Aid to out-of-state jobless to end

Federal rules say you have to work in Mass. to get benefits here

Floridians Jeff Russell and Scott Kling visited Massachusetts' Division of Unemployment Assistance Nov. 26 after they were laid off in Pittsburgh. (Yoon S. Byun/Globe Staff)

Laid off from their construction jobs in Pittsburgh and headed home to Florida, Scott Kling and Jeff Russell took a 600-mile detour to Boston on the worst travel day of the year, the Wednesday before Thanksgiving. The reason: about $100 a week more in their unemployment checks.

Kling and Russell are among the thousands of out-of-state residents who each year travel to Massachusetts to claim the most generous jobless benefits in the nation, even though they've never worked a day here. Under federal rules, laid-off workers who have earned wages in more than one state can file for unemployment in any state they choose, as long as they do it in person.

"Me, I've got two kids," said Kling, 29, who estimated he'd receive about $700 a week from Massachusetts, at least $100 more than from any other state. "That was the main reason for me filing here."

But Massachusetts soon will lose its allure for many of these out-of-state unemployed. On Jan. 6, new federal regulations will restrict workers to filing unemployment claims in states where they have actually earned wages.

What has made it worth the trip for out-of-state workers is the highest maximum weekly benefit in the nation, $628 plus an additional $25 a week for each dependent, according to the US Labor Department. Massachusetts is also one of the only states that pays initial benefits for up to 30 weeks, compared to 26 for the others.

Nearly 8,000 workers who never earned wages in Massachusetts filed for unemployment compensation here in 2007, according to the state Division of Unemployment Assistance. That represented about 2 percent of total claims.

Since Massachusetts is reimbursed by other states for the benefits it pays their workers, the new federal regulations will primarily remove the administrative burden of processing claims and billing other states. Perhaps more important, said Suzanne Bump, state secretary of Labor and Workforce Development, it will free up unemployment assistance workers to concentrate on Massachusetts residents.

A rapid rise in layoffs in recent months has led to long lines at walk-in unemployment offices and long waits to get through on jammed phone lines to file claims. The state had to extend hours at call centers until 6:30 p.m. on weekdays and add Saturday hours of 8 a.m. to 1:30 p.m.

"Even though it represents a small number of claims," Bump said, "it will be a big relief for the folks taking claims at the walk-in centers."

Centers near the state's borders tend to attract the most out-of-state filers, Bump said. In Springfield, Rexene Picard, executive director of FutureWorks Career Center, said about 20 out-of-state workers line up each Monday to file claims after flying into Bradley International Airport over the weekend. The airport's about 15 miles away in Windsor Locks, Conn.

Picard said her staff has to separate them from the Massachusetts applicants and explain the process.

The out-of-state workers then file claims by telephone, but Picard's staff has to be on hand to confirm to the call center representatives that the workers are in the state.

"They're coming from all up and down the Eastern Seaboard when we're already extremely busy with in-state claimants," Picard said. "You want to service Massachusetts residents first."

Ingrid Evans, unemployment insurance director for the National Association of State Workforce Agencies, said states have pushed for new rules to reduce administrative burdens.

But the change will also lower costs for low-benefit states that currently have to reimburse Massachusetts at higher rates than they themselves pay.

About five weeks after filing, Russell, the Florida construction worker, said he had yet to receive an unemployment check from Massachusetts. Kling, the other worker, couldn't be reached for comment.

Russell, 31, a pipe fitter, said he and Kling learned by word-of-mouth that they could file in Massachusetts. The last time he was laid off, Russell said, he filed in Florida, which, on average, pays about half the weekly benefit of Massachusetts.

Still, Russell said, he doesn't plan to collect for long. He's moving west to find a new job.

"I filed just in case I can't get back to work," Russell said. "But I hope to be back to work in the next two or three weeks."

Robert Gavin can be reached at rgavin@globe.com; Nicole C. Wong can be reached at nwong@globe.com.