Category: Employment

Gov. Kelly joins bipartisan coalition urging Congress to strengthen auto supply chain

Gov.Laura Kelly today announced she has joined a bipartisan coalition of governors from across the country urging Congressional leadership to approve full funding of the Creating Helpful Incentives for the Production of Semiconductors (CHIPS) for America Act.

Gov. Kelly, along with Govs. Tony Evers, Wisconsin; Roy Cooper, North Carolina; Andy Beshear, Kentucky; Tom Wolf, Pennsylvania; Kay Ivey, Alabama; J.B. Pritzker, Illinois; Gavin Newsom, California; and Gretchen Whitmer, Michigan, sent a letter to Congress urging swift action to fund the bipartisan program that will turbocharge U.S. production of semiconductors, including the “mature node” chips that are critically important to automakers and parts suppliers, and strengthen the supply chain.

“As the global semiconductor shortage continues to challenge our automotive manufacturing industry and threaten our supply chain, it is critical that Congress take immediate action on the CHIPS Act,” Gov. Kelly said. “I look forward to working with our federal partners – and with my fellow governors – to deliver solutions for our auto manufacturing industry that will secure our supply chain, create jobs, protect our workers, and further strengthen our state’s already booming economy.”

The letter details that supply challenges have idled auto plants across the country, impacting more than 575,000 auto-related jobs.

In Kansas City, Kansas, the General Motors’ plant first shift is working, but the second shift is laid off because of parts shortages.

The bipartisan U.S. Innovation and Competition Act (USICA), already passed by the Senate, included funding for the CHIPS Act re-shoring provisions. It includes $52 billion in incentives to boost domestic semiconductor production and research, $2 billion of which would be dedicated to incentivizing production of the “mature node” semiconductors used by automakers and parts suppliers. These chips are also a key component for other manufacturing sectors, including medical devices, agricultural machinery like farm tractors and combines, as well as radiation-proof chips required by the national defense industrial base.

In the letter, the governors urge the House and Senate to come together to find common ground on the USICA, including full funding for the CHIPS Act..

The governors’ letter is online at https://content.govdelivery.com/attachments/MIEOG/2021/11/09/file_attachments/1991877/Multistate%20Letter%20re%20CHIPS%20Act%20Funding%20-%20Nov%202021.pdf

Virtual job fair to be Wednesday and Thursday

A statewide virtual job fair will take place Wednesday and Thursday.

It begins at 8 a.m. Wednesday, Sept. 29, and ends at 5 p.m. Thursday, Sept. 30.

Job seekers will have the opportunity to meet virtually with multiple businesses, with the ability to live chat and conduct interviews through computers, tablets and mobile devices. Job candidates also will be able to upload their resumes to their virtual job fair account for employers statewide.

Gov. Laura Kelly is encouraging Kansans looking for employment to participate in the KansasWorks Statewide Virtual Job Fair.

“KansasWorks has done an exceptional job of adapting to the circumstances and continuing to connect Kansas employers with qualified job seekers,” Gov. Kelly said. “Our workforce plays a key role in attracting people and businesses to our state, and I applaud KansasWorks for emphasizing safety in helping Kansans seek employment and helping Kansas businesses fill open positions.”

In 2020, the Department of Commerce partnered with the Local Workforce Development Boards to offer virtual statewide job fairs as a way to continue to provide job opportunities and maintain a ready workforce for Kansas businesses. That led to 10 virtual job fairs, with the 10th in March 2021 attracting 159 employers and 538 registered job seekers. There currently are over 130 employers participating in the upcoming fair with hundreds of open positions.

“These statewide virtual job fairs offer a tremendous opportunity to help Kansans find meaningful employment opportunities in our state,” Lt. Gov. David Toland said. “The previous 10 virtual job fairs all succeeded in connecting job seekers with employers, and the virtual job fair to come will do the same in achieving more real results.”

The Virtual Statewide Job Fair portal features a Job Seeker Training video, a list of participating employers, and channels for attendees to register and login.

Open positions are listed on the registration page. Registration is required for each individual virtual event, regardless of previous attendance. As employers may request to engage in a video interview during the virtual job fair, job seekers are encouraged to dress professionally.


The registration page is available from a link on the the KansasWorks page at https://www.kansasworks.com/.


Any individual with a disability may request accommodations by contacting their nearest workforce center at 877-509-6757 prior to the event.

Kansas kicks 7,000 off unemployment benefits for failing to meet new work search requirement

Unemployment modernization council prepares for interim report

by Noah Taborda, Kansas Reflector

Topeka — About 7,000 Kansans lost unemployment benefits this week because they did not meet a deadline to sign up for a new state program designed to help people find a job.

Legislators inserted the work search requirement into House Bill 2196 earlier this year. Mike Beene, director of workforce development at the Department of Commerce, told legislators Thursday many people who receive unemployment benefits were still adjusting to the policy.

The Kansas Department of Labor issued referrals to the online My Reemployment Plan program for weeks in advance of the deadline.

“The activity of a work search requirement is almost a cultural shift for people right now because they have gone so long during the pandemic without that requirement,” Beene told the Kansas Unemployment Compensation Modernization and Improvement Council.

The council met in anticipation of a preliminary report to the Legislative Coordinating Council updating leading lawmakers on progress made modernizing the state’s 40-year-old unemployment system. Updates on why some claims were being denied and modernization vendor search were provided, in addition to a look at My Reemployment.

Gov. Laura Kelly expressed concern with the requirements keeping so many from receiving their benefits.

“We tried as much as we could to get information out to people, and we’ll continue to work with those 7,000 people to rectify their situation so that they can continue receiving the benefits,” Gov. Kelly said.

Using the week of July 10 as a baseline, KDOL deputy secretary Peter Brady said 87.7% of all pandemic unemployment program claims were paid. The remaining 12.3% either encountered a mainframe error, an eligibility issue with their claim, a requirement of additional information, or most prominently, triggered a fraud flag.

Brady was hopeful this snapshot would help the council better understand how claims were being processed in Kansas and how the system modernization project could improve these numbers for the upcoming council report.

“Different presenters we’ve had before this council have all made a lot of similar points of what the core requirements and functions of a modern UI system are. This is what it needs to do,” Brady said, urging the council to consider these presentations in the report when choosing a vendor for the modernization project. “These are all the criteria that will need to be looked at for a modernized system vendor.”

HB2196, which took effect May 13, created the council, initiated the needed modernization effort, and required a report recommending a vendor to be issued within 60 days.

With vendor selection taking longer than initially anticipated, Brady and others urged a more forward-looking report when the council takes that up on Friday. Rep. Kyle Hoffman, R-Coldwater, said while the initial 60-day window appeared ample enough time, once in the process he saw that wasn’t as feasible as previously thought.

“We don’t want to hold it up, but we also don’t want to rush it just for a report,” Hoffman said. “If the LCC understands that this report is preliminary I think that covers the statutory requirement of sending a report.”

Kansas Reflector stories may be republished online or in print under Creative Commons license CC BY-NC-ND 4.0.
See more at https://kansasreflector.com/2021/07/22/kansas-kicks-7k-off-unemployment-benefits-for-failing-to-meet-new-work-search-requirement/.