House OKs extended benefits for Farmland
Published 12:00 am Friday, April 12, 2002
A chance for displaced Farmland workers to receive extra unemployment benefits from the state is one step closer to being reality.
Friday, April 12, 2002
A chance for displaced Farmland workers to receive extra unemployment benefits from the state is one step closer to being reality.
The House passed an omnibus economic development bill that includes a 26-week extension of unemployment benefits for Farmland employees laid off from Farmland Foods in Albert Lea after a fire on July 8.
&uot;This is a priority for the session,&uot; said Rep. Dan Dorman, R-Albert Lea. &uot;Extending unemployment benefits to these workers is critical not only for their families but also for the future of Farmland Foods in Albert Lea.&uot;
The bill was pushed by a federal economic stimulus package enacted by President Bush last month that provides a 13-week extension. The 26-week provision in the House bill counts this federal aid, which means the state is basically paying for only 13 weeks.
According to the Minnesota Workforce Center, 200 ex-Farmland employees are still unemployed. To be eligible for the additional benefits from the state, the laid-off worker must be actively in or have completed an appropriate retraining program.
The legislation now heads to a conference committee with the Senate that has already passed a similar provision.
The bill would also extend an extra 13 weeks of benefits to people who lose their jobs in cuts of 500 or more workers, if they work in counties where unemployment is above the state average.
The bill would cost about $7 million, far less than a Senate version that extends extra benefits to workers statewide. It costs about $93 million.
The sponsor of the House bill, Rep. Dan McElroy, R-Burnsville, said the state can’t afford the larger bill. With eligibility tied to the state jobless rate, McElroy said workers in the metropolitan area, where unemployment is low, would not be able to get the extra benefits. But he added they’re less likely to need them because of the large job pool.
The Associated Press contributed to this report.