Labor Commissioner Michael Harrington blamed the Legislature on Tuesday for a failed attempt to increase unemployment benefits by $25 a week.
The U.S. Department of Labor deemed the money a supplemental benefit earlier this month and ruled it illegal because of how it would be funded.
Harrington has come under fire for how long it took for him to notify the Legislature of the potential problem. But during a hearing Tuesday, he said the Legislature should have made sure when drafting the state law providing the benefit that it would not run afoul of federal law.
“The Legislature moved extremely quickly on this,” Harrington told the Senate Committee on Economic Development, Housing, and General Affairs. “It did not do its due diligence.”
The chair of the committee, Sen. Michael Sirotkin, D-Chittenden, took exception to Harrington’s accusation.
“When you accuse the Legislature of not doing due diligence, I cannot believe that statement that you are blaming us for not doing due diligence, that we should have found out in advance,” Sirotkin told Harrington.
Sirotkin used the hearing to press Harrington and Director of Unemployment Insurance Cameron Wood on why they did not notify the Legislature sooner that there could be a problem with the benefit.
The U.S. Department of Labor first indicated in emails to Wood in early and mid-June that the benefit might run afoul of federal law. Harrington did not alert legislative leaders until Aug. 24.
Sirotkin and other legislators have argued that had they known then of the potential problem, they could have modified the law to make it comply with federal law before the Legislature adjourned in late June.
Harrington has apologized to the Legislature for not informing it sooner of potential problems.
On Tuesday, he revealed that others were involved in the decision about when to let the Legislature know of the problems.
“I was not the sole person to make the decision on when to notify the Legislature,” Harrington said. “It was an agreed upon time between myself, other members of the administration and other members of the [Vermont Department of Labor].”
Others involved in conversations about when to notify the Legislature, Harrington said, included Wood and Brittney Wilson, the governor’s deputy chief of staff.
Harrington said they made the decision to tell the Legislature five to 10 days before he actually told them on Aug. 24.
Harrington acknowledged that on Aug. 6, during a conversation he had with the U.S. Department of Labor, it became clear that federal officials would rely on the Vermont Department of Labor’s determination that the $25 constituted a supplemental benefit.
Ultimately, the U.S. labor department decided that because the benefit was supplemental and not part of the normal calculation of weekly benefits for unemployed Vermonters, it could not be paid for as the Legislature contemplated, from Vermont’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund.
Tuesday’s hearing included a testy exchange between Harrington and Sen. Kesha Ram Hinsdale, D-Chittenden, who asked for his resignation.
“I don’t feel as though you have any intent on developing any partnership with the Department of Labor or the administration and have been pretty combative,” Harrington told Ram Hinsdale.
“I have constantly been seeking a partner,” Ram Hinsdale replied. “I don’t feel you have been that partner.”
The hearing was the first time that Wood, who throughout the summer was in most frequent contact with the U.S. Department of Labor about the benefit, spoke publicly about the chain of events that led federal officials to declare the benefit illegal.
“We assumed that the benefit would be permissible,” Wood said. “I at the time had the confidence that what we were doing was permissible.”
It was not until early June, when he received the first email from federal officials that they might have a problem with the benefit, that Wood realized that it might be in trouble, he said.
“We knew we needed to get on the phone with USDOL and have a further conversation,” Wood said.
He said at that point there was no consideration of contacting the Legislature.
“I would not say at that point there was a conclusion that we were not going to be able to move forward,” Wood said. He added that he did not inform anyone in the governor’s office either at that point.
“We just wanted further clarification from USDOL of why this [benefit] would not be permissible,” Wood said.
“So at the time of that phone call, it’s becoming clearer that there’s a problem,” Sirotkin said. “Did you notify anyone other than the Commissioner of that?” Sirotkin asked.
“I did not notify anyone else, no,” Wood replied.
