Unemployment Insurance and Proliferation of Other Income Protection Programs for Experienced Workers

Abstract

This paper discusses the conceptual and operational issues involved in the proliferation of income protection programs for experienced workers, to the extent mainly that they are related UI program. First, the rationale for income protection to be provided to workers who are adversely affected by government actions or by disasters is examined. From this emerges the concept of loss compensation to be distinguished from temporary income support of the UI type. Second, given the objective of loss compensation, what one would expect to be the characteristics of a loss compensation program are enumerated. Third, the legislation backgrounds of the existing income protection programs are traced after the programs are identified. Fourth, an attempt is made to compare the characteristics of the programs that are deduced from the objectives with the actual characteristics of the existing programs. Fifth, because TRA is by far the largest of the income protection programs other than UI, a close examination is made of how this program interacts with UI under the existing law and of the implications of this interaction. Many of these implications are applicable to the relationship of other income protection programs to UI.