The Trump administration has proposed sweeping federal rules requiring workers seeking or collecting unemployment insurance to complete at least five job-search activities every week. Published in the Federal Register on November 10 by the US Department of Labor, the regulation would establish a nationwide baseline across all state unemployment programs; currently only four states mandate five weekly activities, while many require two or three and some require just one; the proposal triggered immediate pushback from labor advocates.
According to OnLabor and SWACCA on Thursday, qualifying activities include contacting prospective employers, submitting job applications, attending interviews, completing employer-specific skill assessments, or registering with placement agencies and union hiring halls. States could alternatively adopt a points-based system assigning 1 to 3 points per task, provided claimants reach at least five points weekly; federal standards would override state flexibility. The Department of Labor proposal would also prohibit states from issuing formal or informal warnings to claimants who fall short of the weekly threshold; under existing practices in several states, first-time reporting errors sometimes draw administrative warnings before benefits are suspended.
The Department of Labor stated that establishing a uniform national minimum would "improve program integrity and strengthen labor market attachment," while acknowledging the rule could temporarily increase administrative costs for state agencies and claimants. Michele Evermore of the National Employment Law Project called the proposal "devastating to claimants" and warned that states would need to "change their intake forms, technology and, in some cases, their laws." Critics noted that rural workers and seasonal union trades could struggle to document five separate contacts weekly. The Department of Labor opened a 60-day public comment period following Tuesday's Federal Register publication; legal analysts noted that conforming state statutes could require legislative action in multiple capitals, and state agencies began reviewing compliance costs.
