John McKay
John McKay
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A roadblock has been cleared for workers who have been laid off by their business due to COVID-19 cutbacks or closures.

Most of you know when you get unemployment, there's fairly stringent requirements to 'look for another job' providing evidence of job search and more.

These displaced COVID-19 workers, most of them, are fully expecting to return to work either at their original business or in that field once the 'wave' subsides. They ran into red tape when the job search requirement issue came up.

Now, the Employment Security Department has remedied that, a statement was released Tuesday afternoon that read in part:

"The job search requirement to receive Unemployment Insurance benefits was made optional on Tuesday, another in a series of measures by Gov. Jay Inslee and the state Employment Security Department to increase access to unemployment benefits for workers affected by the COVID-19 pandemic.

Gov. Inslee will sign a proclamation, which will then allow the Department to put in place an emergency rule to make the job search requirement optional for all applicants. This measure will be retroactive to March 8, 2020, and will continue until further notice."

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