Rep. Ed Oliver, R-Dadeville, stands on the floor of the Alabama House of Representatives on Feb. 8, 2024. (Brian Lyman/Alabama Reflector)
An Alabama lawmaker wants to increase the number of jobs a person has to apply for while receiving unemployment benefits from Alabama.
HB 29 , sponsored by Rep. Ed Oliver, R-Dadeville, increases the number of employers that people must contact each week from three to five to maintain benefits.
“We are in a unique time as far as labor is concerned in this state,” Oliver said during an interview Tuesday. “We simply do not have a workforce, largely because people choose not to participate. We are trying to find some ways that will help.”
Critics said the bill will do nothing to increase the state’s relatively low labor force participation rate while also endangering the well-being of people who need the money to pay for their basic needs.
“This is yet another example of mistaken priorities,” said Dev Wakeley, worker policy advocate with Alabama Arise. “This is a terrible bill. It is just another way of squeezing people who are already going through a really hard time. And it doesn’t make any sense at all.”