Jobless benefits linked to searches
More than 50,000 unemployed Tennesseans will be mailed letters this week notifying them of new requirements to search for work if they want to receive jobless benefits.
Under the new Unemployment Insurance Accountability Act of 2012, unemployed workers in Tennessee must maintain a work search log and prove they have searched for at least three jobs every week, starting in September, to receive unemployment insurance benefits. Failure to comply with the new law will result in a loss of benefits.
“The Accountability Act is aptly named as it raises the bar of accountability for those receiving unemployment benefits,” Tennessee Labor Commissioner Karla Davis said. “Documenting three work searches each week will require a small effort, but the consequences of not doing them are very serious.”
The state agency will conduct random audits of 1,000 claimants’ work search documentation each week to verify work search activity. If work search claims are found to be fraudulent, the department will stop a claimant’s benefits immediately and can suspend payments for eight weeks.
Those unemployed for more than six months have already had to prove they searched for at least two jobs a week since new federal rules took effect in January. Jeff Hentschel, communications director for the Tennessee Department of Labor and Workforce Development, said about 25 percent of those getting the extended federal jobless benefits failed to meet the job search requirements and have been dropped from the unemployment insurance program.