x
Breaking News
More () »

TN Gov. Bill Lee adds state to others refusing COVID Relief Unemployment Benefits to push people back to work

"We will no longer participate in federal pandemic unemployment programs because Tennesseans have access to more than 250,000 jobs in our state," says Governor Lee.

MEMPHIS, Tenn. — Every state in the Mid-South is about to say "no thanks" to federal unemployment COVID relief benefits

Those governors say the extra $300 federal unemployment benefit is keeping people from getting people back to work, especially in the hospitality and restaurant industries.

The question here is will cutting federal relief benefits be enough to get people, who may be sitting on the sidelines, back to work.

Many who worked in entry level jobs in restaurants and hotels don't want to go back hoping to find higher wages and better working conditions.

Until they land there they've been able to afford to stay home leaving  8.1-million jobs nation wide open.

Tennessee's Bill Lee, Tuesday, became the last of the Mid-South governors to announce that starting July third, the state will no longer accept the extra $300 federal unemployment benefit.

Arkansas will do the same June 26th and Mississippi will start even sooner on June 12th.

Lee told the department of labor he's terminating the benefit because so many jobs need to be filled.

In a statement he said in part:

"We will no longer participate in federal pandemic unemployment programs because Tennesseans have access to more than 250,000 jobs in our state,"

Help wanted signs don windows and doors of businesses across Tennessee, so Lee believes drying up the federal assistance will draw in the unemployed.

Several other federally funded COVID relief programs will also expire in Tennessee in July.

They include:

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which provides benefits for the self-employed, gig workers and part-time workers.

Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which is an extension of benefits once regular benefits have stopped and Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation providing an additional $100 to people with mixed earnings.

Before You Leave, Check This Out