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SENATE RESOLUTION

 
2    WHEREAS, The spread of COVID-19 has caused a massive
3disruption to the global, national, and local economies,
4resulting in unprecedented job loss and an increase in
5unemployment insurance claims; and
 
6    WHEREAS, Job losses carry a high price for individuals and
7the economy at large, which includes workers having less or no
8income to support their families, workers losing access to
9health insurance, paid leave, and other employment benefits,
10and employers having to spend valuable time and money when they
11rebuild their workforce in the future; and
 
12    WHEREAS, One existing program designed to keep workers
13employed but ease the strains of an economic downturn and to
14speed economic recovery is the Short-Time Compensation (STC)
15Program, also known as worksharing; and
 
16    WHEREAS, The STC Program is a lay-off aversion program in
17which an employer, under a state-approved plan, reduces the
18hours for a group of workers, and these workers in turn receive
19a reduced unemployment benefit payment; and
 
20    WHEREAS, The STC Program would preserve employees' jobs and
21employers' trained workforces during a disruption to the firm's

 

 

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1regular business activity by reducing hours of work for an
2entire group of affected employees, rather than by laying off
3some employees while others continue to work full time; and
 
4    WHEREAS, Research estimates the STC Program could prevent
5up to 124,000 COVID-19 related layoffs in the State, saving the
6State over $1 billion dollars in unemployment insurance
7payments; and
 
8    WHEREAS, In 2014, the General Assembly passed legislation
9authorizing the Department of Employment Security to establish
10by rule an STC Program, but such program was never established;
11and
 
12    WHEREAS, In the wake of the COVID-19 public health crisis,
13the federal government recognized the benefit and wide support
14for STC programs during economic downturns and included funding
15for state STC programs in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and
16Economic Security Act (CARES Act); and
 
17    WHEREAS, The CARES Act provides appropriations to
18temporarily reimburse states for STC program payments under an
19existing or new STC program for weeks of unemployment ending on
20or before December 31, 2020; and
 
21    WHEREAS, The State could receive a grant of up to

 

 

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1$4,187,442 to implement, administer, and promote enrollment in
2an Illinois STC Program; and
 
3    WHEREAS, The State should also be entitled to have as much
4as 100% of the monies paid to the workers of Illinois under the
5STC Program reimbursed by the federal government, while
6effectively easing burdens on employers and keeping
7individuals employed during these difficult times; therefore,
8be it
 
9    RESOLVED, BY THE SENATE OF THE ONE HUNDRED FIRST GENERAL
10ASSEMBLY OF THE STATE OF ILLINOIS, that the Department of
11Employment Security is urged to seek certification of Section
12502 of the Illinois Unemployment Insurance Act from the
13Secretary of Labor under Section 303 of the Social Security Act
14and Section 3304 of the Federal Unemployment Tax Act and is
15urged to apply for the grants made available under Section 2110
16of the CARES Act before December 31, 2023, in order to
17implement, administer, and promote the STC Program; and be it
18further
 
19    RESOLVED, That the Department of Employment Security is
20urged to immediately seek an agreement with the United States
21Department of Labor to enact the STC Program in accordance with
22Section 502 of the Illinois Unemployment Insurance Act, Section
232108 of the CARES Act, and any additional federal rules and

 

 

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1regulations to obtain the maximum amount of federal monies
2available for such program and benefits; and be it further
 
3    RESOLVED, That the STC Program enacted by the Department of
4Employment Security should not provide benefits to any
5seasonal, temporary, or intermittent employee, as is required
6by federal law, and should not charge any employer for any
7claims that are 100% federally reimbursable; and be it further
 
8    RESOLVED, That suitable copies of this resolution be
9delivered to Governor JB Pritzker, Acting Director of the
10Department of Employment Security Thomas Chan, Secretary of
11Labor Eugene Scalia, and all members of the Illinois
12Congressional Delegation.