Thu, 07/23/2020
The Department of Labor’s Employment Training Administration (“ETA”) informed states on July 21, 2020 that workers who refuse unsafe job offers may be able to collect expanded unemployment benefits under the CARES Act’s Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (“PUA”). The guidance explains that if a state’s “suitable work provisions” consider work that unreasonably exposes an individual to safety risks to be unsuitable, then work that unreasonably exposes the worker to COVID-19 may be unsuitable and the worker may continue to be eligible for PUA.
The guidance further provides that workers who lost their jobs for reasons unrelated to COVID-19, are not eligible for PUA, even if the pandemic prevents them from finding work. According to the guidance, “[n]ot being able to find a job because some businesses have closed and/or may not be hiring due to COVID-19 is not an identified reason [in the CARES Act].”
ETA’s latest guidance is available at https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=5479.
For more information about workers’ rights during the pandemic, visit MSE’s Coronavirus Information page at https://www.mselaborlaw.com/resources/coronavirus-information.
