The Washington Post
President Barack Obama will include a new wage insurance program in his budget next month that would provide supplements to workers who lose their jobs and end up taking new jobs at lower salaries.
The president’s budget proposal will also include new protections for others who lose their jobs and training plans to help them get back to work quickly. The White House said Saturday that the wage insurance plan would replace half of a worker’s lost wages, up to $10,000 over two years, for those earning up to $50,000 a year.
“Displaced workers making less than $50,000 who were with their prior employer for at least three years would be able to leverage these resources to help them get back on their feet and on the way to (new careers),” the White House said in a statement.
Many economists have backed wage insurance.
The proposal would also require states to provide at least 26 weeks of unemployment insurance and expand coverage to include part-time and “intermittent” workers. Nine states currently provide less than 26 weeks of coverage, and one state, North Carolina, provides only 13 weeks.
