GOVERNOR JUSTICE: KEEP THE “SAFETY” IN OUR SAFETY NET

by Delegate Barbara Evans Fleischauer

Governor Justice decided in May not to continue the enhanced unemployment benefits
(UC) offered by the federal government. He believes that some are not seriously looking for
jobs, citing as proof, signs in windows about job openings and complaints from employers
having trouble hiring workers.

The change is scheduled to take place on June 19th instead of September, halting an
additional $300 per week to those receiving enhanced UC benefits. On that date, benefits for
self-employed or part-time workers will completely end, an extension of benefits for those whose
regular benefits have been exhausted will stop, and some workers with mixed earnings will no
longer receive an additional $100 benefit.

The Century Fund estimates the total economic impact of his decision will be a loss of
over $240 million in federal dollars that would have come to our state.

Governor Justice has a compassionate side to him. He said he had not heard from people
who were struggling. I urge him to gather more information. More than 40 people from around
the state emailed me to explain how the end of the UC enhanced benefits will affect them and
their families. Below is a sampling of their stories, many of which concern health and safety
issues, including child care during the summer months.

$ Aimee, a Monongalia County resident, said that she’d had a great job, but was laid off
when COVID caused her employer to put the business up for sale. She missed work a
couple of months after giving birth at the end of 2019; her child lived for one day. That
lost work time reduced the amount of compensation for which she would have been
eligible, without the enhancement, to only $39 per week. She lives in what she describes
as a junky trailer with no water with her boyfriend and 15-year-old son. Aimee is on
oxygen after COVID and can’t sleep from the stress of their situation.
$ Teresa from Fayette County was a contract writer, a position she’d held for four years
after putting herself through college, buying a home, and getting her 10 year old son
above the poverty level. She said she’d sent out more than 1,000 applications. When I
asked if she was sure about that number, she told me she was sure she’d sent out over 300
last spring and fall and that she’d kept pace this year. “I am not lazy,” she stated, and “I
am not unmotivated.”
$ Jonathan, who resides in Kanawha County lost his job at a research company that closed
for good because of COVID - over 80 lost their jobs. He cares for his step-father of 82,
who had triple by-pass surgery and his mother, who has COPD, and shares custody of
two children, one in middle school, another in college. His search for a job that would
allow scheduling flexibility to care for his family members has been fruitless to date. He
said he needed the enhanced benefits to “stay afloat” in a time of great financial
uncertainty.
$ Katrina, from Upshur County, stated that the only job appearing on the Workforce site in
her small hometown after her job was eliminated was a part-time cashier position.
 Without a full-time position paying above minimum wage, she would not be able to
cover child care for her daughter, who is autistic, or the cost of travel farther from home.
$ Tiffany, from Wyoming County, will have UC benefits of only $52 per week without the
additional enhancement. She has lost her car, her power, and her internet. She worries
that Child Protective Services will knock on her door because the children are without
food and her home is without power. She asks the Governor, “are me and my children
not worthy?”

According to the Century Foundation, there are 45,782 workers who will be affected by
the cut-off of enhanced benefits. Not all of them could be cheaters. If the enhanced benefits
continued, all would have to submit proof to workforce that they are applying for jobs. This
decision should be reversed, or at least some type of appeal process should be established for
worthy citizens like these. As Tiffany expressed so eloquently in her email: “Mr. Justice,
please find your heart, please find your compassion, and do what is right by the many West
Virginians who stood by you.”