The Department of Labor has issued a final rule to remove Birth and Adoption
Unemployment Compensation (BAA-UC) regulations, which allowed states to use
their unemployment insurance trust funds to pay workers taking leave for the
birth or adoption of a child.For a Limited Time receive a
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Get Your Report Now!The rule is effective November 10, 2003. The department says no states have
elected to implement programs under BAA-UC. Therefore, no one would lose benefits
under the repeal.
One reason for the repeal is that the financial conditions of state unemployment
funds have deteriorated since the initial rules were issued in 2000, according
to the department. The department also cited legal issues concerning unemployment
compensation (UC) requirements.
The DOL said that BAA-UC was counter to the UC program's goal of getting people
back to work because "it encourages parents to refuse available work."
The department published the final rule in the October
9,2003 Federal Register.