Committee examines bill to extend unemployment benefits to striking workers; debate focuses on waiting period, definitions and collection rules

The Senate Committee on Labor and Business held an informational meeting Feb. 27 on Senate Bill 916, a measure to permit striking workers to receive unemployment insurance (UI) under specified conditions. The bill is sponsored by Senator Taylor, Senator Campos, Senator Manning, Representative Graber and Representative Bowman.

Allen Dale, Senior Deputy Legislative Counsel and the drafter of SB 916, told the committee the bill’s dash-1 amendment removes the statutory disqualification that currently prevents striking workers from receiving UI and adds definitions (including “labor dispute,” “lockout” and “strike”) drawn from existing employment-department rules. The dash-2 amendment adopts the same policy change but imposes an initial ineligibility: striking workers would be ineligible for the first week of unemployment due to the strike and become eligible in the second week, producing two weeks without UI before benefits begin. Dale said the effective date would be Jan. 1, 2026 if no other effective date is specified.

Dale also described changes to how back pay interacts with UI:…