Mnuchin says employees who reject offer to return to work are ineligible for unemployment benefits
May 19, 2020 / By Brooke Singman | Fox News
Treasury Secretary Steven Mnuchin warned on Tuesday that individuals who reject an offer from their company to return to work after being laid off due to coronavirus are no longer considered eligible to receive federal unemployment benefits.
Mnuchin said that companies receiving benefits under the Payroll Protection Program who are inviting employees who had been laid off or furloughed due to the coronavirus crisis to return to work should plan to notify state unemployment offices of their offers.
If the employee, in turn, turns down the job, they would then be considered ineligible to receive expanded unemployment benefits.
“If you offer a person a job..and that person does not take the job..then that person would not be allowed to get unemployment,” Mnuchin said Tuesday.
Mnuchin’s comments come as Republican lawmakers have ramped up warnings that the recent boost in jobless benefits amid COVID-19 will “push unemployment higher,” as many individuals are able to collect more money through the unemployment programs than they made while on the job.
