Beshear to unveil 'return to work' incentive for unemployed

Offer an incentive for going to work

(File Photo)

Gov. Andy Beshear plans to unveil a “bonus” incentive for Kentuckians receiving unemployment benefits to go back to work, taking a cue from other states that have created similar programs.

Beshear, a Democrat, faces pressure from Republicans and some employers to end federal jobless benefits in Kentucky — especially the $300 per week added to every unemployment payment — before they expire nationally on Sept. 6.

Beshear has resisted those calls, saying Kentuckians use the benefits to buy groceries and other necessities, which infuses $34 million a week in federal money into the state’s economy.

At the same time, “We’ve got to have people back in the workforce, and it can’t wait until September,” Beshear said.

“What we’re looking at is, bonuses upfront, or after a certain period of time, if you’re on pandemic unemployment (for) coming back into the workforce,” Beshear told WDRB News in an interview Friday. “We’ve seen some other states do it. We think that there’s some good things they’re doing, and some bad things they’re doing.”

Beshear said the details of the program would be finalized this week or next.

His office would not elaborate on how the program would work.

“The Governor and his administration continue to work with the business community to develop a program to incentivize Kentuckians to return to work while trying to minimize the loss of the $34 million in economic impact, particularly to retailers and grocers,” spokesman Sebastian Kitchen said in an email Wednesday. “The Governor will announce details once they are finalized.”

In Arizona, Republican Gov. Doug Ducey announced his state would stop taking the federal jobless benefits in July, instead offering up to $2,000 to people who stop claiming unemployment benefits and complete 10 weeks of work

In Connecticut, Democratic Gov. Ned Lamont is continuing the state’s participation in the federal benefits programs while also offering $1,000 for long-term unemployed people who complete eight consecutive weeks of fulltime work.

Business groups say a return-to-work incentive could help ease a “workforce shortage” that has companies offering their own short-term bonuses to lure new hires. Even so, they continue to call on Beshear to end the federal benefits.

Louisville’s chamber of commerce, Greater Louisville Inc., “supports all efforts to get our community back to work, including a return-to-work incentive, to aid in the transition back to the workforce,” CEO Sarah Davasher-Wisdom said in a statement.

But the group continues to “strongly urge the Beshear administration to opt out” of the $300 weekly supplement to unemployment checks.

The Kentucky Chamber of Commerce asked Beshear last month to eliminate the federal benefit that provides the additional $300 per week, saying a person who gets the average state benefit of $365 per week receives the equivalent of $17 per hour in jobless benefits.

“Employers are doing everything they can to meet rising demands with limited workforces, including increased pay, asking employees to work longer hours, and scaling back operations. It is a real and serious problem,” the organization wrote to Beshear.

Ashli Watts, CEO of the Kentucky Chamber, told WDRB News that the other federal programs – which allow people to receive benefits for an extended term and provide benefits to those who wouldn’t otherwise qualify, such as the self-employed – have outlived their usefulness.

“It is really time to get people back to work and that does mean phasing out some of those benefits,” she said.

Twenty-five states, all with Republican governors, have announced an early end to their participation in at least one of the federal jobless benefits programs before Sept. 6, according to CNBC.