Newsletter Signup
Stay up to date on all the latest news from Boston.com
Mass. Senate Republicans want to pay the unemployed $1,200 to return to work
The payment would incentivize workers to secure jobs and remain in them, lawmakers say.
Related Stories
Massachusetts state Republican senators are behind a proposal to give $1,200 to jobless residents who land a new position and leave unemployment benefits in the next three months.
State Sen. Ryan Fattman, of Webster, submitted the amendment — one of 923 in total — to the $47.6 billion Senate budget for the coming fiscal year after hearing about employers’ struggles to attract employees, The Boston Herald reports.
“For several weeks, I’ve heard from employers in my district — whether they are restaurants or seasonal-type businesses like a drive-in movie theater, the trucking industry and others — that they are having trouble finding people to come back to work,” Fattman told the newspaper. “The number one hurdle is that wages are maybe a little more competitive or on par with unemployment benefits.”
Advertisement:
Since the beginning of the financial blow brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic, the federal government has provided additional, weekly unemployment assistance, first at an extra $600, and later at $300.
Fattman told the Herald the time has come to end the additional supports that “made a lot of sense back at the height of the pandemic.”
The “sign-on bonus” of up to $1,200 offered under Fattman’s budget amendment is aimed at incentivizing getting residents back to work and having them stay in those jobs, Fattman said.
Workers would receive $400 for getting a job by Sept. 4 and another $400 after providing proof of employment six months later. The final $400 would come one year after securing a job.
Advertisement:
According to the Herald, the proposal would be funded by some of the $5.3 billion in COVID-19 federal aid Massachusetts is receiving.
Retailers Association of Massachusetts President Jon Hurst told the Herald Fattman’s plan is a “terrific idea” but said lawmakers should use federal aid funding to address increases in unemployment taxes paid by small businesses that were brought on by the number of claims filed during the pandemic.
“The first cut in (American Rescue Plan) money has to be to roll back the $7 billion tax increase on employers because of a crisis that was not their fault,” Hurst said. “That should be the first priority.”
So far, the other two Republicans in the state Senate — Patrick O’Connor, of Weymouth, and Bruce Tarr, of Gloucester — have signed onto Fattman’s amendment. Democrats hold a supermajority in the chamber.
As of last month, the state’s unemployment rate hung at 6.5 percent.
What’s your take? Answer the Boston.com poll below, or email [email protected], and we’ll include your responses in a future article.
To comment, please create a screen name in your profile
To comment, please verify your email address
Conversation
This discussion has ended. Please join elsewhere on Boston.com