2019-SR1190-Introduced.html
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1 | SENATE RESOLUTION
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2 | WHEREAS, The spread of COVID-19 has caused a massive | ||||||
3 | disruption to the global, national, and local economies, | ||||||
4 | resulting in unprecedented job loss and an increase in | ||||||
5 | unemployment insurance claims; and
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6 | WHEREAS, Job losses carry a high price for individuals and | ||||||
7 | the economy at large, which includes workers having less or no | ||||||
8 | income to support their families, workers losing access to | ||||||
9 | health insurance, paid leave, and other employment benefits, | ||||||
10 | and employers having to spend valuable time and money when they | ||||||
11 | rebuild their workforce in the future; and
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12 | WHEREAS, One existing program designed to keep workers | ||||||
13 | employed but ease the strains of an economic downturn and to | ||||||
14 | speed economic recovery is the Short-Time Compensation (STC) | ||||||
15 | Program, also known as worksharing; and
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16 | WHEREAS, The STC Program is a lay-off aversion program in | ||||||
17 | which an employer, under a state-approved plan, reduces the | ||||||
18 | hours for a group of workers, and these workers in turn receive | ||||||
19 | a reduced unemployment benefit payment; and
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20 | WHEREAS, The STC Program would preserve employees' jobs and | ||||||
21 | employers' trained workforces during a disruption to the firm's |
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1 | regular business activity by reducing hours of work for an | ||||||
2 | entire group of affected employees, rather than by laying off | ||||||
3 | some employees while others continue to work full time; and
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4 | WHEREAS, Research estimates the STC Program could prevent | ||||||
5 | up to 124,000 COVID-19 related layoffs in the State, saving the | ||||||
6 | State over $1 billion dollars in unemployment insurance | ||||||
7 | payments; and
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8 | WHEREAS, In 2014, the General Assembly passed legislation | ||||||
9 | authorizing the Department of Employment Security to establish | ||||||
10 | by rule an STC Program, but such program was never established; | ||||||
11 | and
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12 | WHEREAS, In the wake of the COVID-19 public health crisis, | ||||||
13 | the federal government recognized the benefit and wide support | ||||||
14 | for STC programs during economic downturns and included funding | ||||||
15 | for state STC programs in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and | ||||||
16 | Economic Security Act (CARES Act); and
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17 | WHEREAS, The CARES Act provides appropriations to | ||||||
18 | temporarily reimburse states for STC program payments under an | ||||||
19 | existing or new STC program for weeks of unemployment ending on | ||||||
20 | or before December 31, 2020; and
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21 | WHEREAS, The State could receive a grant of up to |
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1 | $4,187,442 to implement, administer, and promote enrollment in | ||||||
2 | an Illinois STC Program; and
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3 | WHEREAS, The State should also be entitled to have as much | ||||||
4 | as 100% of the monies paid to the workers of Illinois under the | ||||||
5 | STC Program reimbursed by the federal government, while | ||||||
6 | effectively easing burdens on employers and keeping | ||||||
7 | individuals employed during these difficult times; therefore, | ||||||
8 | be it
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9 | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | ||||||
10 | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Department of | ||||||
11 | Employment Security is urged to seek certification of Section | ||||||
12 | 502 of the Illinois Unemployment Insurance Act from the | ||||||
13 | Secretary of Labor under Section 303 of the Social Security Act | ||||||
14 | and Section 3304 of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act and is | ||||||
15 | urged to apply for the grants made available under Section 2110 | ||||||
16 | of the CARES Act before December 31, 2023, in order to | ||||||
17 | implement, administer, and promote the STC Program; and be it | ||||||
18 | further
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19 | RESOLVED, That the Department of Employment Security is | ||||||
20 | urged to immediately seek an agreement with the United States | ||||||
21 | Department of Labor to enact the STC Program in accordance with | ||||||
22 | Section 502 of the Illinois Unemployment Insurance Act, Section | ||||||
23 | 2108 of the CARES Act, and any additional federal rules and |
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1 | regulations to obtain the maximum amount of federal monies | ||||||
2 | available for such program and benefits; and be it further
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3 | RESOLVED, That the STC Program enacted by the Department of | ||||||
4 | Employment Security should not provide benefits to any | ||||||
5 | seasonal, temporary, or intermittent employee, as is required | ||||||
6 | by federal law, and should not charge any employer for any | ||||||
7 | claims that are 100% federally reimbursable; and be it further
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8 | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | ||||||
9 | delivered to Governor JB Pritzker, Acting Director of the | ||||||
10 | Department of Employment Security Thomas Chan, Secretary of | ||||||
11 | Labor Eugene Scalia, and all members of the Illinois | ||||||
12 | Congressional Delegation.
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