Governor files motion with Supreme Court to prevent layoffs, keep offices open and continue the delivery of critical workforce services
Iowa Governor Terry Branstad
(DES MOINES) – Gov. Branstad this afternoon filed a motion with the Iowa Supreme Court to temporarily stay their decision and thus prevent layoffs of all Workforce Development employees and to continue the delivery of critical workforce services to Iowa’s workers and the unemployed.
Today’s Iowa Supreme decision in Homan vs. Branstad has struck down a number of appropriations within the Workforce Development department – including funding for all Workforce Development offices, the workers compensation division, the labor division, and the unemployment reserve fund.
“Those who brought the lawsuit, with this result, eliminated funding for our Workforce Development services,” said Branstad spokesman Tim Albrecht. “The governor’s action today to stay the decision from this reckless lawsuit is intended to prevent layoffs and maintain these needed services for Iowa’s workers and unemployed.”
Further, Gov. Branstad is committed to working with the Legislature to find a solution that restores funding and maintains Iowans’ access to these vital services.
Gov. Branstad’s program for Iowa Workforce Development has proven to be enormously successful. Gov. Branstad’s actions have led to:
- Expanded hours, making Iowa’s workforce development services available in the evenings and on Saturdays, which was previously not available;
- The Virtual Access Points have increased the services offered to unemployed Iowans searching for work in Iowa;
- Multiple Workforce Development sites now exist in all 99 counties, providing rural Iowans with convenient access that did not previously exist;
- Nearly 100,000 services have been used since the launch of the governor’s Virtual Access Points;
- Iowa Workforce Development is adding 10-20 new sites all across Iowa every week, and currently has 641 sites with more than 2,000 desktops;
- Iowa’s unemployment rate continues to edge lower, and now stands at 5.4% in January, nearly three percentage points lower than the national 8.3% average.
