Rhode Island; Governor Signs Bills Banning Social Security Offset

Rhode Island Governor Carcieri has signed into law bills that forbid the state Department of Labor and Training from taking into account Social Security benefits when calculating the amount of unemployment compensation. According to a report in the Providence Journal, Carcieri said “Individuals receiving Social Security have earned it from years of work. They are entitled to it and should not be penalized for it. They deserve to receive full unemployment benefits while they look for another job.” In addtion, he said, “This legislation will encourage Rhode Island seniors to remain in the work force [for] as long as they can continue making a positive contribution to the economy.”

Source: Providence Journal"Older workers no longer punished" (June 26, 2007)

Rhode Island: Focus on Aging Workforce in Manufacturing

As part of a Focus issue on baby boomers, the Providence Business News published two articles by on workforce and the aging. The first, by Natalie Myers, focuses on manufacturing companies trying to fill the holes created by today’s retirees. The second, by Nicole Dionne, focuses on how the employment needs of the baby boom cohort are being taken very seriously in the workplace.

According to Myers, in manufacturing, it takes a substantial amount of time to teach the skills the retirees have spent 10 to 20 years learning themselves. She focused on one company--Handy & Harman--where about 30% of the workers are older than 55 and the average age is 47. She reports that Handy & Harman invests heavily in its on-the-job training program and, to help supplement training costs, seeks grants from state and federally funded organizations such as the Workforce Partnership of Greater Rhode Island. In addition, she reports that companies have to balance the need for new trainees with the need to implement lean manufacturing principles, to cut production costs and stay competitive.

According to Dionne, 23% of Rhode Island’s work force is 55 and older.

“This is a group that is a great resource, particularly now,” said Kathy Partington, chief of work force development for the R.I. Department of Labor and Training. “They have a lot of skills that can be transferred to different jobs."

The biggest barriers faced by older workers are salaries and the perception of employers who feel that they should get younger workers with more cutting-edge skills. In order to counter those barriers, the state training department works to get employers to see the value of older employees.

Source: Providence Business News "Factories toil to replace retirees" and "Older workers offer employers challenges, rewards" (November 18, 2006)

Rhode Island: Unemployment Benefits and the Social Security Offset

A Providence Journal staff writer, Neil Downing, reports on the failure of Rhode Island to pass law changes (H7451
and S2902) to the offset of unemployment benefits by those receiving Social Security benefits and argues that one "shouldn't have to take a cut in unemployment benefits just because you also receive Social Security benefits. That's unjust. The rule should be scrapped."

A bill to end Rhode Island's Social Security offset was introduced in the General Assembly earlier this year--in the House by Rep. Thomas C. Slater, D-Providence, and in the Senate by Sen. Frank A. Ciccone III, D-Providence.

Neither measure passed. The House Labor Committee recommended that the proposal be held for further study.

Source: The Providence Journal MoneyLine by Neil Downing: Workers' penalty (July 30, 2006)

AARP Campaigns To Repeal Social Security Offset Provision in State Unemployment Laws

According to an article by Diane E. Lewis in The Boston Globe, AARP has launched a campaign to encourage Massachusetts and eight other states to end state laws that deduct a portion of older workers' weekly Social Security payments from their unemployment benefits. According to AARP, laws in theses states, which include Rhode Island, Maine, Colorado, Ohio, Utah, Illinois, Louisiana, Minnesota, and South Dakota, cause such workers to forfeit $7.5 million per year.

"Two legislative proposals in Massachusetts could lead to a repeal. One, filed by House Minority Leader Bradley H. Jones Jr., a North Reading Republican, would provide enhanced jobless benefits to laid-off older workers. A second bill, filed by Senate Minority Leader Brian Lees, a Republican representing the First Hampden and Hampshire district, would eliminate the Social Security unemployment insurance offset."

Source: "AARP hits law that cuts elders' jobless benefits" The Boston Globe (January 10, 2006)