SR1190 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY

SR1190 LRB101 21468 MST 72135 r

SENATE RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, The spread of COVID-19 has caused a massive disruption to the global, national, and local economies, resulting in unprecedented job loss and an increase in unemployment insurance claims; and

WHEREAS, Job losses carry a high price for individuals and the economy at large, which includes workers having less or no income to support their families, workers losing access to health insurance, paid leave, and other employment benefits, and employers having to spend valuable time and money when they rebuild their workforce in the future; and

WHEREAS, One existing program designed to keep workers employed but ease the strains of an economic downturn and to speed economic recovery is the Short-Time Compensation (STC) Program, also known as worksharing; and

WHEREAS, The STC Program is a lay-off aversion program in which an employer, under a state-approved plan, reduces the hours for a group of workers, and these workers in turn receive a reduced unemployment benefit payment; and

WHEREAS, The STC Program would preserve employees' jobs and employers' trained workforces during a disruption to the firm's regular business activity by reducing hours of work for an entire group of affected employees, rather than by laying off some employees while others continue to work full time; and

WHEREAS, Research estimates the STC Program could prevent up to 124,000 COVID-19 related layoffs in the State, saving the State over $1 billion dollars in unemployment insurance payments; and

WHEREAS, In 2014, the General Assembly passed legislation authorizing the Department of Employment Security to establish by rule an STC Program, but such program was never established; and

WHEREAS, In the wake of the COVID-19 public health crisis, the federal government recognized the benefit and wide support for STC programs during economic downturns and included funding for state STC programs in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES Act); and

WHEREAS, The CARES Act provides appropriations to temporarily reimburse states for STC program payments under an existing or new STC program for weeks of unemployment ending on or before December 31, 2020; and

WHEREAS, The State could receive a grant of up to $4,187,442 to implement, administer, and promote enrollment in an Illinois STC Program; and

WHEREAS, The State should also be entitled to have as much as 100% of the monies paid to the workers of Illinois under the STC Program reimbursed by the federal government, while effectively easing burdens on employers and keeping individuals employed during these difficult times; therefore, be it

RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Department of Employment Security is urged to seek certification of Section 502 of the Illinois Unemployment Insurance Act from the Secretary of Labor under Section 303 of the Social Security Act and Section 3304 of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act and is urged to apply for the grants made available under Section 2110 of the CARES Act before December 31, 2023, in order to implement, administer, and promote the STC Program; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the Department of Employment Security is urged to immediately seek an agreement with the United States Department of Labor to enact the STC Program in accordance with Section 502 of the Illinois Unemployment Insurance Act, Section 2108 of the CARES Act, and any additional federal rules and regulations to obtain the maximum amount of federal monies available for such program and benefits; and be it further

RESOLVED, That the STC Program enacted by the Department of Employment Security should not provide benefits to any seasonal, temporary, or intermittent employee, as is required by federal law, and should not charge any employer for any claims that are 100% federally reimbursable; and be it further

RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be delivered to Governor JB Pritzker, Acting Director of the Department of Employment Security Thomas Chan, Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia, and all members of the Illinois Congressional Delegation.