Gov. Jim Edgar signed into law a compromise extension of the state`s unemployment insurance act Tuesday, providing increased benefits to jobless workers and a cap on employer tax increases.
”This legislation is a result of compromise between labor and business. It is legislation in which everybody gave a little bit, but everybody would benefit,” Edgar said.
”This is one of the positive things to come out of the recent legislative session.”
The governor, still unhappy with a stagnant economy and a Democratic-produced budget plan for the current fiscal year, said the four-year pact was fair to workers and business alike.
Under the new law, which takes effect Jan. 1, unemployed workers would receive a 4.6 percent increase in weekly benefits, plus additional allowances for dependents.
The benefit increase, averaging about $12 for an unemployed worker, will cost about $233 million, Edgar said.
At the same time, the new law will cap increases in employer taxes, saving businesses an estimated $22.50 per employee, amounting to about $215 million in tax relief, the governor said.
Other provisions of the new law exempt newspapers from paying unemployment benefits for independent contractors they use and allow the state Department of Employment Security to use $9.2 million in administrative funds for employment and training programs.
