Unemployment Insurance Modernization and Recession Readiness Act

This plan updates unemployment insurance so help is more timely, fair, and easier to qualify for. It sets a minimum of 26 weeks of benefits, ties weekly payments to your past wages (at least 75% of your highest‑earning quarter, spread over 13 weeks), and ends the “waiting week” so your first payable week is paid right away . It also makes it easier to work part‑time and still get benefits, and treats the end of a temp assignment like a layoff for eligibility . During tough times, it improves extended benefits and shields them from budget cuts, and adds a temporary emergency boost to weekly checks that the federal government fully funds .

More people would qualify. States must count your most recent work and give extra credit if you had unpaid leave, lower pay, illness, injury, disability, or caregiving during the look‑back period. You can leave a job for compelling reasons set by the Labor Department, and victims of violence or harassment who quit can still get benefits with simple documentation. Locked‑out workers and people not involved in a strike can get benefits; some school employees can receive back pay if work wasn’t offered for the next term; and more student‑workers are covered . The bill uses a clear test to stop misclassifying employees as contractors. Families get a weekly add‑on per dependent ($25 in 2027, with yearly inflation updates), and a new weekly jobseeker allowance helps people who are unemployed or only working a little, including the self‑employed; these payments don’t count as income for other federal or state programs .

• Who is affected: unemployed and under‑employed workers (including part‑time and temp workers), families with dependents, victims of violence or harassment, workers in lockouts or not involved in strikes, certain school employees, some student‑workers, and workers misclassified as contractors .
• What changes: minimum 26 weeks of benefits; minimum benefit tied to past earnings; first week paid with no wait; easier partial benefits and part‑time search; more recent work counted; dependents’ allowance; improved extended benefits and an emergency boost; required self‑employment and work‑sharing programs; and a reasonable minimum prior‑earnings test ($1,000 in your highest quarter and $1,500 overall) .
• When: most changes apply to weeks of unemployment starting January 1, 2027 (or earlier if a state updates its laws); emergency boosts apply during an emergency period .