Tighten up benefits

Military spouses — in. Ex-cons — out. That’s the gist of two changes to the state’s unemployment system being proposed this week by Gov. Charlie Baker, and passage is a no-brainer.

Really, just when you think all the loopholes for collecting unemployment have been closed we learn of another one — a particularly shady one.

As the Herald reported Tuesday, a Massachusetts inmate who had participated in a work-release program while being held in a minimum security facility was able to collect unemployment benefits for months after his release in 2012. His benefits were revoked after the Department of Correction claimed the workrelease employment was exempt.

But a judge last summer reversed that decision, and recommended changes if the state wanted to exclude such programs from unemployment eligibility in the future. Baker’s bill would clarify that prisoners who participate in employment programs are not eligible for jobless benefits upon release. And yes, the idea that this must be spelled out in state law is really quite astonishing.

The bill would also make workers eligible for unemployment if they have been forced to leave work because of an active-duty military spouse’s new assignment. That’s a sensible, narrowly-drawn change that, Baker noted, recognizes the sacrifices made by military members and their families.

Other changes would permit the Division of Unemployment Assistance to save money by communicating electronically with claimants (rather than by snail mail) and speed up how quickly it can claw back unemployment benefits that are obtained fraudulently.

The unemployment system needs more reform, particularly on the benefits side. In 2014 Beacon Hill coupled a big increase in the state’s minimum wage with a freeze in unemployment insurance rates, but did little in the way of reform. It would be encouraging to see the Baker team wade into that debate next year.

For now these changes should win immediate and widespread support on Beacon Hill.