Those who have been receiving unemployment through Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance will continue to receive unemployment payments without disruption, a US Department of Labor spokesperson said on Tuesday.
The spokesperson said that those payments will continue through the week of March 14, 2021.
The stimulus bill passed by Congress last week and signed by President Donald Trump extends unemployment benefits to a number of out-of-work Americans who otherwise would not have received any unemployment following the new year.
“As states are implementing these new provisions as quickly as possible, the Department does not anticipate that eligible claimants will miss a week of benefits due to the timing of the law’s enactment,” a Department of Labor spokesperson said.
Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation gives unemployment for workers whose state unemployment benefits have lapsed. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance offers payments for those who otherwise wouldn’t qualify for unemployment, such as independent contractors.
Also, the stimulus plan relaunches Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, which expired in July. From the spring through July, the federal government provided an additional $600 on top of state unemployment benefits. Starting this week through March 14, state unemployment checks will be eligible for a $300-per-week supplement from the stimulus bill.
Some states continued providing supplemental unemployment in the time since July.
Justin Boggs is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk.Follow him on Twitter @jjboggs or on Facebook.