Letter to Joseph R. Biden, Jr. , President of The United States - Cortez Masto, Rosen Call for Changes to Pua to Help Unemployment Assistance Reach More Nevadans

Letter

Dear President Biden,
As your administration balances fighting the COVID-19 coronavirus with building our economy
back better at the same time, we are reaching out on behalf of Nevadans and the millions of
workers across America who have lost jobs as businesses slowed operations or closed to stop the
spread of COVID-19. Infections are surging again to record highs, making it unsafe for many
businesses to operate. Record unemployment in states like Nevada continues. As production
capacity and supply chains may limit the widespread distribution of the vaccine well into the
summer, the economic impact on workers in our state may persist for some time.
Over 10 million Americans remain out of work, and few industries are as hard hit as the travel,
hospitality, and entertainment industries that are vital to our state's economy. Nationwide, 3.9
million leisure and hospitality jobs have disappeared since February of last year. Another
498,000 hospitality jobs were lost in the last month of 2020 alone. Unemployment is particularly
acute for Black Americans at 9.9 percent, and it increased for Hispanic Americans in December
to 9.3 percent.1
To date, Nevada's unemployment rate stands at 10.12
percent, nearly twice the
national rate and tied for second highest in the nation.3
The Las Vegas metro area is currently
experiencing the highest unemployment rate of any metro area in the nation at 11.5 percent.4
Unemployment claims increased5
in December, with 142,0006
Nevadans exhausting their
benefits before Congress extended federal unemployment assistance through March 14, 2021. As
1
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, "the Employment Situation -- December 2020," available at
https://www.bls.gov/news.release/pdf/empsit.pdf
2
Nevada Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation, "Nevada Labor Market Information," available
at http://nevadaworkforce.com/
3
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Unemployment Rates for States," available at
https://www.bls.gov/web/laus/laumstrk.htm
4
U.S. Department of Labor, Bureau of Labor Statistics, "Unemployment Rates for Large Metropolitan Areas,"
available at https://www.bls.gov/web/metro/laulrgma.htm
5
Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation, "DETR update on extensions to unemployment
programs -- January 7, 2021," available at https://cms.detr.nv.gov/Content/Media/Ext_Fed_%20Prog_%20final
%20pr.pdf
6
Nevada Office of the Governor, "12.13 Governor's Remarks", available at
https://gov.nv.gov/uploadedFiles/govnewnvgov/Content/News/PR/20_attachments/2020-12-
13_GOV_REMARKS_final.pdf.
you stated on January 9, 2020, "the jobs report is a pandemic report," underscoring the need for
relief for working families and business to extend for the duration of this crisis.7
The CARES Act created a critical lifeline through expanded unemployment benefits and the
creation of Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) to ensure that workers not eligible for
traditional unemployment benefits could receive support. We joined our colleagues in voting to
extend these crucial programs through March of 2021 because relief is vital for as long as the
pandemic threatens working families' health and economic well-being. However, simply
extending benefits is not enough. As we look to provide additional relief, we have an opportunity
to adopt systemic changes to ensure that state unemployment agencies can respond to the
heightened demand for assistance and prepare for future economic downturns.
On August 6, 2020, Nevada Governor Steve Sisolak ordered8
the creation of a strike force led by
former Speaker of the Nevada Assembly, Barbara Buckley, to oversee and assist Nevada's
Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation (DETR) with the backlog of
unemployment applications and appeals. Governor Sisolak also charged the strike force with
identifying solutions to ensure timely response, assessment, coverage, and resolution of disputes.
After consultation with the Strike Force and DETR Director Elisa Cafferata, we submit the
following recommendations to ensure efficient, timely, and streamlined access to unemployment
insurance benefits and CARES Act programs:
1. Extend unemployment benefits for as long as necessary. We are pleased that the FDA
approved multiple vaccines with promising results on an emergency basis to help defeat
the COVID-19 coronavirus. It will take time, however, to distribute the vaccines to
enough people to stop the spread of the virus and allow economies such as Nevada's to
return to full employment. While we proudly voted to extend unemployment assistance
until March of 2021, it is vital that Congress extend, with your support, the CARES Act
unemployment programs as long as necessary to cover workers in particularly hard-hit
industries and states with relatively high record unemployment rates, like Nevada.
2. Allow unemployed individuals with a hybrid income history that includes a
combination of wage and self-employment income to claim PUA rather than regular
state unemployment compensation, if their self-employment income is greater and clearly
the principal source of their overall income. Currently, if individuals have earned enough
income from wages to qualify for regular unemployment benefits, they do not qualify for
PUA even if their self-employment income is substantially more than what they earned as
a wage employee. Increasingly, as the gig economy expanded, many individuals worked
short-term or part-time wage jobs to supplement a substantial self-employment income.
The program's current design shortchanges these earners. Through August 2020, at least
7
President-Elect Joe Biden, "The Jobs Report is a Pandemic Report," Associated Press, available at
https://www.nytimes.com/video/us/politics/100000007542794/biden-economy-pandemic.html
8
Nevada Office of the Governor, "Gov. Sisolak signs unemployment insurance legislation, announces concerted
efforts to address backlog of claims", available at
https://gov.nv.gov/News/Press/2020/Gov__Sisolak_signs_unemployment_insurance_legislation,_announces_concer
ted_efforts_to_address_backlog_of_claims/.
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42,8869
applicants for PUA in Nevada also had unemployment eligibility that made them
ineligible for PUA. Congress intended PUA to replace income for workers who cannot
work through no fault of their own and who ordinarily are not eligible for traditional
unemployment insurance. Congress did not intend to leave a gap that denies incomereplacing benefits to a category of workers only barely eligible for traditional
unemployment insurance. The most recent COVID relief package signed into law in
December 2020 added an additional $100 benefit for these workers. While we supported
the minor fix, it would be more equitable and administratively feasible to give state
unemployment agencies discretion to allow applicants to select a temporary
unemployment program.
3. Eliminate quarterly change determination requirement for eligibility. Currently,
states must determine at the beginning of each quarter if an individual receiving PUA
qualifies for traditional unemployment insurance. If individuals can establish a new
benefit, they are no longer eligible for PUA. Additionally, if a state uses an alternate base
period, that must be used for PUA determinations. This change creates chaos, additional
work, and further delay in benefits. In Nevada, if a claimant is ineligible under the
standard base period (the first four of the last five quarters), the alternate base period10
allows wages paid in the most recently completed calendar quarter to be the basis for
determining the entitlement amount. Again, this shortchanges workers who lost work in
the last year due to COVID. Eligibility for traditional unemployment benefits in 2021
will be determined using base periods beginning after widespread shutdowns took effect
last year, which means that workers who need aid the most will become ineligible or
suffer a reduced benefit. This makes little sense for a temporary program intended to help
independent contractors, and it penalizes workers and businesses who made responsible
decisions. This requirement should be eliminated for PUA benefits.
4. Waive requirements under certain circumstances for individuals who received
overpayments of benefits. Many states overpaid individuals in error and then required
those workers to repay the state unemployment agency or see future unemployment
benefits reduced. Unexpected repayments or reduced benefits worsen the financial
burden on the unemployed. State agencies previously had no discretion to waive recovery
of overpayments under PUA. We believe that under certain circumstances states should
have the discretion to waive overpayments for temporary CARES Act unemployment
programs, when in their judgment the overpayment was solely the result of agency error
and not fraud or misrepresentation by the recipient. While Congress included a fix in
recent bipartisan legislation, this targeted waiver must continue throughout any future
extensions related to the pandemic. We hope the Biden-Harris administration will support
this policy.
9 Barbara Buckley, Chair of Unemployment Rapid Response Strike Force, December 16, 2020.
10 Department of Employment, Training, and Rehabilitation, "What's New in UI Tax", available at
http://ui.nv.gov/ESSHTML/whats_new.htm#:~:text=Alternate%20Base%20Period%3A&text=A%20standard
%20base%20period%20for,last%20five%20completed%20calendar%20quarters.
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5. Extend interest payment waivers on federal advances to states to pay unemployment
benefits. States need an extension of Section 4103 of the Families First Coronavirus Act,
which provided interest-free loans to help pay unemployment insurance benefits. Given
the continued economic stress and demands on states, Congress extended the moratorium
in the most recent COVID package signed into law on December 27, 2020. We hope your
Administration will support additional extensions as necessary until the economic crisis
acutely affecting our state is resolved.
6. Extend full federal funding of extended benefits throughout the crisis. The
Administration should work with Congress to extend full federal financing for extended
unemployment benefits through the end of this crisis. While Congress extended full
federal funding through March 2021, particularly hard hit states like Nevada likely will
need the additional support for some time.
We urge you to support these policies to provide desperately needed relief to individuals and
families affected most by the economic fallout of this pandemic, as well as provide state
unemployment agencies the means and resources to meet the unprecedented need. It is vital to
extend temporary unemployment benefits so that working families can weather this pandemic
and the country can emerge stronger and more resilient. We hope that the federal government
adopts extensions and other policies swiftly to allow state agencies time to implement changes
and prevent further delays. We look forward to working with the incoming Administration to get
Americans the relief they need to provide for their families and ensure a swift and safe recovery.
Sincerely,

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