At a meeting of the Joint Labor, Health & Social Services Committee, members voted to pass a bill draft that would reduce the maximum time an unemployed worker can receive benefits from 26 weeks to 20 weeks but exempt workers whose employment is "attached to regular work" such as seasonal highway or construction crews.

The committee passed the bill draft after adopting an amendment to preserve 26 weeks for so‑called work‑attached employees and another amendment directing Legal Services/Legislative Service Office to develop a statutory definition. Supporters said shortening benefit duration will speed reemployment and ease pressure on the state unemployment trust fund; opponents warned of unintended harm to workers who rely on seasonal earnings.

The director of the Department of Workforce Services (DWS) briefed the panel on program details, telling members that the most recent unemployment rate available for Wyoming was 3.2 percent (August), compared with 4.3 percent nationally, and that the average number of weeks claimed by Wyoming workers was 10.3 weeks. The director described how eligibility and benefit length are calculated under Wyoming law and noted that not all claimants are eligible for the full 26 weeks; DWS cited Wyoming Statute 27-3-3304 for the statutory formula that limits maximum payment in a benefit year to the lesser of 26 weeks at the individual weekly benefit or 30 percent of base‑period wages.

DWS also summarized a reemployment program launched in June 2023 that uses an algorithm to identify 40 claimants per week who are most likely to remain on UI the longest; those claimants must meet with a local workforce center for an eligibility assessment and reemployment planning. The director said the agency receives roughly $5,000–$5,500 per year from the U.S. Department of Labor to run the program and that the state had just been awarded a $100,000 performance bonus to expand outreach.

Public witnesses included Jeff Daugherty of FGA Action, who urged passage as a way to improve incentives for reemployment and reduce pressure on the UI trust fund, and representatives of labor and some committee members who raised concerns for seasonal workers and asked for specific carve‑outs and a clear statutory definition for "attached to regular work." Senator Steinmetz offered the amendment creating the seasonal exemption; that amendment passed by voice vote. The committee also approved a second, conceptual amendment that authorizes staff to draft a definition for "eligible individual" who would remain eligible for 26 weeks.

The bill draft (listed in committee as 26 LSO 00141, "Unemployment insurance coverage period and reporting") was moved by Senator Steinmetz and seconded by Representative Otman. On a roll call the committee reported 11 ayes, 2 nays and 1 excused; the committee clerk recorded the bill draft as passed in committee with the adopted amendments. Committee discussion and minutes show that staff will return with a clarified statutory definition of "attached to regular work" before the measure would move further in the legislature.

What this means: If enacted in substantially the same form, the draft would shorten the statutory maximum for many claimants while leaving open a defined set of seasonal or otherwise "work‑attached" employees to keep 26 weeks. The director and witnesses emphasized that weeks of eligibility vary by wages and base‑period work history and that the bill does not change the statutory method for computing an individual's weekly benefit amount.

Committee follow up and implementation: The committee added a direction for staff to draft a definition of "attached to regular work." DWS said it could provide more detailed actuarial or fiscal analysis on the fiscal impact of moving some claimants from 26 to 20 weeks if the committee requests it, but no detailed statewide cost estimate was presented at the hearing.

Votes at a glance: 26 LSO 00141 — Mover: Senator Steinmetz; Second: Representative Otman; Amendments: Steinmetz amendment (seasonal/work‑attached carve‑out) passed by voice vote; conceptual amendment directing LSO to draft definition passed by voice vote; Committee roll call: 11 ayes, 2 nays, 1 excused. Outcome: passed the committee for further consideration.

Notes: The hearing included multiple illustrative scenarios (in DWS memo) showing how base‑period wages and hours change weeks of entitlement; the committee emphasized a need to protect clearly seasonal workers while pursuing reemployment incentives.