SENATE BILL REPORT

SB 5393

BYSenators Tanner, Warnke, Lee, Smitherman, Williams, Talmadge, Wojahn, Rasmussen and Moore;by request of Joint Select Committee on Unemployment Insurance and Compensation

Making older unemployed workers and the long-term unemployed the highest priority for services available from the job service program of the employment security department.

Senate Committee on Commerce & Labor

Senate Hearing Date(s):February 2, 1987; February 20, 1987

Majority Report:  That Substitute Senate Bill No. 5393 be substituted therefor, and the substitute bill do pass.

      Signed by Senators Warnke, Chairman; Smitherman, Vice Chairman; Tanner, Vognild, Williams, Wojahn.

Senate Staff:Mark McDermott (786-7429)

                  February 23, 1987

AS REPORTED BY COMMITTEE ON COMMERCE & LABOR, FEBRUARY 20, 1987

BACKGROUND:

Research for the Joint Select Committee on Unemployment Insurance and Compensation indicates that older workers, ages 50 and over, and the long-term unemployed experience great difficulty in finding new jobs at wages comparable to their pre- layoff earnings.  Two years after a layoff, older workers earned less than 65 percent of their pre-layoff earnings compared to 91 percent for workers ages 25 to 49.  The long-term unemployed earned less than 70 percent of their pre-layoff earnings two years later compared to 93 percent for workers who drew benefits for 6-15 weeks.

Older workers and the long-term unemployed have much higher rates of failure to find subsequent unemployment insurance covered employment relative to other demographic groups.  Over 12 percent of older workers and 14 percent of the long-term unemployed had no subsequent unemployment insurance covered employment after a layoff.

SUMMARY:

Older workers, ages 50 and over, and the long-term unemployed who have drawn at least 15 weeks of unemployment compensation benefits or who remain unemployed after exhausting their benefits shall be given the highest priority for services provided by the claimant placement project.

Each year the Employment Security Department shall produce an annual report which analyzes the re-employment experiences of the unemployed.  The report shall include:  (1) demographic groups with the greatest difficulty in finding employment with earnings comparable to their last job; (2) demographic groups with the highest rate of failure to find subsequent unemployment insurance covered work; and (3) demographic, industry and employment characteristics of those persons most likely to exhaust unemployment compensation benefits.

The Employment Security Department shall continue to fund the combined wage and benefit history data base at a level necessary to produce the annual report on the unemployed.

EFFECT OF PROPOSED SUBSTITUTE:

The definition of long-term unemployed is modified.

Clarifying language is used to indicate that re-employment services to older workers and the long-term unemployed shall start as soon as they file an initial unemployment compensation claim.

The annual study of the unemployed shall include an analysis of locked out workers who draw unemployment compensation benefit under RCW 50.20.090.

Fiscal Note:      requested

Senate Committee - Testified: Graeme Sakrisen, Employment Security