WASHINGTON – U.S. Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Tammy Duckworth (D-IL) joined Senators Ron Wyden (D-OR) and Chuck Schumer (D-NY) in leading 30 of their Democratic colleagues today in pressing the Department of Labor to ensure workers Congress intended to be covered by the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program receive the benefits they deserve.
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“[Parts of the guidance appear narrow or ambiguous, which could make states think they need to exclude workers who Congress clearly intended to receive unemployment compensation through the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program,”the Senators wrote.
The Senators are requesting the Department of Labor clarify its guidance pertaining to workers who have been diagnosed with COVID-19 without receiving a test, workers with COVID-19 who take time off of work, workers without child care options in summer months, workers unable to get to work due to stay-at-home orders, workers with underlying health conditions like asthma, and self-employed workers like gig workers who are unable to work due to plummeting demand for their services.
In addition to Durbin, Duckworth, Wyden, and Schumer, the letter was also signed by Senators Patrick Leahy (D-VT), Sherrod Brown (D-OH), Patty Murray (D-WA), Chris Van Hollen (D-MD), Michael F. Bennet (D-CO), Edward J. Markey (D-MA), Doug Jones (D-AL), Sheldon Whitehouse (D-RI), Angus S. King Jr. (I-ME), Robert Menendez (D-NJ), Cory A. Booker (D-NJ), Benjamin Cardin (D-MD), Kirsten Gillibrand (D-NY), Mazie K. Hirono (D-HI), Amy Klobuchar (D-MN), Thomas R. Carper (D-DE), Richard Blumenthal (D-CT), Debbie Stabenow (D-MI), Tina Smith (D-MN), Robert P. Casey (D-PA), Elizabeth Warren (D-MA), Mark R. Warner (D-VA), Bernie Sanders (I-VT), Dianne Feinstein (D-CA), Jeffrey A. Merkley (D-OR), Jack Reed (D-RI), Catherine Cortez Masto (D-NV), Jacky Rosen (D-NV), Maria Cantwell (D-WA), and Tom Udall (D-NM).
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