Good morning, Chairman Merrin, Ranking Member Rogers and members of the committee. My name is Zach Schiller and I am research director of Policy Matters Ohio, a nonprofit, nonpartisan organization with the mission of creating a more prosperous, equitable, sustainable and inclusive Ohio. Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Organization says policymakers should prioritize provision of benefits Decisions made by state policymakers have contributed to the problems many Ohioans are experiencing accessing unemployment compensation (UC) benefits, but now policymakers can take steps to make benefits more accessible, Policy Matters Ohio Research Director Zach Schiller said in written testimony to
A voluntary program called Shared Work Ohio allows employers to avoid layoffs and workers to receive unemployment benefits proportionate to the time they don’t work. Working people keep their jobs and benefits, while employers retain their workers and avoid the need to hire and train new workers when demand recovers.
Little-used state law is seeing a mini-explosion in the pandemic A growing number of Ohio employers have discovered a tool to scale back operations while avoiding layoffs: Worksharing. Ohio’s shared work program allows employers to reduce employee hours by up to half. Workers then receive unemployment compensation proportionate to the
Ohio employers received notice last Friday that guidance on the state’s COVID-19 policy on refusal to return to work will be released this week. Policy Matters Ohio and the Ohio Poverty Law Center are concerned that a narrow policy that fails to spell out good cause exemptions will exclude many
Lag in setting up benefit system for jobless workers Many state governments have had trouble handling the tsunami of claims for unemployment benefits. In the last three weeks alone, 696,519 claims have been submitted in Ohio — nearly double the number all last year. Congress approved significant expansions of benefits
But JobsOhio should put off any awards, too The DeWine Administration has decided to delay action on $70 million in state loans to support the construction of a new headquarters for Sherwin-Williams Co. in downtown Cleveland and a research center in Brecksville. Policy Matters Ohio Research Director issued the following
Cleveland City Council is scheduled to vote tonight on an incentive package for Sherwin-Williams Co. worth a reported $100 million. While some of the incentives are dependent on jobs being created and a rise in property values, they include up to $13.5 million for a construction grant. Policy Matters Ohio
But further action needed to allow many restaurant workers to get benefits Governor Mike DeWine said yesterday he would issue an executive order making unemployment compensation system available to workers who have been quarantined by a medical professional and eliminating the week that laid-off workers usually need to wait to
Unemployment compensation (UC) is a crucial aid to families and communities. Policy Matters Ohio outlined in a brief today how workers, employers and policymakers all have steps they can take to make sure that this system provides a maximum of support. Author and research director Zach Schiller included these measures
Unemployment compensation (UC) is a crucial support to families and communities. With an unknown but possibly large threat to the economy looming in coronavirus, Ohio policymakers should broaden and reinforce UC so that Ohio workers, their families and neighborhoods can sustain themselves through hard times. Ohio’s unemployment compensation system provided
But stronger action on economic development programs needed Ohio Attorney General Dave Yost recommended this week that the state tighten up on its enforcement of economic development incentives when he delivered his mandated annual report on that topic. Yost found that many of those receiving state incentives failed to live
