By Bob Katzen

The House and Senate gave final approval to and Gov. Baker signed into law a bill that would waive the one-week waiting period for unemployment benefits to be paid to workers impacted by COVID-19.

“This means that the Department of Unemployment Assistance would be authorized to pay benefits without delay to persons who become unemployed because of lay-offs or business shutdowns taken in response to the virus, because of quarantine orders or directives or illness that prevents them from leaving their homes, or because they must care for a sick or quarantined family member or attend to children who are at home due to school closures,” said Baker in a written statement.