President Obama signed a new law that extends eligibility for the current unemployment benefit extensions explained below, for two more months into 2012. A House-Senate conference committee will negotiate extending the benefits through 2012.
Update 1/27: According to an article in The Hill, GOP leaders are pushing the committee to restrict eligibility for unemployment benefit extensions. (In a December bill that stalled in the Senate, House Republicans authorized states to drug test applicants for eligibility and deny benefits to high-school dropouts who had not enrolled in GED or equivalent programs.) The committee has until 3/1 to resolve differences.
Under the new law, entitled the Temporary Payroll Tax Cut Continuation Act of 2011 (“Senate compromise bill”), eligible claimants may collect up to 99 weeks of unemployment insurance (UI) benefits depending on state unemployment rates and eligibility dates, the same as under the previous law.
The UI benefits consist of up to 26 weeks in standard state unemployment benefits plus up to 73 weeks in federal jobless aid, which is a combination of Emergency Unemployment Compensation and Extended Benefits. Eligible claimants in states with a 3-month average unemployment rate of 8.5 percent or higher will receive the most weeks of the UI benefits combination.
According to the U.S. Department of Labor (DOL), the week-ending deadline to initially qualify for Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) is now March 3, 2012, while the week-ending deadline for Extended Benefits (EB) is March 10, 2012. However, EUC and EB are currently payable only through the weeks ending August 18 and August 11, respectively. The deadlines will likely differ a bit among the states, as some unemployment offices announce week-beginning or statutory dates instead of week-ending dates.
As its official title implies, the new law also authorizes a two-month extension of the yearlong reduction in payroll taxes (Social Security taxes) for employees and self-employed individuals. Ordinarily, workers pay 6.2 percent in Social Security taxes, but they will continue to pay only 4.2 percent for two more months into 2012. The conference committee mentioned above will also negotiate extending the tax cut through 2012.
About Emergency Unemployment Compensation and Extended Unemployment Benefits
The Emergency Unemployment Compensation program is often abbreviated as EUC08 (or EUC 08 or EUC 2008), because it became active under the Supplemental Appropriations Act of 2008. EUC08 provides up to 53 weeks of extra UI benefits, divided into four “tiers” as follows.
- Tier 1: Up to 20 weeks in every state
- Tier 2: Up to 14 additional weeks in every state
- Tier 3: Up to 13 additional weeks in each state, depending on its average unemployment rate
- Tier 4: Up to 6 additional weeks in each state, depending on its average unemployment rate
If warranted based on a state’s average unemployment rate, the Extended Benefits program provides up to 20 weeks of extended unemployment benefits on top of emergency unemployment compensation, for a total of up to 99 weeks including up to 26 weeks of standard state unemployment benefits. The DOL recalculates state unemployment rates weekly, to determine whether tiers 3-4 and extended benefits are “triggered” on or off in each state. Standard state unemployment benefits are always triggered on.
Because of the burdens imposed by the persistently high unemployment rate, Arkansas, Florida, Illinois, Michigan, Missouri and South Carolina reduced the term of standard unemployment benefits to fewer than 26 weeks. Additionally, some of those states and certain others toughened eligibility requirements for same. The new rules take effect by the end of this year or in 2012, depending on the state.
To become eligible for EUC08, unemployed workers must first exhaust standard unemployment benefits by a deadline, and then they must exhaust a tier by a deadline to become eligible for the next in numerical sequence. To become eligible for the EB program, unemployed workers must exhaust all four tiers of EUC08 by a deadline. That’s the usual sequence, but states may change it under certain circumstances.
If and when the time comes that you might be eligible for one of the four EUC08 tiers or extended unemployment benefits, then the state unemployment office is required to notify you. Even though notified, you still might have to confirm your eligibility; for example, you might need to file a new claim or simply continue to submit the required reports, such as your job-searching activity. The rules vary by state.
Your weekly compensation amount for emergency unemployment compensation and extended unemployment benefits, if available in your state, will be the same as it was for your standard unemployment benefits. See the article “Extended Unemployment Benefits” for more general information about the EUC08 and EB programs. For specifics, contact the relevant state unemployment office or browse its Web site.
If your employer denies you unemployment benefits for misconduct (or for any other reason), then your employee rights entitle you to appeal the denial.
EmployeeIssues.com has updated this post as more information became available. The last update of significance was on January 27, 2012.
