Unemployment Benefits

A revamped law governing Pennsylvania unemployment benefits may come as a surprise to the newly laid off - severance payments above about $18,000 will offset unemployment benefits until the severance is used up. The law, which went into effect this year, will affect those being laid off this year, among them the hundreds of Sunoco Inc. employees who will lose their jobs when Sunoco mothballs its refineries in Marcus Hook and Philadelphia....

WASHINGTON - Fewer Americans applied for unemployment benefits last week, and builders broke ground on more homes in May. The latest data offered some hope that the economy may be improving after hitting a slump in late spring. Applications for unemployment benefits fell to a seasonally adjusted 414,000, the Labor Department said. It was the second drop in three weeks and a sign that layoffs are slowing. Still, applications have been above 400,000 for 10 straight weeks, evidence that the job market is weaker than it was earlier this year.

As controversy over her decision to apply for unemployment benefits continued, former School Superintendent Arlene C. Ackerman on Wednesday took a shot at Mayor Nutter for his criticism of her move. In an e-mail to The Inquirer, Ackerman noted that her separation agreement - which preserves her right to file for unemployment - "was approved by Mayor Nutter and made public. His outcry and that of others (including the media) of disbelief appears to me to be really disingenuous.

Senate Republicans in Harrisburg should be in a bigger hurry to extend unemployment benefits for thousands of out-of-work Pennsylvanians. The Democrat-controlled House approved seven more weeks of benefits for unemployed workers on July 7. The vote was 197-1; only one of the chamber's 99 GOP legislators voted against it. But the Republican-led Senate has been in no rush to act while families' benefits run out in this severe recession....

An official of the state Department of Labor and Industry ruled yesterday that an Aug. 6 work stoppage by 1,800 Philadelphia Gas Works employees was caused by a lockout by the city-owned utility. That ruling, by Jack F. Rudy of the department's Bureau of Unemployment Compensation, entitles the PGW workers to unemployment benefits. Joseph G. Given, president of the Gas Works Employees Union, Local 686, praised the decision as a victory for the workers. He estimated they were entitled to $600,000 in retroactive benefits dating to Aug. 14. Clifford Brenner, vice president for public affairs for PGW, said Rudy's decision would be appealed.

THEY MAY call it a 13-month extension of unemployment benefits, but for Pat McNamara, who's been jobless for nearly two years, the deal would buy her only a few extra weeks. The 61-year-old consumer-protection advocate - laid off from a City Hall job during a round of belt-tightening in early 2009 - expects to hit her 99-week limit of eligibility in March or April. In fact, she says she doesn't even want this compromise because the plan also would include tens of billions of dollars in tax cuts for millionaires but no money specifically targeting job creation.

CAVES: THEY'RE not just for spelunkers or spineless Beltway Democrats anymore. In a move that packed the political punch of a Rudolph-the-Red-nosed-Reindeer-ready blizzard, House Republicans caved in to an avalanche of pressure last night and agreed to extend both a payroll-tax holiday and unemployment benefits for the next two months. The conservative lawmakers, led by House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, collapsed under attack from everyone from President Obama to right-wing icons like Karl Rove and the Wall Street Journal editorial board.

The fund that pays Pennsylvania's unemployment benefits is running in the red, and lawmakers are grappling with how to remedy that. Compounding matters is that the state owes the federal government $3.87 billion it has borrowed to pay jobless claims because of the recession. There seems to be little disagreement about how to pay back the money: Legislators are likely to pass a bill that will allow the state to float a bond. "This is akin to refinancing your house," said Pennsylvania Secretary of Labor Julia Hearthway.

Q. Virginia Weisbach and Tina Dolan today respond to Frank Palermo's criticism (Jan. 22) of people who collect unemployment benefits. In what situations should workers be entitled to unemployment benefits? What other services would help people who lose their jobs? In what situations should workers not be entitled to benefits?

The fund that pays Pennsylvania's unemployment benefits is running in the red, and lawmakers are grappling with how to remedy that. Compounding matters is that the state owes the federal government $3.87 billion it has borrowed to pay jobless claims because of the recession. There seems to be little disagreement about how to pay back the money: Legislators are likely to pass a bill that will allow the state to float a bond. "This is akin to refinancing your house," said Pennsylvania Secretary of Labor Julia Hearthway.

NEW YORK - The stock market posted substantial gains Thursday as Greece closed in on a deal to restructure its debt and avoid a default. That overshadowed a small increase in unemployment claims last week. The Dow Jones industrial average closed up 70.61 points, or 0.55 percent, at 12,907.94. Two days of solid gains have erased about three-quarters of the loss from Tuesday, when the Dow fell 203 points, its biggest loss of the year. The close left the Dow up 97 percent on the eve of the third anniversary of its low point during the Great Recession.

WASHINGTON - Congress on Friday overwhelmingly approved extending a payroll-tax cut for 160 million workers through the end of the year, probably the biggest accomplishment lawmakers will be able to savor in 2012. The rare bipartisan agreement, which also provides jobless benefits to the long-term unemployed and preserves Medicare payment rates to physicians, came without the hostility that has scarred economic debates since President Obama took office in January 2009. The House voted 293-132 to approve the plan.

In the Region Delaware to see uptick in jobs Bank of America Corp. said Thursday that it would add more than 500 jobs during the next three years to its workforce in Delaware. Gov. Jack Markell said the bank's decision was a strong endorsement of the state's workforce and its commitment to middle-class careers supported by the financial industry. BofA executive David Darnell said state officials created an exceptional environment for the bank to do business. Bank of America also said it would donate one of its buildings in Wilmington to a new nonprofit group that aims to help charter schools in Delaware.

Democrats pitch 6-week benefit cut WASHINGTON - House-Senate negotiations on extending jobless benefits and a 2 percentage-point cut in the payroll tax - both of which expire at the end of February - remained stalled Thursday, despite a proposal in which Democrats urged a six-week cut in the maximum time unemployed workers can receive jobless benefits. Democrats rejected efforts by House conservatives to require beneficiaries to enroll in GED classes or permit states to require drug tests as conditions of getting unemployment benefits.

A revamped law governing Pennsylvania unemployment benefits may come as a surprise to the newly laid off - severance payments above about $18,000 will offset unemployment benefits until the severance is used up. The law, which went into effect this year, will affect those being laid off this year, among them the hundreds of Sunoco Inc. employees who will lose their jobs when Sunoco mothballs its refineries in Marcus Hook and Philadelphia....

WASHINGTON - The long-suffering job market is ending the year better off than it began. The number of people applying for unemployment benefits each week has dropped by 10 percent since January. The unemployment rate, 8.6 percent in November, is at its lowest level in nearly three years. Factory output is rising, business owners say that they're more optimistic about hiring and consumer confidence has jumped to its highest level since April. Even the beleaguered housing market is looking slightly better.

By Leonard Boasberg Trying to explain why his fellow House Republicans had surrendered on a temporary extension of a payroll-tax cut and of unemployment benefits just before Christmas, Speaker John Boehner said his caucus decided: "Why not do the right thing for the American people, even though it's not exactly what we want?" I don't know if he intended to put it quite that way. In any case, though, what is it that the Republicans want? On what grounds are they so desperate to protect the rich from paying their share?

The payroll-tax cut stalemate What was the problem passing the payroll-tax cut and extension of unemployment benefits for millions of Americans ("The pressure is on House GOP," Thursday)? The House, with its Republican majority, at first wouldn't pass the Senate plan, which would have covered the cost of the cut by raising taxes on those making a million or more a year. The Senate didn't pass the House plan, which would have allowed the tax cut and extension of unemployment benefits, along with the XL Keystone pipeline.

WASHINGTON - Here is how Philadelphia-area members of Congress voted on major issues last week. The Senate was not in session. Social Security tax cut. Voting 229-193, House Republicans on Tuesday rejected a Senate bill (HR 3630) to extend through February Social Security payroll-tax cuts, long-term unemployment benefits, and current Medicare reimbursement levels for doctors, all paid for by increases in fees charged by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac. The vote embraced a rival House version of the bill that would extend the three measures for one year and pay for them with cuts in domestic spending.