• Unemployment Benefits

    • After the President’s emergency declaration, the Department of Labor (DOL) announced new guidance stating that workers temporarily quarantined or unable to work due to the coronavirus can be eligible for unemployment benefits. States now have more flexibility, and can pay benefits when workers are quarantined, or when they leave their jobs due to a risk of exposure or to care for a family member.
    • H.R. 6201, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, which passed the House on March 14 and should pass the Senate this week, also appropriated $1 billion for emergency transfers to states to process and pay unemployment benefits.
      • States would receive half of their allocation within 60 days of the bill’s enactment if they certify that they meet certain requirements, such as ensuring that workers can apply for benefits online or by phone.
      • States would receive the remaining funds if their unemployment claims increased by at least 10% over the same quarter in the previous year. They would have to waive certain eligibility rules for claimants and charges for employers affected by Covid-19.
    • H.R. 6201 also waives the state matching requirement and provides full federal funding for the Extended Benefits (EB) program for the rest of 2020. To qualify, states would need to experience a 10% spike in unemployment claims over the past year and qualify for a full emergency funding transfer under the measure.
      • Background: Eligible laid-off workers can receive regular unemployment benefits for as long as 26 weeks in most states. After exhausting those benefits, individuals in states with rising unemployment can qualify for an additional 13 weeks of benefits — or 20 weeks in some states — through the Extended Benefits (EB) program.
    • NY State DOL Unemployment Benefits Application: https://labor.ny.gov/ui/how_to_file_claim.shtm