A Guide to Applying for Unemployment Benefits

1. A Guide to Applying for Unemployment Benefits An astounding 30 million people have filed for unemployment benefits in the United States since coronavirus truly took hold in mid-March 2020, according to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics. Significantly more U.S. citizens are expected to file in May and June as the ripple effect of job losses continues to flow through the economy. What is the Unemployment Insurance Program? The unemployment insurance program is a program administered by the U.S. Department of Labor to provide temporary financial assistance to people who have lost their job through no fault of their own. Because these unemployment benefits are administered at the State level there can be slight differences in certain processes, but the standards are administered and enforced by the Federal Government. Who is Eligible for Unemployment Benefits Under normal circumstances, eligibility criteria is as follows: •US citizen •Unemployed through no fault of your own (i.e. not fired for cause). Note that workers that are furloughed or have their hours severely reduced are also eligible. •Meet some level of ‘base work period’ requirements, normally measured as having worked a certain number of hours over the last year. As of March 27, 2020 the CARES Act, and specifically the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program it created, will expand eligibility to

2. support more people affected by the coronavirus or its economic impact. These group are now eligible for the first time: •Part-time and self-employed workers, including so-called “gig workers” •Workers who are unable to work because of quarantine or because going to work puts them at risk •Workers that have to stay home to provide care to a family member impacted by coronavirus (including children at home full- time because day care or schools are closed) How To Apply For Unemployment Benefits Individuals are advised to apply via the unemployment application websites set up for their respective State. A link to each State’s official site can be found here. Many states also allow their residents to apply via phone or in person, but in-person is often not possible in the current COVID environment. Be advised that unemployment benefits are normally associated through the location of the employer. So if you live in one state but travel or telecommute to a job in another state, it is likely you will have to apply via the website in the State of employment rather than the State of residency. The normal one-week holding period for individual applicants has been waived in many states, meaning all affected people should apply as soon as they have lost their job. Here are the materials you will typically need: •Social Security Number •Driver’s license number •Employment information for all of 2019 and 2020, including contact information for the business/organization and supervisor,

3. as well as the Employment Registration number or Federal Employer Identification Number (found on all W-2 statements) •The reason you are recently unemployed or underemployed •Most recent salary or wage rate It normally takes about 3 weeks to process initial unemployment claims paperwork but be advised that the recent crush of applications has overwhelmed many state unemployment offices. What Happens Next? Individuals are required to continually be looking for work while they receive the weekly unemployment checks from the Federal Government, and to notify their State unemployment agency once they have once again become employed. Unemployment benefits typically last 26 weeks. The CARES Act, and specifically the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program, has provided an additional 13 weeks for a total of 39 weeks of maximum unemployment benefits in most States. Many states also have provisions for Extended Unemployment benefits which may allow for an additional 13-20 weeks of support. What is the CARES Act and How Does it Impact Unemployment Insurance? The Coronavirus Aid, Relief and Economic Security Act (the “CARES Act”) is emergency Federal Legislation passed on March 27th 2020 to help out-of-work Americans and to provide specific assistance to individuals not eligible for unemployment benefits. According to the U.S. Department of the Treasury, the CARES Act “provides fast and direct

4. economic assistance for American workers and families, small businesses, and preservers jobs for American industries”. The CARES ACT includes three important provisions specific to unemployment insurance: Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation This program authorizes expanded unemployment payments of $600 per week through July 2020. To put this payment into perspective, weekly unemployment payments generally are in the $250-500 per week range, depending on State. So this $600 weekly “extra” benefit is more than any single state provides to its residents today, and puts total weekly relief north of $1000 for certain states like California, New York and New Jersey. Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation This provision temporarily extends the period of available unemployment benefits to 39 weeks from the standard 26 weeks. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance This program expands the availability of unemployment insurance beyond ordinary payroll workers to include also "gig" workers and the self-employed, who ordinarily are not eligible for unemployment benefits. The ability to collect retroactive pay is written into this legislation so be sure to apply for that if your application filing or processing is delayed for any reason.

5. What Are the $1200 ‘stimulus payments’ I keep hearing about? The CARES Act provides for immediate Economic Impact Payments up to $1200 per eligible person. Single adults with Social Security numbers who have an adjusted gross income of $75,000 or less will get the full amount. This includes retired people who collect Social Security and do not file taxes. Married couples with no children earning $150,000 or less will receive a total of $2,400. And taxpayers filing as head of household will get the full payment if they earned $112,500 or less. For every qualifying child age 16 or under, the payment will be an additional $500, meaning a family of four can receive up to $3400. Above these income figures, the payment decreases until it stops altogether for single people earning $99,000 or married people who have no children and earn $198,000 or slightly more if they have children.