I Am About To Exhaust My Regular Unemployment Compensation Benefits What Kinds Of Relief Does The Cares Act Provide For Me
Under the CARES Act states are permitted to extend unemployment benefits by up to 13 weeks under the new Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program. PEUC benefits are available for weeks of unemployment beginning after your state implements the new program and ending with weeks of unemployment ending on or before December 31, 2020. The program covers most individuals who have exhausted all rights to regular unemployment compensation under state or federal law and who are able to work, available for work, and actively seeking work as defined by state law. Importantly, the CARES Act gives states flexibility in determining whether you are actively seeking work if you are unable to search for work because of COVID-19, including because of illness, quarantine, or movement restrictions.
In addition, if you have exhausted the 13 weeks of additional benefits available under the PEUC program, you may be eligible to continue receiving benefits under the PUA program. PUA benefits are available for a period of unemployment of up to 39 weeks, meaning that if you have exhausted regular UC and PEUC benefits in fewer than 39 weeks, you may be eligible to receive assistance under PUA for the remaining weeks within PUAs 39 week period.
When Tofile A New Claim:
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File a new claim after your Regular Unemployment Insurance claim expires even if you have PEUC benefits remaining.
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File a new claim when you receive a notification in the Online Claims System.
If you do not file a new claim after your benefits have expired, your benefits will stop. If you are eligible for a new claim, you will continue filing weekly on the new claim. If you did not work in your base year, report your wages as zero.
If you qualify for benefits under a new claim, you can file using the Online Claims System or by calling 1-877-345-3484. Learn more about how to file a claim here.
How Do I Apply For Peuc
Sign into your online account at des.nc.gov and click on the Apply for Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation link to apply. Federal guidelines require you to file a separate claim for PEUC to receive these benefits. You will not automatically receive PEUC when you exhaust regular state unemployment insurance benefits.
If you are not eligible for PEUC, you will not see the Apply for Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation link in your online account.
For help with applying for PEUC by phone, call the Customer Call Center at 888-737-0259.
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How To File For Unemployment Benefits Extension
It can be difficult to find a job in a bad economy. You can use unemployment benefits for a short period of time, but what can you do when the time runs out? Discover how to file for unemployment benefits extension.
Unemployment Benefits
The United States government has set up many layers of financial protection for the unemployed. These safety nets are meant to keep the economy functioning. As a worker, you are due unemployment compensation.
During your work time, you and your employer paid into the states unemployment compensation fund. Unemployment compensation law establishes that you can only be on it for a certain period of time. Unemployment benefits really were only meant to be a short-term safety net.
Unemployment Compensation Requirements
You might need to prove that you are still actively searching for a job. Most states will have job centers where government employees can help you with your resumes. You can also go to most libraries, they will usually have a job center.
Libraries might offer free Internet. This might enable you to apply for jobs online. Every bit helps.
2008 Sub Prime Crisis
Unfortunately, unemployment rates remain very high since 2008. Some economists believe that the long-term unemployment rates after 2008 are comparable to the rates of the Great Depression in 1929.
What happens if you havent gotten a new job? You have bills to pay. How do you get an unemployment compensation extension?
EUC Federal Benefits
Emergency Benefits
Reminder: Federal Pandemic Unemployment Benefits Including Peuc Pua Fpuc And Meuc Ended Sept 4 2021 Learn More
Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation is an extension to state unemployment insurance benefits that was created through the federal CARES Act and extended through the Continued Assistance Act and American Rescue Plan Act.
Claimants may receive PEUC for up to 53 weeks after exhausting state unemployment insurance benefits. The PEUC program expires Sept. 4, 2021.
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I Was Furloughed By My Employer But They Have Now Reopened And Asked Me To Return To My Job Can I Remain On Unemployment
No. As a general matter, individuals receiving regular unemployment compensation must act upon any referral to suitable employment and must accept any offer of suitable employment. Barring unusual circumstances, a request that a furloughed employee return to his or her job very likely constitutes an offer of suitable employment that the employee must accept.
While eligibility for PUA does not turn on whether an individual is actively seeking work, it does require that the individual be unemployed, partially employed, or unable or unavailable to work due to certain circumstances that are a direct result of COVID-19 or the COVID-19 public health emergency. In the situation outlined here, an employee who had been furloughed because his or her employer has closed the place of employment would potentially be eligible for PUA while the employer remained closed, assuming the closure was a direct result of the COVID-19 public health emergency and other qualifying conditions are satisfied. However, as soon as the business reopens and the employee is recalled for work, as in the example above, eligibility for PUA would cease unless the individual could identify some other qualifying circumstance outlined in the CARES Act.
How Do I Send The Irs My Tax Payment
If youre mailing your tax payment, you can elect to have the funds withdrawn directly from your bank account or include a personal check or money order. If you choose the latter, make it payable to US Treasury and include your name, address, phone number, Social Security number or Individual Tax ID Number. Under no circumstances should you ever mail cash to the IRS.
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Pandemic Unemployment Assistance And Extended State Benefits
Independent contractors, freelancers and gig workers who wouldnât have qualified for claims before will be able to get the same UI benefits as those who qualify for the PEUC program. This act has loosened rules and eligibility considerably and includes:
- Pandemic Unemployment Assistance â Provides at least 50 weeks of benefits for freelance, gig and contract workers who would normally NOT have been eligible for state unemployment programs. Workers who get PUA are not concurrently eligible for PEUC or Extended State Unemployment benefits. Unemployment claims for PUA will be backdated and paid retroactively to the first week during the PUA period in which an employee was unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable and unavailable to work due to COVID-19
- Extended State Unemployment Benefits â Provides an additional 13 additional weeks of benefits when a state is experiencing high unemployment. Some states have also enacted a voluntary program to pay up to 7 additional weeks during periods of extremely high unemployment. Note that extended state benefits are only available after people have collected all regular Unemployment Insurance benefits as well as any PEUC benefits they were eligible for. But if the unemployment rates drops below high unemployment thresholds in a state, the EB benefit coverage weeks may drop or cease. See the current levels of EB benefits available by state.
If I Am Eligible For Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Do I Need To First Apply For Unemployment Insurance
States must have a process for determining that Pandemic Unemployment Assistance applicants are ineligible for regular unemployment benefits, which may not include filing a regular claim as a first step. States are not required to take and adjudicate a full claim for regular unemployment insurance benefits to meet this requirement. While states are not prohibited from taking a full claim, to facilitate expedited claims processing the U.S. Department of Labor has discouraged states from doing so. Individuals should apply using the states PUA application process and, in states that have not yet established that process, must wait until it is established.
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I Am About To Exhaust My State Unemployment Insurance Benefits How Do I Apply For Peuc
When you sign into your online account at des.nc.gov, you will see an Apply for Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation link instead of a link to file your Weekly Certification. Click on the Apply for Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation link to file your claim.
Federal guidelines require you to file a separate claim for PEUC to receive these benefits. You will not automatically receive PEUC when you exhaust regular state unemployment insurance benefits.
If you are not eligible for PEUC, you will not see the Apply for Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation link in your online account.
For help with applying for PEUC by phone, call the Customer Call Center at 888-737-0259.
If Youre Not Eligible
If we review your claim and you are not eligible for FED-ED, we will mail you a Notice of Determination for Federal-State Extended Duration Benefits within 5-7 days. This notice will explain why you are not eligible and will include information on how to appeal if you do not agree with the determination.
But, if you are not eligible for FED-ED, we will open a Pandemic Unemployment Assistance claim for you or reopen your claim if you already had a PUA claim in the past. We will send you a notice of Immediate Action Required â Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Self-Certification . You must verify that you meet PUA eligibility requirements, including that you became unemployed, partially unemployed or unable or unavailable to work due to one of the federally recognized COVID-19 reasons. If you do not complete and return the form within 10 days, your PUA benefits may be delayed or denied.
Note: PUA benefits are only available through September 4, 2021.
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Policy Basics: How Many Weeks Of Unemployment Compensation Are Available
Workers in most states are eligible for up to 26 weeks of benefits from the regular state-funded unemployment compensation program, although ten states provide fewer weeks, and two provide more. Extended Benefits are not triggered on in any state. Additional weeks of pandemic federal benefits ended in all states on September 6, 2021.
The federal-state unemployment insurance system helps many people who have lost their jobs by temporarily replacing part of their wages. Under certain circumstances, unemployed workers who exhaust their regular state-funded unemployment benefits before they can find work can receive additional weeks of benefits.
Under the CARES Act responding to the COVID-19 pandemic, all states received access to federal funding to provide additional weeks of Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Assistance benefits to people who exhausted their regular state benefits, and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance to many others who lost their jobs through no fault of their own but who were not normally eligible for UI in their state. These and other pandemic-related emergency UI programs ended nationwide the first weekend of September 2021, but many states stopped providing these federal benefits before that.
The map below shows the maximum number of weeks of benefits that are currently available in each state.
The two states providing more than the 26-week maximum are:
The states providing fewer than the standard 26-week maximum include:
Department Of Unemployment Assistance
To request weekly benefits, daily 6 a.m.10 p.m.
Hearing Impaired Voice RelayPayment Status line
Online
DUA oversees the unemployment insurance program, which provides temporary income assistance to eligible workers in Massachusetts. DUA also determines and collects employer contributions to the UI program. To report fraud or get help with your claim, call Unemployment Customer Assistance at 626-6800.
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What Is The Eligibility For Fed
- Have a regular unemployment insurance claim that started on or after May 19, 2019.
- Used all benefits on your UI claim and the PEUC extension, or your claim has expired.
- Do not qualify for a new UI claim in California or any other state.
- Meet UI eligibility requirements and are not disqualified.
- Made enough earnings in the base period of your regular UI claim.
FED-ED payments will be the same as the weekly benefit amount from your UI claim, however, there are limits to the total benefit amount.
Your maximum benefit amount will be the lesser of either:
- 50% of the maximum benefit amount of your UI claim
- 13 times the weekly benefit amount
EDD shared this example:
You received a weekly benefit amount of $400 and a maximum benefit amount of $8,800 in your last regular UI claim and you have collected all of the maximum benefit amount. To calculate the FED-ED maximum benefit amount:
- Calculation 1: 50% of $8,800 = $4,400
- Calculation 2: 13 X $400 = $5,200
Your FED-ED maximum benefit amount will be $4,400 because Calculation 1 is the lesser of the two.
One Of My Workers Quit Because He Said He Would Prefer To Receive The Unemployment Compensation Benefits Under The Cares Act Is He Eligible For Unemployment If Not What Can I Do
No, typically that employee would not be eligible for regular unemployment compensation or PUA. Eligibility for regular unemployment compensation varies by state but generally does not include those who voluntarily leave employment. Similarly, to receive PUA, an individual must be ineligible for regular unemployment compensation or extended benefits under state or federal law, or pandemic emergency unemployment compensation, and satisfy one of the eligibility criteria enumerated in the CARES Act, as explained in Unemployment Insurance Program Letter 16-20. There are multiple qualifying circumstances related to COVID-19 that can make an individual eligible for PUA, including if the individual quits his or her job as a direct result of COVID-19. Quitting to access unemployment benefits is not one of them. Individuals who quit their jobs to access higher benefits, and are untruthful in their UI application about their reason for quitting, will be considered to have committed fraud.
If desired, employers can contest unemployment insurance claims through their state unemployment insurance agencys process.
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Important Contact Information And Links
Online Applications
We strongly encourage you to utilize our online BEACON application to file your claim, which is available online 24/7.
Claimant Phone Number
- To contact a live agent to file a new claim or inquire about an existing claim, please call 667-207-6520, toll free.
- Since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, we have more than doubled our Claims Center staffing and have further extended hours. Live claims agents are available from 7:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., Monday through Friday and from 8:00 a.m. to 12:00 p.m. on Saturday, and on Sunday from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m. Claimants now have the option to call us seven days a week.
- If you call during business hours, you may provide a callback number. When an agent becomes available, the system will call the number and connect you with an agent. You may also be offered the opportunity to connect with a virtual agent to have questions answered by smartphone.
Employer and Agent Phone Number
- The Employer Call Center will be available beginning September 21, 2020 and can be reached at 410-949-0033.
- If you need activating your employer or agent account in BEACON, please contact the Account Activation Hotline at 410-767-8997.
Connect with IVR System to File Telecerts and More
Inquiry Form
Currently unemployed individuals who satisfy the following criteria could qualify for federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation benefits
What Happens When I Run Out Of Peuc
If you exhaust PEUC, Pennsylvania has its own unemployment extension called Extended Benefits . Workers are eligible for up to 13 weeks of EB in Pennsylvania. Your EB benefit will be half the weeks of your regular claim. For example, if you received 26 weeks of regular UC, you will receive 13 weeks of EB, or if you received 20 weeks of regular UC, you will receive 10 weeks of EB.
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What Happens If I Miss The Tax Deadline
If you received an extension and fail to file your income taxes by midnight on Oct. 15, what happens next depends on your situation. If you are owed a refund, there is no penalty for filing late, though this may be different for your state taxes. But if you owe the IRS, penalties and interest start to accrue on any remaining unpaid tax due. Theres also a $330 failure-to-file penalty under the Taxpayer First Act of 2019.
In most states, taxpayers who are granted a federal extension to file automatically receive an equivalent extension to file their state income tax return.
An important note: If you are owed a refund or you filed for an extension through Oct. 15, you were supposed to pay your taxes by May 17. If you owe money, you would have been required to estimate the amount due and pay it with your Form 4868. If you did that, you should have automatically been granted an extension.
Another caveat: If youre serving in the military in a combat zone or a contingency operation in support of the armed forces you may be granted additional time to file, according to the IRS.
Bottom line? Its best to e-file or postmark your individual tax return as early as possible. CNETs roundup of the best tax software for 2021 features an array of packages that can help you take care of business quickly and affordably.
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