Senate Dems reject GOP bid for $1,200 return-to-work bonuses

The three-man Senate Republican caucus wants to give unemployed people in Massachusetts taxpayer-funded bonuses to return to work, but Senate Democrats swept their idea into the dustbin of failed budget amendments.

Sens. Ryan Fattman, Patrick O’Connor and Bruce Tarr proposed granting a $1,200 bonus to anyone collecting unemployment benefits who returns to work between the adoption of the fiscal 2022 budget and Aug. 7, 2021.

An aide to Sen. Fattman said the senator viewed his proposal as a “decent incentive to get people back to work and off unemployment” and a way to help the state address labor shortages that are frustrating employers.

Senate Democrats this week have been dispensing with more than 900 budget amendments in large part through private talks that lead to the adoption of bundles of amendments, and the rejection of other bundles. The Fattman amendment – dubbed the Time For The Commonwealth To Get Back To Work Bonus – was dumped into a bundle of amendments that was rejected on a voice vote without debate on Wednesday afternoon.

Under the proposal, the bonus would have been allocated in three $400 increments, with an initial payment made upon verification of an individual’s return to work, a second payment after six months of verified continuous employment, and the last payment delivered upon verification of one year of continuous employment.

The GOP senators hoped their proposal would be paid for with funding included in the federal American Rescue Plan (ARPA), which was adopted in Congress over the objections of Republicans. House Speaker Ron Mariano has said he hopes ARPA spending plans will emerge in June, in a vehicle separate from the annual state budget.

– Michael P. Norton/SHNS