Key Legislative Committee Reinstates Unemployment Benefits Search Requirements

The Republican-controlled Legislature’s Joint Committee for Review of Administrative Rules voted along party lines to suspend the Department of Workforce Development’s emergency rule that had waived work search requirements for individuals seeking unemployment benefits.

The rule was initially set to expire on July 10, but due to the committee’s action, the requirement that unemployment recipients make at least four work searches per week to receive benefits was fully restored as of May 23, 2021.