FRANKFORT, Ky. — Kentucky Chamber Middle for Coverage and Analysis Government Director Charles Aull testified in entrance of the Advantages Cliff Process Power, to percentage employer demanding situations and coverage answers to deal with advantages cliffs in Kentucky.
Aull mentioned the tactics advantages cliffs create demanding situations for employers come with expanding repayment to draw and retain staff and providing extra hours or providing a possibility to transition from part-time to full-time.
Whilst sharing statistics and traits on employment, wages, and hours, Aull mentioned the advantages cliff factor has transform an increasing number of prevalent in Kentucky’s traditionally tight exertions marketplace.
Aull counseled the 2022 Normal Meeting’s passage of Space Invoice 708, calling it a step ahead for Kentucky. The regulation would require the Kentucky Cupboard for Well being and Circle of relatives Products and services to create an offer for a receive advantages cliff calculator, and produce it to the legislature. Aull wired the significance of the advantages cliff calculator running for each folks in addition to employers.
Answers to assist cope with Kentucky’s advantages cliff factor contains leveraging public-private partnerships and the earned source of revenue tax credit score.
Aull pointed to Space Invoice 499, the Worker Kid Care Help Partnership, for instance of a public-private partnership that may assist employers be a part of the answer. This program encourages non-profit and for-profit employers to supply kid care help as a advantage of employment via matching employer contributions with state bucks. To assist employers get ready for this program, the Chamber launched a useful resource information.
Expanding usage of the Earned Source of revenue Tax Credit score (EITC) will have to be a concern when having a look to deal with receive advantages cliffs, Aull mentioned. The EITC is designed to inspire and praise paintings with the function of accelerating employment, particularly for staff with kids. Recently in Kentucky, the EITC is used at a fee of 79.9 p.c. If the EITC have been applied at one hundred pc, 95,000 extra Kentuckians could be affected. Kentucky may build up usage via attractive the Cupboard for Well being and Circle of relatives Products and services and the Division of Income to toughen consciousness.
Probably the most important team of workers problems for Kentuckians is kid care, which items demanding situations together with availability, surprising closures or adjustments in hours, non-traditional paintings schedules, kid care deserts, prices, and festival with different advantages.
Aull shared tactics employers are addressing team of workers problems in their very own places of work, together with on-site kid care availability, partnerships with native facilities, partnerships with CCR&Rs, multi-employer kid care services and products, Space Invoice 499, versatile scheduling, and far flung paintings.
To handle kid care problems which might be contributing to Kentucky’s advantages cliffs, Aull shared coverage concerns from the industry group, which come with making sure the luck of Space Invoice 499, stabilizing the Kid Care Help Program (CCAP), finding out native zoning ordinances, making sure the luck of the Industry Partnerships Grants Program, leveraging the Employer-Supplied Kid Care Tax Credit score, and the investment the Early Youth Construction Scholarship.
