Unemployment Insurance Navigators Serving Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers: Findings from Wisconsin and New Mexico Brief

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Release Date: August 29, 2024

Unemployment Insurance Navigators Serving Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers: Findings from Wisconsin and New Mexico Brief

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Unemployment Insurance

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About the Brief

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This spotlight brief highlights common barriers faced by migrant and seasonal farmworkers to receiving unemployment insurance (UI) benefits and how UI Navigators in Wisconsin and New Mexico help to remove these barriers. This brief is part of a study funded by the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), Chief Evaluation Office, that explores the implementation of Unemployment Insurance (UI) Navigator Grants, which seven states received in 2022. The DOL’s Employment and Training Administration funded these three-year competitive grants, which aim to support efforts to promote equitable access to UI benefits. Visit the Navigator Evidence-Building Portfolio website for additional information about the study’s design and related publications. A full study report will be available in early 2025.

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Key Takeaways

  • Migrant and seasonal farmworkers are agricultural workers who are employed in a seasonal or temporary nature, and who may travel from their state residence to find seasonal employment.
  • For migrant and seasonal farmworkers who meet all the eligibility requirements to receive UI benefits, many still face several distinct barriers to applying for and receiving benefits, including: 1) language barriers; 2) complexity of claim filing due to earning wages in multiple states; 3) cultural barriers; and 4) educational barriers.
  • UI Navigators in Wisconsin and New Mexico aim to help to remove barriers for these farmworkers to receiving UI benefits by providing language translation and assistance, intensive one-on-one support, and outreach and educational activities informed by their lived experience and unique connections to the communities they serve.

Citation

Krantz, A. (2024). Mathematica. Unemployment Insurance Navigators Serving Migrant and Seasonal Farmworkers: Findings from Wisconsin and New Mexico. Chief Evaluation Office, U.S. Department of Labor.

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The Department of Labor’s (DOL) Chief Evaluation Office (CEO) sponsors independent evaluations and research, primarily conducted by external, third-party contractors in accordance with the Department of Labor Evaluation Policy and CEO’s research development process.