By Steven Allen Adams, The Parkersburg News and Sentinel
CHARLESTON, W.Va. — For a third time since 2022, Republican members of the West Virginia Senate are pushing a change to tie the number of weeks of unemployment benefits to the unemployment rate while two major employers have announced layoffs.
The Senate approved motions Monday to place two bills on first reading, ensuring the bills make it to third reading in time for the Crossover Day deadline Wednesday: Senate Bill 840, modifying unemployment benefits; and Senate Bill 841, setting the amount of unemployment benefit taxes and benefits.
SB 840 would tie the number of weeks of available unemployment benefits to the seasonally adjusted unemployment rate, reducing the current number of maximum weeks of benefits from 26 weeks to 20 weeks if the unemployment rate is higher than 9%. The number of weeks of unemployment benefits would continue to reduce, with the maximum number of weeks of benefits dropping to 12 weeks when the unemployment rate is less than 5.5%.
SB 840 would also make changes to the kinds of activities required to remain eligible for unemployment benefits, such as conducting four out of a possible 10 work search activities. The bill also reduces the amount of the weekly benefit, which is based on a percentage of the person’s average weekly wage and sets a $550 cap on weekly benefits.
SB 841, a companion bill to SB 840, makes changes to state employment taxes and benefits and modifies the calculation for the taxable base wage. Both bills, which would go into effect until 2025 if passed and signed into law – were recommended for passage Saturday by the Senate Finance Committee.