Related BLS programs | Related articles
Unemployment insurance legislation enacted 1998
Diana Runner
During fiscal year 1998, Federal legislation made only a few changes to the unemployment insurance (UI) program. Most notable was the enactment of the Workforce Investment Act (WIA) of 1998 (P.L. 105–220), which provides the framework for a unique national workforce preparation and employment system designed to meet both the needs of the Nation's businesses and the needs of jobseekers and those who want to further their careers. While the Act imposes no conforming requirements upon the UI program, it does affect the program. States wishing to receive funding under the Act must: (1) provide information regarding the filing of claims for benefits as part of the One-Stop delivery system, and (2) use wage record information to measure State and local performance in achieving program goals. In addition, WIA charges the U.S. Secretary of Labor with making arrangements, consistent with State law, to ensure that the wage records of any State are available to any other State to the extent that the wage records are needed for WIA purposes. Performance information at the local level will be available to WIA recipients to use as a decision-making tool when determining which training providers to use.
WIA also amended the Wagner-Peyser Act in two areas. First, WIA allows the equity accrued — or funds earned from that equity — by the Federal Government through funds provided under Titles III and IX of the Social Security Act and the Wagner-Peyser Act to be used to acquire further equity, or to pay operating and maintenance expenses to the extent that an equity property is used for WIA purposes. The Wagner-Peyser Act also was amended to establish an Employment Statistics system. The system will be planned, administered, overseen, and evaluated through a cooperative governance structure involving the States and the Federal Government. The amendment that establishes the Employment Statistics system becomes effective July 1, 1999. Other WIA provisions that affect the UI program may take effect July 1, 1999, and become mandatory on July 1, 2000.
This excerpt is from an article published in the January 1999 issue of the Monthly Labor Review. The full text of the article is available in Adobe Acrobat's Portable Document Format (PDF). See How to view a PDF file for more information.
Read abstract
Download full
article in PDF (83K)
Within Monthly Labor Review Online:
Welcome | Current
Issue | Index | Subscribe
| Archives
Exit Monthly Labor Review Online:
BLS Home | Publications & Research
Papers
