Business Briefcase: Military spouses get jobless aid

Military spouses get jobless aid

Tennessee will begin paying jobless benefits to the spouses of those in the military if they quit their job to follow their spouse to a new job, state Labor Commissioner Karla Davis announced last week. In most cases, voluntarily quitting a job makes an applicant ineligible for unemployment benefits.

"This expansion of eligibility for unemployment is the right thing to do in supporting Tennessee's military families whom are often affected by military transfers," Davis said.

The benefit change was approved by the Legislature earlier this year at an anticipated cost of $278,000 to become available to claimants in July.

Tennessee is the 12th state to provide jobless benefits to spouses of those in the military who quit their jobs when his or her spouse is relocated.

"Tennessee is leding the way in showing how our military families should be treated," said state Sen. Tim Barnes, D-Adams, one of the sponsors of the legislation.


Haslam joins auto caucus

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam is joining with three other governors to create an auto causus to boost the industry.

Joining the Tennessee Republican as founding members of the National Governors Auto Caucus will be Govs. Jay Nixon, D-Mo.; and Pat Quinn, D-Ill. It will be open to all governors.

In a statement, they said the goal is to offer a forum for governors to discuss bipartisan, noncontroversial issues related to the industry and its 8 million jobs.

Tennessee Gov. Bill Haslam said last week that 40 percent of new manufacturing jobs in the state now are from the auto industry, with Nissan in Smynra and Volkswagen in Chattanoga as large employers.


Top 10 vehicles for the wealthy

One Volkswagen made the top 10 list of vehicles bought by Americans living in the wealthiest zip codes in the nation, according to TrueCar.com.

The VW Jetta made the list with a manufacturers suggested retail price of $26,085, the website said.

Half of the cars making the list were non-luxury brands and only two, the Mercedes-Benz E-Class and the BMW X5, sell for over $50,000, it said.

Others on the list are BMW 328, Mercedes-Benz C-Class, Lexus RX, Toyota Prius, Honda CR-V, Honda Accord, and Toyota Camry.

Upcoming Events