Workers who have been temporarily laid off because of the COVID-19 health crisis will likely lose their unemployment benefits if they refuse to go back to work once their place of employment reopens.
Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD) Commission Fred Payne clarified the policy April 30 during the daily coronavirus press conference.
The only possible exceptions Payne mentioned were if a worker feels unsafe going back to work and if workers don’t think their employer has done enough to make health accommodations.
The DWD doesn’t investigative workplace conditions, but Payne said cases are reviewed independently and the department will consider those circumstances when making a decision about whether to discontinue benefits.
Payne said people who are called back to work should not file a weekly voucher to receive benefits, and then they can resume if there’s a layoff in the future.
The clarification comes as Indiana waits for Gov. Eric Holcomb to announce what he’ll do with the state’s stay-at-home order that is set to expire May 1.
Indianapolis Mayor Joe Hogsett already announced Marion County’s stay-at-home order will continue until at least May 15.
When asked how Indiana will treat those workers who don’t immediately report back to their jobs, Holcomb has focused on the number of high-paying jobs that were unfilled before the pandemic.
If the state needs to get involved in some cases, Holcomb said, it will, but “the way we get our economy back is we get back to work.”
Holcomb encouraged workers to take their concerns to their employer.
Payne said there were more than 57,000 initial unemployment claims for the week ending on April 25. The most claims filed in a week was 139,174 for the week ending on March 28.
Contact staff writer Tyler Fenwick at 317-762-7853. Follow him on Twitter @Ty_Fenwick.
Black unemployment ratesM. Spencer Green/Associated Press
