As senators began to consider a pair of bills that would cut West Virginia’s unemployment insurance benefits on Monday, Sen. Mike Caputo, D-Marion, rose to voice his concerns.
Within the past two weeks, two large manufacturers — Allegheny Wood Products and Cleveland-Cliffs — had announced plans to lay off hundreds of workers. Caputo argued that slashing unemployment help now would be a foolish move.
“This is a horrible time to do this,” he said.
But Senate Finance Committee Chair Eric Tarr, R-Putnam, the sponsor of one of the bills, disagreed. He said the changes were needed to protect the state’s unemployment fund for the future.
Moments later, the Senate voted overwhelmingly in favor of taking up the bills. A vote for passage is likely to happen on Wednesday.
The bills, SB 840 and 841, would reduce the length and amount of unemployment benefits.
Unemployment benefits currently last for a maximum of 26 weeks in West Virginia. The first bill would reduce that to between 12 and 20 weeks, depending on the current unemployment rate. West Virginia’s unemployment rate was 4.3% in December.
In 2022, lawmakers introduced a similar bill that would have shortened the number of weeks of benefits based on the unemployment rate. As they considered that bill, Cleveland-Cliffs announced the closure of a coke plant in Follansbee, laying off nearly 300 workers. The bill passed the Senate but died on the final night of the legislative session.
And last year, the bill passed the Senate but didn’t make it out of committee in the House.
The second bill under consideration this year would reduce the maximum amount of unemployment benefits in the state to a lower percentage of weekly wages for a given position and cap benefits at $550 a week.
On Saturday, the Senate Finance Committee advanced the bills to the full floor.
Critics say that lawmakers moving on these unemployment bills now, as more than 1,500 workers will be affected by the Cleveland-Cliffs and Allegheny closures, is insensitive and shortsighted.
“Unemployment is near historic lows,” said Josh Sword, president of the West Virginia AFL-CIO, before adding that the proposal was “asinine” and “disgusting”.
Sen. Jay Taylor, R-Taylor, who represents a district that includes several Allegheny Wood facilities said that workers who are currently facing layoffs won’t be the workers who have to cope with the reduced benefits. The legislation would go into effect on Jan. 1, 2025.
“The timelines don’t just add up,” Taylor said.
Taylor and other lawmakers say that the changes are needed to support the state’s unemployment trust fund. The unemployment trust fund began the year at its highest in over a decade and is one of the most recession-ready in the country, according to an analysis by the West Virginia Center on Budget and Policy.
On Saturday, Scott Adkins, acting commissioner of Workforce West Virginia, told lawmakers that the unemployment fund was not in trouble but that a major recession lasting more than 18 months would bankrupt it.
Sen. Mike Oliverio, R-Monongalia, said in an interview that he is worried about the bill to reduce the number of weeks of unemployment and is exploring options to improve it, including possibly letting people stay on unemployment for longer with a potential reduction to their benefits over time, or some sort of graduated scale.
“I still have concerns about the bill,” Oliverio said. “I want to see if we can make sure our fund is solvent and meet the needs of our employees who lose their jobs.”