Coronavirus Aid, Relief (CARES Act) Unemployment:
The CARES Act extends eligibility for unemployment insurance for those who are displaced due to COVID-19 in several ways. Workers that are not eligible for this program are those that telework with pay or are accepting paid sick days or paid leave. Workers must be authorized to work to qualify for this program, meaning that undocumented folks will not be eligible. The state will administer benefits.
Federal Unemployment Benefits– From March 27, 2020 through July 31, 2020, everyone filing for unemployment will get their usual calculated benefit plus an extra $600 per week in compensation for up to four months (the $600 per week applies regardless of what your wages were). This includes those who are getting a partial unemployment benefit check. It may be paid together or independently from your regular unemployment check, but both will be paid weekly. The additional $600 is not income for purposes of eligibility for either Medicaid or CHIP but is considered taxable income. You do not need to file separately for these additional benefits. You will be automatically eligible if you are currently on your state’s unemployment program.
Modifications to State Unemployment Benefits- The Act also provides an additional 13 weeks of state unemployment benefits (the total benefit may not continue beyond 39 weeks), which will become available after someone depletes all their regular state unemployment benefits. To receive additional weeks of benefits, workers must be actively involved in searching for work. The bill explicitly allows a State to provide flexibility in meeting such work search terms, incase individuals are unable to search for employment due to COVID-19, including because of illness, quarantine, or movement restriction. The program defers the one-week waiting period established by state unemployment laws.
The Act includes a specific section related to non-profit organizations, which allows these organizations to be reimbursed for half of the costs incurred through the end of 2020 to pay unemployment benefits.
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance– This program will provide income support to various workers who do not meet the traditional requirements of the state unemployment benefit systems in this country. Those eligible include self-employed workers, including independent contractors, freelancers, workers seeking part-time work, and workers who do not have a long-enough work history to qualify for state unemployment benefits. The program will run from January 27, 2020 (will be retroactively applied) through December 31, 2020. The minimum benefit will be equal to one-half of the state’s average weekly unemployment benefit.
Workers will need to apply for PUA through their state unemployment offices.
Eligibility:
- Verify that they are partially or fully unemployed
- Verify that they unable and unavailable to work because:
- They have been diagnosed with COVID-19 or have symptoms of it and are seeking a diagnosis
- A member of their household has been diagnosed with COVID-19
- They are providing care for someone diagnosed with COVID-19
- They are providing care for a child or other household member who can’t attend school or work because it is closed due to COVID-19
- They are quarantined or have been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine
- They were scheduled to start employment and do not have a job or cannot reach their place of work as a result of a COVID-19 outbreak
- They have become the breadwinner for a household because the head of the household has died as a direct result of COVID-19
- They had to quit their job as a direct result of COVID-19
- Their place of employment is closed as a direct result of COVID-19
- They meet other criteria established by the Secretary of Labor