Week 14 Update: Unemployment Insurance

ABI’s top public policy priority this session is workforce, and HF 2355 is legislation that will bolster Iowa’s workforce by transforming our unemployment insurance system into a re-employment system. The goal is to reform the state’s current unemployment system to help unemployed Iowans reenter the workforce faster. Another goal is to improve and ensure the Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund (UITF)’s solvency. The UITF is funded through taxes that Iowa employers pay. 

This bill accomplishes several things, including: minimizing the maximum amount of time an individual can be on unemployment to four months from the current six months, defines “misconduct,” and enhances suitable work requirements.

Three weeks ago, both chambers passed their respective versions of the bill – the Iowa House did not include a one-week waiting period in its bill, but the Iowa Senate did include that provision. Every state contiguous to Iowa requires a one-week waiting period, and this waiting period exists in 39 other states. The bill is now back in the House awaiting action.

This is a priority of Gov. Kim Reynolds and ABI is working to ensure that both chambers reach a compromise and send a final product to the Governor for her approval.