Employee benefits
FILE - This undated file photo provided by NerdWallet shows Liz Weston, a columnist for the personal finance website. (NerdWallet via AP, File)
Liz Weston: Financial vital signs to monitor right now

By Liz Weston Of Nerdwallet Jun. 28, 2021 07:06 AM EDT

FILE - In this Jan. 5, 2021, file photo, Cedars-Sinai Medical Center workers walk outside the hospital, in Los Angeles. The California Senate has rejected a bill aimed at making it easier for some hospital workers to get workers compensation benefits. (AP Photo/Chris Pizzello,File)
California Senate rejects workers compensation proposal

By Adam Beam Jun. 03, 2021 08:16 PM EDT

FILE - In this May 20, 2020, file photo, residents cheer and hold thank you signs to greet employees of a Smithfield pork processing plant as they begin their shift in Sioux Falls, S.D. Workers at the South Dakota meatpacking plant that became a coronavirus hotspot last year are considering a strike after contract negotiations between Smithfield Foods and the union have stalled, the union said Wednesday, June 2, 2021. (AP Photo/Stephen Groves, File)
Union considers strike at meat plant that was virus hotspot

By Stephen Groves Jun. 02, 2021 04:57 PM EDT

Postal workers plead guilty to California unemployment fraud

May. 24, 2021 07:07 PM EDT
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two U.S. Postal Service employees pleaded guilty Monday to charges they purchased postal money orders with thousands of dollars in...

FILE - In this Sept. 12, 2019, file photo, then-New Mexico Workforce Solutions Secretary Bill McCamley listens to questions about wage theft complaints during a news conference in Albuquerque, N.M. New Mexico probably overpaid unemployment insurance benefits by an estimated $250 million during the coronavirus pandemic amid a backlog of investigations into potentially fraudulent claims, the budget and accountability office of the Legislature announced Wednesday, May 19, 2021, in a research report. The revelations arrive amid turbulence at the Workforce Solutions Department, where McCamley departed as agency secretary a month ago and a review is underway of inflated tax rates on employers for unemployment insurance. (AP Photo/Susan Montoya Bryan, File)
Ex-labor official says safety threats prompted resignation

May. 20, 2021 07:22 PM EDT

Audit: $6.2 million improperly went to the incarcerated

By Kevin Mcgill May. 03, 2021 03:05 PM EDT
NEW ORLEANS (AP) — Louisiana has paid roughly $6.2 million in improper unemployment benefits to nearly 1,200 people locked up in jails or prisons, the state...

Union sends strike notices to 33 Connecticut nursing homes

Apr. 30, 2021 07:22 PM EDT
HARTFORD, Conn. (AP) — Thirty-three Connecticut nursing homes received notifications on Friday that their unionized workers are ready to strike on May 14 if...

State schedules 10 virtual job fairs after benefits change

Apr. 28, 2021 01:05 PM EDT
CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — The state of New Hampshire has scheduled 10 virtual job fairs during May. Starting May 23, New Hampshire is once...

Job search rule for unemployment benefits returning in June

Apr. 20, 2021 11:09 AM EDT
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Jobless workers collecting unemployment benefits will be required to report looking for work beginning in early June, the Virginia...

Audit: Unemployment fraud likely higher than $647 million

By Rachel La Corte Apr. 13, 2021 02:55 PM EDT
OLYMPIA, Wash. (AP) — The amount of fraudulent payments of unemployment benefits distributed in Washington state during the height of the coronavirus pandemic...

Nebraska advances unemployment benefit for family caregivers

Apr. 06, 2021 05:19 PM EDT
LINCOLN, Neb. (AP) — Nebraska residents who stop working temporarily to care for a family member with a serious health condition could claim unemployment...

FILE - In this Tuesday, Feb. 9, 2021, file photo, Michael Foster of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union holds a sign outside an Amazon facility where labor is trying to organize workers in Bessemer, Ala. Nearly 6,000 Amazon warehouse workers in Bessemer are deciding whether they want to form a union, the biggest labor push in the online shopping giant's history. Mail-in voting started in early February. Ballots must be received by the end of Monday March 29, 2021. The National Labor Relations Board starts counting votes the next day. (AP Photo/Jay Reeves, File)
EXPLAINER: What to know about the Amazon union vote

By Joseph Pisani Mar. 29, 2021 10:09 AM EDT

Work requirement reinstated for SC unemployment benefits

Mar. 26, 2021 12:25 PM EDT
COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) — Starting next month, unemployed South Carolinians will have to prove they are looking for work if they want to keep receiving jobless...

FILE - In this May 7, 2020, file photo, the entrance to the Labor Department is seen near the Capitol in Washington. Unemployment fraud in the U.S. has reached dramatic levels during the pandemic: more than $63 billion has been paid out improperly through fraud or errors since March 2020. Criminals are seizing on the opportunity created by the pandemic and are making false claims using stolen information. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)
What to do if you are a victim of unemployment fraud

By Sarah Skidmore Sell Mar. 15, 2021 09:03 AM EDT

2 postal workers linked to California unemployment fraud

Mar. 10, 2021 06:02 PM EST
LOS ANGELES (AP) — Two U.S. Postal Service employees were arrested Wednesday on charges that they abused their positions to purchase postal money orders with...

FILE - In this Monday, Oct. 7, 2019, file photo, Colorado Attorney General Phil Weiser speaks during a news conference in Denver. Colorado Attorney General Weiser announced a statewide campaign Thursday, March 4, 2021, to identify and prosecute persons responsible for an estimated 1 million-plus fraudulent claims for unemployment benefits during the coronavirus pandemic. (AP Photo/David Zalubowski, File)
Colorado AG, state launch task force on unemployment fraud

Mar. 04, 2021 11:52 AM EST

The budget bill, HB1800 was approved by a vote of 29-10 during the floor session of the Virginia Senate, which is meeting inside the Science Museum of Virginia in Richmond, Va., Saturday, Feb. 27, 2021. (Bob Brown/Richmond Times-Dispatch via AP)
Virginia lawmakers wind down this year's session

By Sarah Rankin And Denise Lavoie Feb. 27, 2021 11:49 PM EST

Kentucky Gov. Andy Beshear provides an update on the COVID-19 pandemic in the state during a media conference at the Kentucky state Capitol in Frankfort, Ky., on Thursday, Jan. 21, 2021. (Ryan C. Hermens/Lexington Herald-Leader via AP)
Senate OKs bill giving relief to some jobless aid recipients

By Bruce Schreiner Feb. 26, 2021 04:49 PM EST

House votes to raise Arizona's low unemployment pay

By Bob Christie Feb. 24, 2021 08:16 PM EST
PHOENIX (AP) — The Arizona House voted Wednesday to raise Arizona's super-low $240 maximum weekly unemployment benefit to $300 at the start of 2022 and impose...

Bills that help first responders hit by COVID-19 advance

By Sam Fowler Of Capital News Service Feb. 19, 2021 05:32 PM EST
RICHMOND, Va. (AP) — Virginia lawmakers have passed bills that allow certain first responders to file workers’ compensation benefits for being disabled from...