EKB News

KENTUCKY....
Governor Steve Beshear says high unemployment rates and an outdated revenue-benefits formula has thrown Kentucky's unemployment insurance system out of balance. Tuesday, he signed House Bill 5, a measure aimed to restore stability and to shore up the state’s depleted UI Trust Fund. The legislation is based on recommendations by a task force of Kentucky business and labor representatives and lawmakers convened by the Governor last year to study the state’s UI system. Beshear believes short-term sacrifices will provide a long-term solution that will bring solvency to the fund, stability to the system and savings to Kentucky employers. Beginning in 2012, the law increases the taxable wage base from $8,000 to $12,000 over a 10-year period; implements a waiting week after eligible workers file a claim before they can begin to receive benefits; and reduces the statutory replacement rate used to calculate a claimant’s weekly benefit amount from 68 percent to 62 percent.