The Arizona House preliminarily approved a bill that would tie unemployment benefits to the jobless rate.
Currently, individuals are capped at 24 weeks. But the proposal would change that to 12 weeks when unemployment is less than 5% and cap it at 20 weeks when the rate is higher than 8.5%
Democratic Rep. Cesar Aguilar says the bill would hurt workers.
"Reducing weeks of assistance will force some people to accept jobs that do not match their skill sets and pay less than their prior earnings, which is bad for workers and the economy," Aguilar said.
Republican Rep. Justin Wilmeth argued minimum wage jobs pay better than the state’s unemployment benefits. The bill needs final House approval.
