Maryland
Legislative Agenda for Women
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What You Can Do to Take Action on Legislation
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Unemployment Insurance
for Part-Time Workers Synopsis:
This bill makes part-time workers who are only
available to work part-time eligible
for unemployment insurance benefits when they lose their job through no fault of
their own. Committee(s): Senate
Finance and House
Economic Matters Lead Sponsor(s): The President (By Request -
Administration) and Senator
Delores Kelley,
(410) 841-3606 and
The Speaker (By Request - Administration) and
Delegate
Brian Feldman,
(410) 841-3186 Lead Group(s): Job
Opportunities Task Force, Melissa
Broome, Senior Policy Advocate, (410) 234-8046, melissa@jotf.org and Jason
Perkins-Cohen, Executive Director, (410) 234-8045, jason@jotf.org Background Information: Under
current law, Maryland requires all workers to seek full-time employment in order
to receive unemployment insurance benefits.
Many hardworking Marylanders, particularly women who must work part-time
because of family obligations, are excluded from the unemployment insurance
system because they are only available to work part-time.
Even though taxes are paid on these workers wages, they receive no
benefit when they are laid off. This
restriction is outdated, and was established in a time when many families relied
on one full-time breadwinner. As
stated by the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, “When workers looking
for a part-time job are denied unemployment insurance benefits, women are the
primary losers. Women comprise 42
percent of the full-time workforce, but are 67 percent of all part-time
workers.” If
enacted, Maryland will join 22 other states plus the District of Columbia and
Puerto Rico in providing benefits to part-time workers.
This will increase the economic security of Maryland women, and will help
ensure that hardworking families can meet their basic needs, such as housing,
transportation, food, and healthcare, when dealing with the sudden hardship of
job loss. Maryland’s unemployment
insurance system provides a critical safety net for workers forced to leave
their jobs involuntarily. During
these times of economic turmoil, it is more important than ever that part-time
workers have access to this safety net. The
2009 legislation will be identical to the 2008 bill.
It’s important to note that this legislation passed the Senate in 2008,
but failed after a tie vote in the House Economic Matters committee on the final
day of the legislative session. Equally
important is the fact that the 2008 legislation was supported not only by labor
unions and advocates for workers, but also by the Maryland Chamber of Commerce
and the Maryland Retailers Association. |
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