Representative Dallman Joins Colleagues to Push a Stronger Workforce

Madison, WI --- Today, State Representative Alex Dallman joined several of his Assembly colleagues in a press conference to announce a bill package that will work to address a stronger workforce.

Representative Dallman is the lead author of one of the bills, which would relate to the amount of benefits received under unemployment insurance. This bill would determine the maximum weeks of eligibility for individuals based upon the current unemployment rate. Benefit weeks would max out at 26, if the unemployment rate was over 9%. The amount of weeks would be reduced according to the table included in the bill all the way down to 14 weeks if unemployment levels reach 3.5%.

“I have talked with many businesses around my district and the incentive to get back to work is extremely low, yet the demand for workers is incredibly high. One business I specifically met with, is willing to pay their customers over $25 an hour with no experience because the business is willing to train someone on the job,” said Representative Dallman.

“We need to move our focus of public benefits from “unemployment insurance” to “re-employment insurance”. In the economic climate we have right now, there is no reason for a person to need half of a year to procure a high-paying, quality job,” continued Representative Dallman.

The pandemic has proven that our unemployment program is in need of reform. Our current programs provide for a prolonged stay on welfare programs, when we should be encouraging to people to get back to work. States such as Florida, Georgia, North Carolina, and Tennessee that have implemented reforms such as this bill have yielded more financially stable unemployment funds, 71% lower benefit costs, 59% lower unemployment insurance taxes, and enrollees moving off of the unemployment benefits and back into the workforce twice as fast.

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