To Claim Unemployment Benefit, You May First Have To Do A Drug Test | Economy Watch

In a deal to extend the payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits, Congress has passed a law that would soon allow states to conduct drug-tests before handing out payments.

While the Republicans initially wanted to extend the drug-tests to all unemployment benefit applicants, the new law would only allow the tests to be conducted on people who were fired from their last job for drugs, or anyone seeking jobs that would already require a drug test.

As part of the $140 billion bill that extends emergency jobless benefits, and in an attempt to modernize what the NYT calls an ‘outdated unemployment insurance system’, the new changes aim to aid the chronically jobless and help bring down the unemployment rate.

Other changes include procedural checks that would first ensure that an applicant is actively searching for a job, career counseling, as well as ‘work sharing’ programs that can help reduce layoffs at big businesses.

via To Claim Unemployment Benefit, You May First Have To Do A Drug Test | Economy Watch.