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Harpers Ferry is a historic West Virginia city and international tourist hub. But four years ago the national park and surrounding town were devastated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Home » Bill to Keep West Virginians Working Passes in House Finance Committee
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Bill to Keep West Virginians Working Passes in House Finance Committee
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House Bill 4409 creates the Valued Employee Retention Program with the goal of giving employers incentive to reduce workers’ hours rather than laying them off.
It requires employers to enter an agreement to submit a plan explaining how instead of laying off their employees they would reduce their hours. In exchange, the employee could get unemployment benefits proportional to the amount of hours that they’ve been reduced.
If the employee had an eight hour day and the employer cut it to four hours, they would be eligible for 50 percent of what they would if they were laid off.
The program is intended to be short term. Proposed programs from employers can only be approved for a period of one year as the business attempts to recover enough to return their employees to normal hours.
Delegates had many questions; Delegate Daryl Cowles asked about the fiscal impact the bill would have on the Unemployment Trust Fund.
The federal government would assist with part of the cost.
The benefit payments for this program are estimated to be 1.6 million dollars. The U.S. Department of Labor would reimburse compliant states for benefits up to August 22, 2015. The benefit cost is based on several studies of other states which indicate a .7 percent share of total regular benefits paid for.
Despite a few objections, the bill was approved by the committee to be reported to the floor.
On this West Virginia Morning, tourists from around the world visit Harpers Ferry each year to immerse themselves in U.S. history. But the number of visitors fell in 2020, as public health restrictions ramped up nationwide. Jack Walker visited the town to learn how things have changed since the COVID-19 pandemic began.
Across the nation, there are more and more local news deserts; communities with no local newspaper, television or radio station to cover what’s going on. When a small town paper like The Welch News in McDowell County, WV, can’t compete and shuts down, losing those local eyes and ears can affect accountability. No one is there to watch over things. Local news also provides a sense of cohesion and identity for a community. What happens when it’s gone? This story was supported by the Pulitzer Center.
On this West Virginia Morning, it has been a year since allegations of illicit recordings of cadets and other women at the West Virginia State Police barracks launched federal and state investigations into the law enforcement department. We speak with the superintendent of state police for an update.
On this West Virginia Morning, political analysts say the two Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate in the upcoming May primary election give voters some particular, and troubling, food for thought. The candidates themselves say voters need to focus on the positives, not the negatives.