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1 1 (February 26, 2018)

handle is hein.crs/govcfwp0001 and id is 1 raw text is: FF. ' riE S- - $r h ,,,. , Updated February 26, 2018 Unemployment Compensation (UC) and Family Leave In general, unemployed workers who voluntarily exit the workforce for the care of a family member-including the birth, adoption, or care of a child-would be ineligible for unemployment compensation (UC) based upon their lack of availability for work. Yet some of these individuals may be eligible for UC benefits once they are available for work. From 2000 until 2004, states had the ability to create a program using UC funds to provide benefits to individuals on leave or otherwise unemployed after the birth or adoption of a child (i.e., to use UC to support workers on parental leave). No state created such a program. The joint federal-state UC program provides income support through UC benefit payments. Although there are broad requirements under federal law regarding UC benefits and financing, the specifics are set out under each state's laws. States administer UC benefits with U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) oversight, resulting in 53 different UC programs operated in the states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the Virgin Islands. The UC program's two main objectives are to (1) provide temporary partial wage replacement to involuntarily unemployed workers and (2) stabilize the economy during recessions. To receive UC benefits, claimants must meet state eligibility requirements, including * loss ofjob through no fault of their own or had to quit job for a good cause reason. * a sufficient, recent work and earnings history. * must be able, available, and actively searching for work. Although federal law establishes these broad requirements, state law and regulations determine the specific thresholds and definitions. DOL produces a compilation of state laws and regulations, including state definitions of each of the terms. See DOL, 2017 Comparison of State Unemployment Insurance Laws, at https://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/ unemploy/comparison2017. asp. UC and~ Pwdc rznOy Lev Although the Family and Medical Leave Act of 1993 (FMLA; P.L. 103-3, as amended) provides eligible workers with a federal entitlement to unpaid leave for a limited set of family caregiving needs (including the care of and bonding with a new child), no federal law requires private- sector employers to provide paid leave of any kind. Currently, employees may access paid family leave if offered by an employer, and some workers in certain states may combine state family leave insurance benefits with unpaid leave. At the state level, there has been interest in using the UC program to provide income support to workers on unpaid leave covered by the FMLA. Currently, states do not have the authority to provide UC benefits to workers who are absent from work or unemployed as a result of family caregiving responsibilities. For more information on states that offer paid family leave insurance, see CRS Report R44835, Paid Family Leave in the United States. VY dw No 3 Depending on the state's UC laws and regulations, there are three potential reasons why UC benefits may not be available to an individual who is unemployed or on a leave of absence because of the birth or adoption of a child. The individual may be 1. ineligible or disqualified because he or she is categorically excluded in state UC law or regulation, 2. disqualified because the reason the individual left a job is not considered for good cause, or 3. ineligible because he or she is not able, available, and actively searching for work. To be eligible for UC benefits, individuals generally must be laid off from a job and unemployed with respect to a given week. Under some state UC laws, workers taking family leave or other leaves of absence because of an inability to work due to medical reasons may be considered categorically ineligible for UC benefits. In all states, individuals who leave their work voluntarily must meet the state's good cause requirements if they are not to be disqualified from receiving UC. In many states, good cause is explicitly restricted to reasons connected with the work, attributable to the employer, or involving fault on the part of the employer. Some states specifically consider quitting due to family obligations stemming from the illness or disability of an immediate family member a good cause. (For those states, see Table 5.5 in DOL, 2017 Comparison of State Unemployment Insurance Laws, at https://workforcesecurity.doleta.gov/unemploy/pdf/ uilawcompar/2017/nonmonetary.pdf.) .O 'T gogn, q goo g , q a S ' X

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