Charleston Gazette-Mail - The West Virginia House of Delegates has adopted a bill changing the legal definitions of when a worker in the state is an employee or an independent contractor. Read the full article. The House adopted Senate Bill 272 by a margin of 77-23, the ratio of Republicans to Democrats in the GOP-controlled House. The bill is…
Income and Work
For Immediate Release: February 27, 2021Contact: Jessie Ice, 304-322-0074 or Renee Alves, 559-916-5939 Charleston, WV - Last night’s passage in the U.S. House of Representatives of a comprehensive COVID relief bill is an important step forward. This legislation is the kind of action we need in this moment, when the economy is still weak and…
For Immediate Release: February 25, 2021Contact: Dana Kuhnline, (304) 825 3262 Links to report and summaries: New PERI report (Link)ReImagine Appalachia summary of new PERI report (Link)Infographic summary of report findings Link to Zoom event recording: Facebook Live Charleston, WV - The Political Economy Research Institute (PERI) released a report today showing that the ReImagine Appalachia (RA) blueprint could create…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - Visions of a more prosperous West Virginia abounded during a virtual news conference Thursday that focused on new findings from an economic and job impact study that made the case for sweeping investments in Appalachian infrastructure. Read the full article. It’ll take a lot of money and political willpower to make those visions a…
Business Insider, Today UK News, Yahoo News, Good Word News - Congressional Democrats are scrambling to keep their $15 federal minimum wage proposal included in President Joe Biden's $1.9 trillion stimulus plan this week as they face an unlikely obstacle: centrist members of their own party. Read the full article. Sen. Joe Manchin of West Virginia and…
Introduction With West Virginia still feeling the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic recession, the state’s leaders face difficult choices in the upcoming legislative session. The choices legislators make will help determine whether or not West Virginia will have a swift and equitable recovery with an economy that works for everyone. Read the full issue brief.…
In March, the federal government passed the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, which established several programs that have since proved critical for stabilizing the economy amid the COVID-19 pandemic. The CARES Act's remaining provisions will expire on December 31, leaving Americans anxiously awaiting Congress's next economic relief package. But with no precise…
WOWKTV - There could be more COVID-19 aid coming from Washington, DC. When Congress convenes the week after Thanksgiving, there will be formal proposals from both parties, which have been far apart, on another round of stimulus. Watch the news segment here.
Ohio Valley Resource, West Virginia Public Broadcasting - With hundreds of thousands across the Ohio Valley struggling to make ends meet, a suite of coronavirus aid packages, including rent and utility relief funding, eviction moratoriums, and expanded unemployment benefits, is set to expire at the end of December. Read the full article. The consequences could be…
Charleston Gazette-Mail - Racial disparity in West Virginia looks the same during a recession as it does during periods of economic growth, according to a new report released this month. Read the full article. From economic status and education to health care access and infant mortality rates, almost every measure of racial inequality in the State…