Tipsheet

Biden Attempts to Backtrack on Paying People Not to Work

Katie Pavlich
Katie Pavlich  |  May 10, 2021 3:30 PM

While President Joe Biden is still claiming he hasn't "seen evidence" that unemployment benefits are keeping people from going back to work, he changed his tune on the issue during remarks at the White House Monday afternoon. 

"We're going to make it clear that anyone collecting unemployment who is offered a suitable job must take the job or lose their unemployment benefits," Biden said. 

"This week, the Department of Labor will reaffirm longstanding UI requirements to make sure everyone, including states, employers, and workers, understands the rules of the road for UI benefits. These clarifications will also help ease a return to work. Specifically, the Secretary of Labor will issue a letter to states to reaffirm that individuals receiving UI may not continue to receive benefits if they turn down a suitable job due to a general, non-specific concern about COVID-19," the White House released in a "fact sheet" after Biden's remarks. "In addition, the President is directing the Secretary of Labor to work with states to reinstate work search requirements for UI recipients, if health and safety conditions allow."

Biden's remarks come on the heels of abysmal jobs numbers that were released last Friday. They were so bad, CNBC double checked to make sure there hadn't been a mistake.