FGGAM NEWS just received this news release from the New Mexico GOP House
New Mexico House Republicans Call on Governor to Rescind Federal Unemployment Benefit and Create a New Return-to-Work Bonus
Santa Fe, NM – Today, the House Republican Leadership wrote to Governor Michelle Lujan Grisham requesting that her Administration rescind the supplemental $300 per week federal unemployment benefit and create a new $1,200 return-to-work bonus as an incentive to encourage New Mexicans to reenter the workforce.
Employers across the state are finding it difficult to find new employees, and many of these businesses believe the current labor shortage is due to the $300 per week extra unemployment benefit. While the extra $300 per week federal benefit served a useful purpose during the pandemic when New Mexico’s small businesses and other employers were laying off employees, now that the state’s economy is almost completely reopened and hiring has returned to normal, this extra unemployment benefit is acting as a disincentive for workers to take jobs, and are hindering the state’s economic recovery from the pandemic‘s economic shutdowns.
The House Republican Leadership team are pushing this return-to-work incentive after hearing yesterday of the administrative failings at the Department of Workforce Solutions (DWS) during a Legislative Finance Committee (LFC) hearing. LFC’s staff estimated DWS has overpaid $250 million in unemployment benefits. This mismanagement coupled with the department’s inability to handle the number of unemployment claims proves it is time for the state to redirect efforts to getting New Mexicans back to work.
To date, more than 21 states have announced intentions to rescind this extra federal unemployment benefit sometime this summer to help address labor shortages in their states. Three states (Montana, Arizona, and Oklahoma) have also announced the creation of a return-to-work bonus to provide a positive incentive for workers to take unfilled jobs. These bonuses would typically be paid to formerly unemployed workers who have been at a new job for at least a month.
“Now is the perfect time to eliminate this disincentive for people to get back to work as there are thousands of jobs across New Mexico that are going unfilled,” said Republican Floor Leader Townsend (R-Artesia). “Employers want and need new employees to get their businesses back open completely, and eliminating this extra benefit while at the same time creating a new return-to-work bonus should make a huge difference in getting our economy back on stable ground.”
