Winning unemployment benefits for excluded immigrant workers is more important than ever!
We are COMMITTED to winning a Safety Net for ALL workers!
The Safety Net for All Coalition is composed of over 120 organizations throughout California united by the fight for an inclusive safety net for all workers. This year, the coalition is calling for unemployment benefits for immigrant workers who are currently excluded from unemployment insurance. This would provide temporary wage replacement for undocumented workers who cannot work.
Unemployment insurance has helped millions of Californians weather the biggest challenges facing our state, from climate emergencies, to natural disasters, to housing inaccessibility, yet continues to exclude thousands on the basis of their immigration status. SN4A is fighting to include excluded workers to strengthen families, communities and the California economy.
Unemployment insurance benefits are a lifeline for Californians.
What is the Safety Net for All Workers Act?
However, undocumented immigrant workers - the backbone of California’s economy, comprising 1 in 17 workers in California - are entirely excluded from unemployment benefits due solely to their immigration status. These workers are also some of the most severely impacted by natural disasters, health emergencies, and economic downturns. Without the support of essential safety net programs like unemployment benefits, many immigrant families are forced to exhaust their life savings, accumulate greater debt, and compromise their health to simply afford basic necessities like rent and food.
Excluded immigrant workers have contributed to California’s diverse culture and its standing as the 4th largest economy in the world. Undocumented immigrant workers contribute $3.7 billion in state and local taxes, and taxes on their wages contribute an estimated $485 million to the unemployment insurance system in California every year. However, these workers and their families are unable to reap any of these benefits when they need them most. Unemployment benefits for excluded workers will help put immigrant families on equitable footing with their neighbors, so that all Californians have the dignity, fairness, and respect that helps people thrive.
Extending unemployment benefits to excluded immigrant workers creates a stronger, more resilient California.
When excluded immigrant workers have access to safety net programs, all of California benefits. Twenty percent of all Californians under 18 live with an undocumented family member or are undocumented themselves. Unemployment benefits also bolster the state economy during economic downturns. For every $1 of UI benefits paid out, $1.62 returns to local economies. Our communities are stronger and able to withstand the economic shocks of disaster more effectively, and get back to work more easily.
The Safety Net for All Workers Act will establish a new unemployment insurance benefits program for excluded immigrant workers in California.
What can we do? Create a state Excluded Workers Program to provide unemployment benefits to workers excluded from Unemployment Insurance solely due to their immigration status, providing $300 per week for up to 20 weeks of unemployment.
What is the cost-benefit estimate? Based on the average unemployment insurance benefit and the median length of unemployment among non-citizen workers over the past several years, as well as EDD’s estimates of administrative costs, the projected cost is approximately $356 million, which will expand unemployment benefits to approximately 1.1 million excluded workers.
