Iowa House Approves Amended Iowa Workforce Bill

March 21, 2019

Early Thursday afternoon, the Iowa House approved on a party-line vote HF 531, which was Iowa Workforce Development’s bill. The legislation removed the one-week waiting period language for unemployment that ABI supported, and it also removed the language related to increased unemployment benefits for individuals who had dependents. The debate on the legislation was brief. The floor manager, Rep. Worth (R-Storm Lake), brought up the issue that the unemployment trust fund is not for the purpose of paying for individuals in training to take time off of work. He encouraged construction training programs to come together over the interim and address the issue. ABI was undecided on the legislation. The bill now moves to the Iowa Senate.