Will Federal Government Extend Unemployment Benefits?

If Congress does not act before the current law providing extended unemployment benefits ends on December 31, 2011, millions of people will be left without their federal extended benefits starting in January of 2012. Most states provide unemployment benefits for a duration of up to 26 weeks. If the recipient cannot find a new job, the federal government extended benefits program kicks in. The current problem is the ticking clock, with less than two months before the federal program expires. A new law to reauthorize the benefits must be passed before this year ends to avoid interruption of the program.

As of the first week of November, legislation to extend the federal unemployment insurance programs through 2012 has been introduced by Representatives Lloyd Doggett of Texas, Sander Levin of Michigan and Senator Jack Reed of Rhode Island. This bill introduces no changes to the program, rather it will ensure that the program runs through 2012.

So, what exactly do these programs do? In the past, the only help available to the unemployed were state programs providing up to 26 weeks of benefits. This gave people the opportunity to find a new job while being able to keep up with most of their bills. It was a temporary measure of relief to bridge the gap between jobs. With the current dismal job market, the situation has changed. People can no longer quickly find another job and many face dire situations when their unemployment benefits run out. Here is the frightening part of the current job crisis. At the beginning of 2010, three quarters of the unemployed were receiving unemployment checks, but estimates now find less than half of the unemployed are still receiving benefits, even with the current extended benefits! These have run out too, indicating a true long-term unemployment crisis in the United States.

Here is a simple look at how extended benefits work. Each state has unemployment benefit insurance programs that employers pay into. When layoffs occur, these benefits last an unemployed worker a maximum of 26 weeks. Each state is a little different in the details, so consulting your specific state program is advised. After these regular benefits have been exhausted, extended benefit programs may be available. The checks will still come from your state, but the funding comes from the federal government. Two programs are in place, the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) that can extend benefits for up to 53 additional weeks, and the Extended Benefits (EB) Program that can provide an additional 13-20 weeks.
The EUC is a tiered system, with Tier 1 providing an additional 20 weeks and Tier 2 extending 14 more weeks. Now, here comes the tricky part. Tier 3 extensions of up to 13 weeks are available only in states where unemployment is six percent or higher. Tier 4 is an additional six weeks but is only available in states with 8.5 percent unemployment or more. The Extended Benefits (EB) Program of up to 20 weeks is available when specified levels of unemployment are reached.

Your specific unemployment benefits depend on the state you live in and the date you were unemployed. Let’s look at the difference between two states to see exactly how this works. The unemployment rate in California is over 11 percent, so the unemployed there may qualify for the full 99 weeks of benefits. This breaks down to 26 weeks of regular unemployment, 53 weeks of EUC benefits as California qualifies for both Tier 3 and 4 benefits, and the 20 weeks of the EB program. Now, looking at New York that has an unemployment rate of around eight percent, we see a difference. Workers here do not qualify for the Tier 4 benefits of EUC, but do get everything else. So, they may be eligible for 93 weeks of benefits.

No related posts.