On Monday, the Senate Committee on Budget, Appropriations and Finance approved a bill that would shave more than two months off the maximum timeframe within which laid off workers can collect unemployment benefits, while increasing the time limit the government can claw back overpayments to benefit recipients.
Introduced by Senator Novelle Francis at the request of Governor Albert Bryan Jr., Bill 35-0218 “is intended to make significant reforms to the Unemployment Insurance Statute,” the lawmaker said.
Chief among them is reducing the number of weeks that a person can claim unemployment benefits from 26 to 16 weeks. Testifying in support of the measure was Department of Labor Commissioner Gary Molloy, who hastened to add that a “reduction in weeks does not mean a decrease in the actual amount of unemployment benefits received by claimants.”
“We’re not changing the amount that the claimant would be able to receive within that same time period,” Mr. Molloy clarified in response to a question from Senator Angel Bolques. “We recognize based on the cost of living and our inflation rates in the territory, that it would be pretty much shooting ourselves in the foot if we do that to our residents,” Mr. Molloy continued, reassuring lawmakers that claimants would get the full amount they are entitled to, just condensed into a shorter timeframe.