unemployment insurance

HB 05-1092: SUTA Dumping Prevention Act of 2005, by Rich Jones to the Senate Business Affairs, Labor and Technology Committee, March 16, 2005

"SUTA dumping hurts state unemployment trust funds and shifts a tax burden to law abiding citizens. Unemployed workers, particularly low-income workers rely on the unemployment system to keep them and their families from falling out of the cycle of opportunity and into poverty. Actions that weaken the unemployment system hurt these workers.

HB 05-1020 – Alternative Base Period for Calculating Unemployment Insurance Benefits in Colorado, by Rich Jones to the Senate Business Affairs, Labor and Technology Committee, March 23, 2005

By Allison Sherry
The Denver Post

WASHINGTON – Roughly 81,500 Coloradans will exhaust unemployment benefits in 2012 if the law that lengthens the time people can collect insurance is not renewed in the next two weeks, White House officials said Thursday.

The state-by-state analysis was released in a push to lean on Republican members of Congress to compromise during a tense day of bargaining on a package that would not only extend unemployment insurance, but also give payroll tax breaks to 160 million Americans.

By Allison Sherry
The Denver Post

WASHINGTON – An imminent battle to extend tax cuts to more than 161 million Americans next year – including 2.5 million in Colorado – could get ugly as Republicans and Democrats spend the weeks before a Christmas recess wrangling about how to pay for them.

This year, the median household, which earns $50,000 annually, saw roughly $1,000 back in its paychecks after President Barack Obama and Congress agreed to shave 2 percentage points off of what workers normally pay into the Social Security trust fund.

This column appeared in the Denver Business Journal as a counterpoint to a column by Justin Longo of the Independence Institute. (Link to similar column use because of copyright restrictions.)

By Rich Jones

Gov. John Hickenlooper signed legislation today that restructures the way Colorado's Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund is financed. The bill, HB 1288, makes a number of both short- and long-term fixes that will ensure the trust fund returns to solvency sooner, maintains solvency well into the future and does so in a way that meets the needs of businesses and workers.

Emergency unemployment benefits will expire unless Congress renews them by Nov. 30.

The reason is that the Unemployment Compensation Act of 2010, which provides an additional 53 weeks of federal benefits to eligible workers who exhaust their 26 weeks of benefits from the regular state-funded unemployment compensation program, will end.

By Rich Jones
(Greeley Tribune) Guest columnist

A Tribune columnist has posed the question: Would you share your hours with co-workers to avoid layoffs?

The question is relevant because Gov. Bill Ritter recently signed into law a work-share bill. Probably because the law is brand-new to Colorado, questions have been raised. We'd like to provide some answers.

Work-share is a voluntary program that companies can use to weather short-term business declines.

Title: Concerning the establishment of the Colorado "work-share program"
to allow payment of unemployment compensation benefits
to eligible employees who have received a reduction in work hours

This bill represents a net opportunity gain for Colorado. Allowing employers to provide work-share opportunities will keep more Colorado workers employed during periods of economic downturn.

Summary of Legislation

For immediate release: Sept. 4, 2009

Contact:
Kathy White, Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute, 720-252-9607
Lorena Garcia, 9to5, 303-819-2370
Joe Watt, The Bell Policy Center, 303-297-0456

Thousands of Colorado families exhausting jobless benefits
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Bell Policy Center, Colorado Fiscal Policy Institute
and 9to5 Colorado urge Congress to extend program
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Stimulus benefits providing major boost to Colorado's economy