Lamont Supports End Of $600 Federal Unemployment Benefit In July
CONNECTICUT — Gov. Ned Lamont said he was in favor of ending the $600 federal unemployment supplement come the end of July, but that the federal government should direct funds elsewhere.
“What I said was rather than a $600 true up what I really would appreciate is them making a grant to our unemployment compensation fund,” he said during a Thursday news conference when asked about his previous comments on ending the federal supplement.
Making a grant to states would allow states to keep their unemployment insurance taxes low, he said.
“We’re urging everybody to get back to work,” Lamont said. “You’ve got another month, now’s the time to plan.”
Some low-wage workers have made more on unemployment than working. An analysis at the University of Chicago found that two-thirds of unemployment eligible workers were making more on unemployment than working and one-fifth of workers were making at least double.
Some businesses have reported that it is difficult to convince employees to come back to work.
Lamont also said federal lawmakers should seriously consider a $450 back-to-work stipend which is being talked about in Congress.
State Sen. Matt Lesser (D-Middletown) disagreed with Lamont’s assessment.
“With respect, the Governor is dead wrong on this,” Lesser tweeted. “The $600 a week has been a lifeline not just for families across the state - but for our economy as a whole. Our economy is hurting because of a global pandemic, not because people don’t want to work.”
Lamont also said the state should be generous in giving people workman’s compensation if they contract the coronavirus at work and that he would like to see the state “err on the side of generosity.”
The issue was the subject of a Thursday joint hearing of the Labor and Public Employees and Insurance and Real Estate committees. During the hearing some workers shared their stories about being denied workman’s compensation claims after they contracted the virus despite them working in jobs that put them at high risk of getting sick, according to CT News Junkie.
Juneteenth state holiday? Maybe, Lamont says
Lamont said he is open to looking at whether to make Juneteenth a state holiday. The holiday commemorates the ending of slavery in the U.S. and has its roots in Texas where Union Maj. Gen Gordon Granger read an order informing people in Texas that slavery had ended, according to PBS.
“Are we losing a day of work, we’ve got Martin Luther King Day,” Lamont said. “But really given George Floyd we know this is a special time to pay attention to racial justice.”
Lt. Gov. Susan Bysiewicz suggested looking at swapping Columbus Day with Juneteenth.
This article originally appeared on the Across Connecticut Patch
