BATON ROUGE -  A bill from Rep. Troy Hebert, R-Lafayette would change the requirements for a person to continue receiving unemployment benefits, requiring a person to perform at least five work search actions per week, up from the three currently required by Louisiana law. 

The bill’s author says that in some cases, people apply for jobs to show that they are attempting to find a job, but are not showing up for interviews and therefore not getting jobs, even though they continue to receive unemployment benefits.
 
A person could lose unemployment benefits under the following conditions: failing to appear at scheduled interviews or approved training programs after being directed to do so. 

Gabriel Bolden Shaw, with Step Up Louisiana, an advocacy organization, argues the bill hurts the quality of life for people searching for jobs but unable to find one matching their skill set. 

“If there is no job or there are no jobs that I am compatible with, then where does that leave me?” Bolden Shaw said.

Bolden Shaw gave the example of rural areas where there could be fewer available jobs.

The bill’s author says there are exceptions in the existing law for people who live in rural areas where jobs may be scarce. 

Hebert says he wants to address instances where people apply for jobs but don’t appear for interviews. He referred to it as “interview ghosting.”

Since February 2024, the Louisiana Workforce Commission has tracked the number of people who fail to appear for scheduled job interviews. Since then, they’ve tracked 3,591 instances, which resulted in 29 disqualifications.