Senate Bill 224 by Sen. Arthur Orr (Decatur) was unanimously approved this week by the Senate Fiscal Responsibility and Economic Development Committee. The bill would require people receiving unemployment benefits to search for work a minimum of five times a week. Currently, claimants are required to search for work once a week.
Ninety-six percent of NFIB members support work search requirements, according to the 2022 NFIB Alabama State Ballot.
Under the bill, unemployment recipients enrolled in approved training classes would be excused from the work search requirement.
The Alabama Community College System (ACCS) has more than 150 career/technical fields and programs of study available within 20 weeks. Also, ACCS announced the newly created ACCS Innovation Center offering 23 custom training programs, free of charge to the student, identified by businesses to fill immediate job openings.