| OCR Text |
Show Utah Lav To Benefit Steady Worker Changes made in the Utah unemployment un-employment compensation law which are scheduled to go into effect ef-fect next month will benefit the steady worker, but will reduce the duration of benefits for the casual or seasonal worker or the worker work-er with questionable attachment to the labor force. This was the conclusion reached re-ached by Utah Foundation, the private, pri-vate, governmental research group, in their analysis of the changes in the unemployment compensation com-pensation law made by the 1959 Utah Legislature. The new law will raise the maximum benefit entitlement period per-iod 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 are normally employed em-ployed 36-12 or more weeks during dur-ing the year m will benefit by the changes, while those who are employed em-ployed less than 36 12 weeks will have their entitlement reduced by the new law. The increased benefit entitlement entitle-ment period, together with the new maximum benefit of $40 per week which is also scheduled to go into effect next month under Utah's open-end benefit formula, will provide pro-vide maximum benefits of $1,440 ($40 for 36 weeks) for the steady high paid worker. This compares with maximum potential benefits of $1,014 ($39 for twenty-six weeks) under Utah's present law. Foundation analysts point out that other changes made in the law will (1) encourage individuals to secure temporary or part-time employment, (2) reduce unemployment unemploy-ment benefits to persons with retirement re-tirement income,(3) permit unemployed unem-ployed workers to attend training courses in order to acquire new skills, and (4) eliminate some inequities in-equities in computing 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 rating, Last year (1958), the savings amounted am-ounted to $6,363,942, orl.41of the total wages subject to the unemployment unem-ployment compensation tax. According to the Foundation report, re-port, the respective states have thus far been able to retain control con-trol over the unemployment compensation program and prescribe pres-cribe their own standards over be-nefit be-nefit amounts and benefit entitlement entitle-ment periods, despite numerous attempts to Federalize the system. The report notes that the question ques-tion of Federal control over state unemployment systems is against an issue in the U. S. Congress. One proposal now under consider- ' ation would impose Federal standards stand-ards which would provide benefits considerably greater than those found in any state at the present time. For example, it would allow al-low the casual or intermittent employee to work 20 weeks and then be eligible for benefits during dur-ing the remaining 32 weeks of the year. |
