The Missouri Chamber of Commerce and Industry is supporting legislation that would incentivize unemployed Missourians to rejoin the workforce.
SB 8, sponsored by Sen. Mike Bernskoetter (R-Jefferson City) would modify the duration of unemployment benefits based on the unemployment rate.
At a recent hearing of the Senate Economic and Workforce Development Committee, the senator told committee members that under current law, the maximum duration for an individual to receive unemployment benefits is 20 weeks.
SB 8 would create a sliding scale model that would tie the length of unemployment benefits to the state’s unemployment rate. The duration would range from a high of 20 weeks if Missouri’s unemployment rate is higher than 9% to eight weeks if the unemployment rate is at or below 3.5%.
“I don’t want to punish people that can’t find a job, but we can’t reward people that will not find a job,” Bernskoetter said.
Luke Reed, director of legislative affairs for the Missouri Chamber, testified in support, saying, “Tying the unemployment rate to the duration of benefits paid out makes sense, because we need to protect the Unemployment Trust Fund for the times when the employment rate is high. We want to make sure it is solvent and we don’t need federal backing.”
Rep. John Hewkin (R-Cuba) is sponsoring a companion bill, HB 771.
For more information, contact Reed at lreed@mochamber.com or 573-300-1450.