Effective July 1, 2019, South Dakota’s Unemployment Insurance (UI) program will be renamed Reemployment Assistance (RA). This is a result of HB 1035 which passed during the 2019 legislative session.
“The intent of the name change is to focus efforts on assisting individuals while they find new employment, more accurately reflecting the program’s goal,” said state Labor and Regulation Secretary Marcia Hultman.
The UI program provides temporary weekly benefits to people who have lost their job through no fault of their own. Benefits are not meant to replace total wages lost, but to assist with basic necessities.
“This support is to assist individuals while they are seeking a new job,” said Secretary Hultman. “This subtle name change reinforces our philosophy of helping people reenter the workforce as quickly as possible.”
South Dakota’s UI program is financed by employers through payroll taxes. Workers do not contribute to this plan.
