No waiting period for laid off ConAgra workers

Posted November 27, 2009 at 8:33 pm and filed under Headlines. Updated December 2, 2009 at 8:12 am.

More than 320 employees laid off by ConAgra Foods earlier this month as a result of a June explosion at its Garner plant will receive unemployment benefits sooner than expected after the state waived a week-long waiting period required under law.

Gov. Bev Perdue signed an executive order for the waiver Tuesday.

Under North Carolina law, workers who are eligible for unemployment benefits normally have to wait while the Employment Security Commission investigates why they are no longer employed, said Andy James, an ESC spokesman.

“We know what happened in this case … so this will speed up the process,” James said.

The company laid off workers the week of Nov. 9 because damage at the plant halved production at the site, according to a ConAgra spokesman. The company stopped paying those workers Nov. 14. The order makes them eligible for claims starting the next day.

Unemployment benefits are paid from a state trust fund, which collects unemployment tax from employers. As claims increase, an employer’s unemployment taxes can go up.

“It’s like your car insurance. If you have to use it for something bigger, then the impact on your premium payment will go up,” James said.

Such a waiver from the governor’s office is rare, he said.

“This is one of the first ones I’ve heard of,” James said.

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