The people's voice. [volume] (Helena, Mont.) 1939-1969, 1961-11-24
Effect of 1861 JobIess Comp Revisions
Welfare Costs To Soar This
Winter, FL Institute Told

the $4,000 limit was placed on indi.
vidual's wages subject to jobless in.
surance premium.
The stage was set for comprehen-
sive chopping of the various state acts
when the 10th Congress gave the
states permission to assess the en-
ployer premium tax on an expert
ence rating basis.
BIG PREMIUM CUTBACK
IN 1947
In 1947, Montana took advantage
of this, and for employers with low
unemployment histories, their state
tax was dropped from 2.7 to a mini
mum of 10 per cent of the first
$4,000 of an employees earnings.
This experience rating, he said,
''has made unemployment compen-
sation into a political football !.
operated by employers as tax
saving device :"
Even for all of the cutback in
premiums in 1947, Montana's econ
omy was at such a high level the
following five years that the 1853
Legislature, primarily because of
lobbying by the Anaconda Company,
made further reduction in employ
ers' experience rating premiums.
At the same time, certain types of
were excluded from COW
erage, and other safeguards to pro-
tect employers against sharp rises in
premium rates were written into the
act. The stage was set for the UCC
trust fund being vulnerable at the
slightest dip in the economy! Less
than year later that first dip came.
cut back employment dras-
,ically, as did number of other
major operations. But, the employer
written into the act in
1853 protected industries who made
major lay-offs from any substantial
Increase in the premium rates.
Because average employer pre-
NUNS were reduced to unrealistically |
ow levels in 1868, the UCC trust !
und (pooD has been dropping grad
ally the last several years. The in
low has not kept apace with the
ut-flow.
Major corporate interests sold the
wv premium proposition to the leg
Stature, and then, in 1860, effective
z passed the buck to the jobless
-orker for the funds decline.
This contention, although false,
Huppe pointed out, was the most
effective political weapon the State
and extremely successful
to capture the House.
UST BEGINNING TO BE FELT
Root, director of Montana COPE,
ased his contention that the effects
the 1861 amendments are just be-
inning to be felt, because only now
re many jobless who earned their !
age credits in four of the last five
larters prior to April 1, 1861, run
ng out of those credits accrued be- {
IRE the effective date of the 1861 {
nendments. Il
At the end of September, although l
ere were more jobless listed than
year previous, benefit payments 1
r the month were down substantial
With the toughened Disqualified
IN provisions, and the higher earn I
gs' requirements of the new act, l
DOT sees the downward trend of Z
&C payments continuing at an in y
easing pace in the months ahead. O
Disqualification provisions barred n
3 per cent of jobless workers from q
awning compensation in September
IS year. Last year, only 6.7 per cent p
led to have minimum wage credits. /"
is trend will go up so that by early
KIT year, at least 80 per cent of L
unemployed work force =.
Il be without compensation credits. Il
Because of the highly seasonal ma lo
'e of much of Montana's employ 10
MT, many workers are unemployed
m 20 to 80 weeks each year. Under !.
1861 amendments, unless they .
re one and one-half times their T
h quarter earnings, they are in
yible. If they have that much earn 4
s, they can draw comp for 13 $
sks instead of the former %.
The estimate is that for 179o of nc
work force, 10 weeks will be the no