As the economy deteriorates, more middle-class Americans are being thrown out of work. Even as Congress has extended unemployment insurance to help the swelling ranks of the unemployed make ends meet, only 37% of unemployed workers actually collect benefits. Low-wage, part-time, and women workers are less likely to receive unemployment insurance than higher wage, fulltime, and male workers. The Unemployment Insurance Modernization Act authorizes $7 billion in incentive payments to states to modernize their unemployment insurance programs. Currently, low-wage and part-time workers are often excluded from unemployment benefits. This results from eligibility criteria that exclude a worker’s most recent earnings (making it difficult for low-wage workers to accrue enough earnings to qualify for unemployment assistance if they are sacked) and that exclude unemployed part-time workers by requiring that they look for fulltime work. The Unemployment Insurance Modernization Act would provide funds first to states that allowed workers to count more recent earnings towards unemployment insurance eligibility (called an “alternative base period”) and then to states that adopt two of the following four conditions: benefits are not denied because an individual is only seeking part-time work; benefits are not denied if an employee leaves work for a compelling family reason like domestic violence or a spouse’s relocation; benefits are available to an individual enrolled in a job training program; and unemployed individuals are provided at least a $15 weekly stipend for each of their dependents.