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Show UTAH FOUNDATION REPORT State Gives Break to Regular Worker In Social Security Payment Plan Changes made In the Utah unemployment compensation compensa-tion law which are scheduled to go Into effect next month will benefit the steady worker, but will reduce the duration dura-tion of benefits for the casual or seasonal worker or the worker with questionable attachment to the lobar force. This was the conclusion reached by Utah Foundation, the private, governmental re- search group, in their analysis of the changes In the unemployment unemploy-ment compensation law made by the 1959 Utah Legislature. The new law will raise the maximum benefit entitlement period from 26 to 36 weeks for the steady worker but will reduce the minimum period from 15 to 10 weeks for the seasonal or casual cas-ual worker who is actually in the labor market only during certain months of the year. In general, Individuals who normally are employed 36V4 or more weeks during the year will benefit by the changes, while those who are employed less than 364 weeks will have their entitlement reduced re-duced by the new law. Maximums and Mlnimums The Increased entitlement period, per-iod, together with new maximum! benefit of $40 per week which ls( also scheduled to go into effect next month under Utah's open- end benefit formula, will provide maximum benefits of $1,440 ($40 for 36 weeks) for the steady high-paid high-paid worker. This compares with maximum potential benefits of $1,014 ($39 for 26 weeks), under Utah's present law. Foundation analysts point out that other changes made in the law will (1) encourage Individ, uals to secure temporary or part-time part-time employment, (2) reduce unemployment un-employment benefits to persons with retirement Income, (3) permit per-mit unemployed workers to attend at-tend training courses in order to acquire new skills, and (4) eliminate elim-inate some inequities in computing com-puting employer's tax rates. The report states that Utah employers have realized total tax savings of more than $64 million between 1947 and 1958 ' because of the adoption of experience exper-ience rating. Last year (1958) the savings amounted to $6,363,-942, $6,363,-942, or 1.41 of the total wages subject to the unemployment compensation tax. Federal Control Threat According to the Foundation report, the respective states have thus far been able to retail control con-trol over the unemployment compensation program and prescribe pre-scribe their own standards over benefit amounts and benefit en. tltlement periods, despite numerous num-erous attempts to Federalize the systems. The report notes that the question ques-tion of Federal control over state unemployment systems Is again an issue in the U. S. Congress One proposal now under consideration consid-eration would Impose Federal standards which would provide benefits considerably greater than those found In any state at the present time. For example, it would allow the casual or intermittent employee to work 20 weeks and then be elig'.blj for benefits during the remaining 32 weeks of the year. The Foundation Founda-tion study observes that "a major ma-jor consideration In any change in unemployment benefit levels should be the effect that such benefit payments will have on the Incentive to seek and ac-icept ac-icept new emplyoment" |