Gov. Reynolds directs $490 million of CARES Funds into Unemployment Trust Fund

DES MOINES – Today, Gov. Kim Reynolds announced she has directed $490 million of the $1.25 billion in Coronavirus relief funds Iowa was provided through the CARES Act, to be deposited into Iowa’s Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund. The deposit will ensure that eligible Iowans continue to receive unemployment insurance benefits, and will also enable Iowa employers to remain in Tax Table 7 for 2021.

“As we move forward with recovery, I want to minimize the pandemic’s impact on employers so they can focus on growing and reinvesting in Iowa,” said Gov. Reynolds. “Iowa’s employers continue to do an outstanding job during these unprecedented times and today’s action will provide them greater certainty. This move also ensures that our trust fund remains healthy and in a position to weather any storm, including COVID-19.”

“From the beginning of the pandemic, Iowa has not been charging employers with claims made by laid off employees to ensure employers would not see their tax rates go up because of these claims,” Iowa Workforce Development Director Beth Townsend added “Keeping employers in Tax Table 7, saves them over $400 million in unemployment taxes.”