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CARES ACT: RELIEF AGREEMENT INCLUDES A SUSPENSION OF THE SEQUESTRATION
OF RRB UNEMPLOYMENT AND SICK BENEFITS
Included in the Congressional COVID-19 Relief Agreement recently
finalized is a suspension of the sequestration of RRB Unemployment and
Sick Benefits. Railroaders currently out of work will receive payments
in full until the Emergency Declaration for COVID-19 is lifted.
While the sequestration suspension is temporary in this new agreement,
it does afford Rail Labor time to press the issue on Capitol Hill.
Lifting sequestration of RRB Unemployment and Sick Benefits has
bipartisan support in the Senate, with Senators Rob Portman (R-OH) and
Amy Klobuchar (D-MN) co-sponsoring. We feel confident with this
momentum we can move to a permanent fix in the new Congress. We
appreciate Sen. Portman (R-OH), Sen. Klobuchar (D-MN) and their staff
for the tireless work on this important issue for all rail labor.
Also included in the Relief Agreement is $2 billion in funding for
Amtrak, which will obviously be a boon to BMWED members employed with
the national passenger railroad.
In the legislation entitled the Continued Assistance to Rail Workers
Act of 2020, as outlined below, Congress essentially extended the
benefits created by the CARES Act. In addition, Congress has finally
granted some relief from sequestration - though not permanent. The
legislation grants temporary relief from sequestration beginning 10
days from enactment through 30 days after the date on which the
Presidential declaration of emergency for COVID terminates. This means
that railroad employees will no longer have their regular unemployment
and sickness benefits reduced for sequestration during the specified
time period. In addition, the temporary relief is not retroactive to
any earlier period of time.
Similar to the CARES Act, this legislation provides for the following
benefits:
. A recovery benefit of $600 per 2-week unemployment registration
period. The duration is for registration periods from December 26, 2020
to March 14, 2021. This is adjusted from the CARES Act $1,200 per
two-week temporary unemployment benefit.
. Extended unemployment benefits for employees who have otherwise
exhausted benefits. These are payable for claims starting after
enactment and on or before March 14, 2021. No extended benefits are
payable after April 5, 2021.
. Waiver of the 7-day waiting period for unemployment and sickness
benefits. This was also extended to March 14, 2021.
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