Unemployment Insurance: Consequences of Changes in State Unemployment Compensation Laws – Katelin P. Isaacs, Analyst in Income Security, October 30, 2013

“This report analyzes several types of recent changes to state Unemployment Compensation (UC) programs. Three categories of UC state law issues are considered: (1) changes in the duration of state UC unemployment benefits; (2) changes in the UC weekly benefit amount; and (3) the enactment into state law of two trigger options for the Extended Benefit (EB) program. Over the last several years, some states have enacted legislation to decrease the maximum number of weeks of regular state UC benefits. Until recently, all states paid at least up to 26 weeks of UC benefits to eligible, unemployed individuals. In 2011, however, six states passed legislation to decrease their maximum UC benefit durations: Arkansas, Florida, Illinois (only if certain program criteria are met across different calendar years), Michigan, Missouri, and South Carolina. In 2012, Georgia also passed legislation to decrease the maximum UC benefit duration. In 2013, North Carolina enacted similar legislation. Changes in UC benefit duration have consequences for the duration of federal unemployment benefits that may be available to unemployed workers. Since state UC benefit duration is an underlying factor in the calculation of duration for additional federal unemployment benefits, reducing UC maximum duration also reduces the number of weeks available to unemployed workers in the federal extended unemployment programs (including the Emergency Unemployment Compensation [EUC08] and EB). States are temporarily subject to a “nonreduction” rule (under P.L. 111-205, as amended), which makes the availability of federally financed EUC08 benefits contingent on not actively changing the state’s method of calculation for UC benefits, if it would decrease weekly benefit amounts. Some states, however, make automatic adjustments to weekly benefit amounts under existing state law. Consequently, when these states experience certain conditions, such as a decrease in the average weekly wage used in the automatic adjustment calculation, their maximum weekly UC benefit amount may be decreased without violating the “nonreduction” rule. Any reduction to the UC weekly benefit amount also translates into reduced EUC08 and EB weekly benefit amounts. P.L. 112-96 provided a specific exception to the “nonreduction” rule in the case of state legislation enacted before March 1, 2012. In February 2013, North Carolina enacted legislation that actively reduces UC weekly benefit amount calculations beginning in July 2013. Due to this violation of the “nonreduction” rule, EUC08 benefits are no longer available in North Carolina, effective June 29, 2013.”