WASHINGTON – Unemployed Americans who have turned down job offers because they feared their prospective employers weren't providing sufficient protection from the coronavirus would qualify for jobless aid under a directive the Labor Department issued Thursday.
The measure would also expand a federal unemployment benefits program, established in last spring's economic relief package, to cover workers who have lost hours or who were laid off because of the pandemic.
It would also cover school employees who lose jobs or work hours because of school closings. The federal program, known as Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, made the self-employed and gig workers eligible for jobless aid for the first time. “Until now, unemployment insurance