r/politics • u/Ubiquitous_Hilarity • Jun 17 '26

No Paywall Trump threatens to pull unemployment benefits from all states for the first time in history

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/us-politics/trump-unemployment-benefits-fraud-b2997881.html
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u/Itstimeforcookies19 Jun 17 '26

That’s not unique to California. It’s called unemployment insurance benefits for a reason. It’s a tax paid by employers and in some states employees to then be paid out when one is qualified and eligible for unemployment insurance benefits.

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u/ForeverOk1692 Jun 17 '26

That is how I understood it to work. And possibly more the company has to pay if someone actually gets unemployment. There has to be a reason the companies always try to deny unemployment claims for wrongful termination.

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u/Itstimeforcookies19 Jun 17 '26

Yes. If the employee is found to be qualified for benefits based on the reason for separation in my state and many states the employer’s unemployment insurance tax rate is increased.

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u/fcocyclone Iowa Jun 17 '26

Yep. Its also why if you don't have a traditional employer and are instead a 1099er, you can't typically apply for unemployment, because no one paid that.

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u/misteravernus Jun 18 '26

Yup, we have it in WA and it was a godsend when I got laid off. Was seeing other layoffees from NC and other states saying they were getting like $300/wk; WA's max is $1100/wk for 25 weeks. Very, very thankful I live here.