Shutdown Imperils State Unemployment Insurance, DOL Warns

States may begin to run short on money to pay unemployment claims by mid-November as the government shutdown stretches into its second month, a Department of Labor official warned Tuesday.

The department hasn’t been able to disperse new funds for states’ unemployment insurance programs since prior to the start of the shutdown on Oct. 1, the official said. Some state officials have told DOL their unemployment programs will start to run dry in coming weeks.

States should “seek alternative sources”, the DOL’s Employment and Training Administration advised in a letter obtained by Bloomberg Law.

Labor Secretary Lori Chavez-DeRemer warned that ...