GREENSBORO, N.C. — It's called the 'Putting North Carolina Back to work' act, and it's one step closer to becoming law.
If signed, the bill will get rid of the $300 dollars in federal unemployment benefits. Some lawmakers say the money is a disincentive for people to get back to work.
"So the federal supplement is $300 dollars, the maximum weekly amount for unemployment at the state level is $350 dollars," Representative Jon Hardister explained. "So when you add in the federal supplement that's $650 a week."
Representative Hardister said the House passed Senate Bill 116 on Thursday. It that seeks to get more people back to work now that many businesses are fully open again.
"I think the time has come to allow the federal supplement to expire and furthermore, all you have to do is get in your car and drive around and look at all the now hiring signs across town."
Hardister said removing the $300 dollars will incentivize people to get a job, as businesses struggle to operate because of the labor shortage.
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"It made sense to have that supplement during the COVID-19 shutdown but those restrictions are lifted now and I think its time to move on."
Restaurant owners like Benny Zeng of ZC Hawaiian Barbecue in Greensboro say that even though there's no longer capacity limits, they're still closed for indoor dining.
The reason being? They don't have enough servers and no one is applying.
"A lot of people, they are just a little bit lazy now, they don't want to look for a job because they get free money," he said.
The Senate still has to take a final vote on the bill, then it's off to Governor Roy Cooper's desk.
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