Full Text of SR1190 101st General Assembly
SR1190 101ST GENERAL ASSEMBLY |
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| 1 | | SENATE RESOLUTION
| 2 | | WHEREAS, The spread of COVID-19 has caused a massive | 3 | | disruption to the global, national, and local economies, | 4 | | resulting in unprecedented job loss and an increase in | 5 | | unemployment insurance claims; and
| 6 | | WHEREAS, Job losses carry a high price for individuals and | 7 | | the economy at large, which includes workers having less or no | 8 | | income to support their families, workers losing access to | 9 | | health insurance, paid leave, and other employment benefits, | 10 | | and employers having to spend valuable time and money when they | 11 | | rebuild their workforce in the future; and
| 12 | | WHEREAS, One existing program designed to keep workers | 13 | | employed but ease the strains of an economic downturn and to | 14 | | speed economic recovery is the Short-Time Compensation (STC) | 15 | | Program, also known as worksharing; and
| 16 | | WHEREAS, The STC Program is a lay-off aversion program in | 17 | | which an employer, under a state-approved plan, reduces the | 18 | | hours for a group of workers, and these workers in turn receive | 19 | | a reduced unemployment benefit payment; and | 20 | | WHEREAS, The STC Program would preserve employees' jobs and | 21 | | employers' trained workforces during a disruption to the firm's |
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| 1 | | regular business activity by reducing hours of work for an | 2 | | entire group of affected employees, rather than by laying off | 3 | | some employees while others continue to work full time; and | 4 | | WHEREAS, Research estimates the STC Program could prevent | 5 | | up to 124,000 COVID-19 related layoffs in the State, saving the | 6 | | State over $1 billion dollars in unemployment insurance | 7 | | payments; and | 8 | | WHEREAS, In 2014, the General Assembly passed legislation | 9 | | authorizing the Department of Employment Security to establish | 10 | | by rule an STC Program, but such program was never established; | 11 | | and | 12 | | WHEREAS, In the wake of the COVID-19 public health crisis, | 13 | | the federal government recognized the benefit and wide support | 14 | | for STC programs during economic downturns and included funding | 15 | | for state STC programs in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and | 16 | | Economic Security Act (CARES Act); and | 17 | | WHEREAS, The CARES Act provides appropriations to | 18 | | temporarily reimburse states for STC program payments under an | 19 | | existing or new STC program for weeks of unemployment ending on | 20 | | or before December 31, 2020; and
| 21 | | WHEREAS, The State could receive a grant of up to |
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| 1 | | $4,187,442 to implement, administer, and promote enrollment in | 2 | | an Illinois STC Program; and
| 3 | | WHEREAS, The State should also be entitled to have as much | 4 | | as 100% of the monies paid to the workers of Illinois under the | 5 | | STC Program reimbursed by the federal government, while | 6 | | effectively easing burdens on employers and keeping | 7 | | individuals employed during these difficult times; therefore, | 8 | | be it
| 9 | | RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL | 10 | | ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Department of | 11 | | Employment Security is urged to seek certification of Section | 12 | | 502 of the Illinois Unemployment Insurance Act from the | 13 | | Secretary of Labor under Section 303 of the Social Security Act | 14 | | and Section 3304 of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act and is | 15 | | urged to apply for the grants made available under Section 2110 | 16 | | of the CARES Act before December 31, 2023, in order to | 17 | | implement, administer, and promote the STC Program; and be it | 18 | | further | 19 | | RESOLVED, That the Department of Employment Security is | 20 | | urged to immediately seek an agreement with the United States | 21 | | Department of Labor to enact the STC Program in accordance with | 22 | | Section 502 of the Illinois Unemployment Insurance Act, Section | 23 | | 2108 of the CARES Act, and any additional federal rules and |
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| 1 | | regulations to obtain the maximum amount of federal monies | 2 | | available for such program and benefits; and be it further | 3 | | RESOLVED, That the STC Program enacted by the Department of | 4 | | Employment Security should not provide benefits to any | 5 | | seasonal, temporary, or intermittent employee, as is required | 6 | | by federal law, and should not charge any employer for any | 7 | | claims that are 100% federally reimbursable; and be it further
| 8 | | RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be | 9 | | delivered to Governor JB Pritzker, Acting Director of the | 10 | | Department of Employment Security Thomas Chan, Secretary of | 11 | | Labor Eugene Scalia, and all members of the Illinois | 12 | | Congressional Delegation.
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