US DOL Issues Unemployment for Striking Workers Warning

The state of Washington was forced to overhaul a controversial new law allowing striking workers to collect unemployment benefits following a warning from the U.S. Department of Labor.

The law, which took effect in January this year, waived the state’s rigorous work search requirements for striking workers, allowing them to collect unemployment.

DOL warned Washington officials earlier this month the law “was out of conformity with federal law and must be immediately remedied,” after the state ignored previous policy clarifications.

DOL said the state risked losing “federal funding for administration of the unemployment insurance program and employers in Washington state may lose their tax credits under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act.”

Following the warning, Washington’s Employment Security Department issued an emergency rule “to clarify that work search activities are required for claimants who are receiving unemployment insurance benefits due to a strike.”

Prior to the emergency rule taking effect Aug. 21, Washington had paid unemployment benefits to 151 striking workers, totaling 741 weeks of pay and $565,714.

Unemployment Eligibility

Washington officials originally ignored a policy memo DOL released in January this year following enactment of the Washington law and similar legislation in Oregon.

That memo emphasized that federal law sets requirements for state unemployment insurance programs, including broad coverage and benefit provisions, experience ratings, and certain administrative conditions.

“A state’s law must conform to the requirements of federal UI law in order for the state to receive grants to administer their UI programs and for employers in the state to receive credits under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act,” the memo noted.

Under Section 303(a)(12) of the Social Security Act, states must provide that “as a condition of eligibility for regular compensation for any week, a claimant must be able to work, available to work, and actively seeking work.”

DOL says states “must make sure the claimant has not withdrawn from the labor market by engaging in activity (e.g., picketing) to the exclusion of seeking other work.”

The memo also noted that “the state UI agency must monitor whether the worker is able and available for work and actively seeking other work for each week benefits are claimed.”

“The state UI agency must examine the claimant’s activity to make sure the effort to secure other work is genuine in nature and that the claimant has not withdrawn from the labor market by engaging in activity (e.g., picketing) to the exclusion of seeking other work,” DOL officials wrote.

Connecticut lawmakers again considered legislation this year allowing those on strike to collect unemployment, despite Gov. Ned Lamont vetoing similar measures in 2024 and 2025.

“The Unemployment Trust Fund exists to provide support to individuals who are out of work
through no fault of their own, and its long-term sustainability is critical,” he wrote in his 2025 veto notice.