State Capitol in St. Paul (Ryan Janke, KFGO News)
ST. PAUL, Minn. – A bill to provide extended unemployment insurance benefits to laid-off miners on the Iron Range has been passed by a Minnesota House Committee.
The bill, proposed by Democratic Representative Pete Johnson of Duluth, would provide impacted workers with an additional 26 weeks of unemployment insurance.
Under the state’s current system, laid-off workers can collect up to 26 weeks of unemployment benefits. The bill would extend it to a year.
The bill passed the House Workforce, Labor, and Economic Development Committee and is heading to the Ways and Means Committee. A similar bill introduced by house Republicans was tabled. Besides the extra unemployment benefits, that bill included changes to environmental policy.
Last month, 600 workers in Hibbing and Virginia received layoff notices.
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