GA Update: Weekly Executive and Legislative Session Recap and Related News

What’s happening across North Carolina state government? Here’s a recap of bill activity and how these bills may impact your business.

Last week, Gov. Cooper issued Executive Order 216: Reinstating Work Search Requirements for Unemployment Insurance Benefits. Under Executive Order 216, “all existing claimants of unemployment benefits will be required to fulfill work search requirements beginning June 6, 2021. All existing claimants will be required over the next several weeks to register with a jobseeker account on NCWorks.gov.” About 245,000 North Carolina residents are currently receiving unemployment benefits. Executive Order 216 aims to help transition unemployed claimants back to the workforce.

Additionally, the North Carolina Senate began discussing House Bill 128: An Act to Reemploy NC’s Workforce. House Bill 128 makes several changes to the unemployment laws of North Carolina, including a $300 signing bonus to unemployed claimants receiving benefits who accept reemployment. Additional return to work incentives would be payable as follows:

• A $1,500 bonus for accepting reemployment on or before June 1, 2021
• An $800 bonus for accepting reemployment on or before July 1, 2021

The bill is designed to get unemployed individuals back into the workforce. Millions of North Carolinians lost their jobs during the pandemic and heavily relied on unemployment benefits. However, as we are phasing out of the pandemic, local and state government are working to get North Carolinians employed.
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To learn more about our GA priorities, track legislative bills, or to read our blog posts, you can visit our webpage or follow us on Twitter @RcgaJ, @tierra_rcga, or @raleighchamber.