What You Need to Know About Unemployment Compensation Benefits
According to the New York Times, as of Thursday, March 19, 2020, 15 states had reported a total of nearly 630,000 unemployment claims. As the impact of “shelter in place” and other quarantining measures continue to ripple through the retail, travel, leisure, gaming, restaurant and other industries, it is inevitable that these national unemployment numbers will skyrocket in to the millions in the not too distant future.
The state unemployment compensation, or unemployment insurance, systems (“UC” for unemployment compensation or “UI” for unemployment insurance) help people who have lost their jobs by temporarily replacing a portion of their wages while they search for new work. The application process in most states is online. Typically you have to have been employed for at least 6 months to be eligible for benefits. Each state has its own formula for calculating the financial benefit. Typically, unemployment compensation benefits replace only about 45% of your lost income.
UC benefits are time-limited, typically for up to 26-weeks, but each state determines the duration of the benefit that will be provided. The national average benefit is roughly $380 per week. Click here for a map and explanation showing the maximum number of weeks benefits are currently available in each state.
During the COVID-19 outbreak, the federal government is allowing states to amend their unemployment laws. Benefits can be provided if an employer temporarily closes operations because of the coronavirus, if a worker leaves a job because of risk of exposure or to care for a sick relative, or if an individual is quarantined with the expectation of coming back to work once the quarantine period is over. Some states have already expanded eligibility to include workers who don't have access to paid leave or who may not meet any requirement involving availability to work, such as those who have been quarantined.
Under certain emergency circumstances, including periods of high unemployment (like what happened following the recession of 2008), the federal government can fund temporary Emergency Unemployment Compensation (“EUC”). The EUC program can extend UC benefits by up to 99 weeks post-termination and after exhaustion of regular state-funded unemployment benefits.
The federally funded temporary Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program expired at the end of 2013, and has not yet been re-implemented despite the Coronavirus situation. However, watch for updates in your state, as it seems only a matter of time until the federal government will need to step in and offer EUC once again.