KANSAS CITY, Mo. — Missouri residents who are receiving unemployment, including pandemic assistance, will be required to “perform work-search activities” beginning in July.
Anna Hui, director of the Missouri Department of Labor and Industrial Relations, said during a Tuesday press conference that as of July 5 – with the exception of those with an “employer-submitted recall date” – those on unemployment will have to report three work-search activities per week to continue receiving their benefits.
Such activities include applying for jobs online or in person, attending job fairs or interviews and contacting reemployment services. Hu said that career centers are starting to reopen and the centers will have the option for one-on-one appointments over the phone.
At the same time this requirement takes effect, employers also will be charged for unemployment claims, Hu said, and they are encouraged to report employees who have been told to return to work but have chosen not to.
She also said that she cautioned workers who are thinking about not returning because they are receiving more funding through benefits than they would earn working that if the Department of Labor determines they have been overpaid, workers would owe the “baseline weekly amount,” as well as the pandemic unemployment funds.
The Department of Labor website provides links to report unemployment fraud, as well as to report employees who refuse to return to work.
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