Why RESEA Should Not Be Required for Unemployment Benefits
The Reemployment Services and Eligibility Assessments (RESEA) program, which requires unemployed individuals to participate in mandatory job search activities and submit proof of job applications to receive benefits, is an unnecessary and burdensome policy. Unemployment benefits are not a government handout—they are a safety net funded by workers and their employers through payroll taxes. Requiring workers to jump through additional hoops like RESEA to access the benefits they paid into is both inefficient and unfair.
First, unemployment insurance is not welfare. It's a benefit earned through labor, one that workers have contributed to during their employment. Requiring individuals to perform additional tasks to qualify for benefits that are rightfully theirs undermines the entire purpose of unemployment insurance. If you've paid into a system designed to assist you in times of need, you should not be forced to adhere to bureaucratic demands or prove your job search efforts to access your own money.
Second, the imposition of job application requirements places undue stress on individuals already struggling to make ends meet. Unemployment is a difficult and stressful time, and adding job search submission requirements forces unemployed workers to apply to jobs they may not even be qualified for, just to meet quotas. This busywork creates inefficiencies in the job market, as employers receive applications from candidates who are not genuinely interested in the position, while job seekers are forced to allocate time to fulfilling arbitrary rules instead of focusing on more meaningful employment opportunities.
Moreover, the conservative principle of individual responsibility should be extended to how unemployment benefits are administered. Individuals should have the freedom to seek new opportunities without government micromanagement. The assumption that people are not trying hard enough to find employment unless compelled by RESEA is misplaced. Most unemployed individuals want to work and are actively seeking jobs that match their skills and experience. Unemployment benefits provide financial relief to help them survive during their job search—not to dictate the terms of that search.
Ultimately, RESEA reflects a paternalistic approach that undermines the agency of individuals. By scrapping this unnecessary program, we can restore autonomy to workers who have already earned the right to access unemployment benefits without further requirements.
Sources:
- Unemployment Insurance: The Basics, Center on Budget and Policy Priorities. Retrieved from https://www.cbpp.org
- Unemployment Insurance Program Integrity: A Conservative Perspective, Heritage Foundation. Retrieved from https://www.heritage.org
- The Unnecessary Burden of RESEA on Unemployed Workers, National Employment Law Project. Retrieved from https://www.nelp.org
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