GREENSBORO, Ga. —
The new COVID Relief Bill includes extending federal unemployment benefits. Sifting through the 5,000+ page relief bill, page 1935 references the $300 federal benefit from December 26, 2020 (unless changed due to the timing of the President signing the bill) through March 14, 2021.
This extra benefit allows for 11 weeks of an extra $300 in federal unemployment benefits on top of the state benefits. While the benefits are slated to start at the end of this week, chances are the money won’t actually be paid out this week and you won’t be able to apply for them this week due to the time it takes for the states to make adjustments to computer software.
“The state will embed those numbers and calculations into the system. We've not gotten formal guidance from Raleigh on this, so it's speculative, but the assumption is those who are currently collecting benefits, they would get a link to the weekly claim page to apply for the extended benefits,” said Chris Rivera of GuilfordWorks.
SHOULD YOU APPLY NOW?
What if you're unemployment has run out or you're not on it right now, but you will be. Should you go to the NC DES page now and apply? Rivera says no, you need to wait.
“My concern would be if individuals go and apply and it's processed and those weeks have not made it into fruition, they may receive a negative determination, so our guidance would be to wait until the state notification,”’ said Rivera.
If individuals still have pending claims, they may desire to go in and submit a new application, but Rivera says that strongly discouraged.
“Multiple applications can delay the process and delay it beyond the normal processing time. If an individual is waiting on a previous determination on a claim, we would say contact Raleigh,” said Rivera. Much like the last round of federal payments, they can be paid retroactively.
WHO IS ELIGIBLE FOR THE $300 A WEEK?
Rivera says since it is under the COVID Relief Bill, an individual would have to receive a COVID claim, as in they would have reduced hours or laid off due to COVID. Individuals who were laid off for other reasons are not likely to be eligible for this. This federal aid is to help those who were laid off due to COVID by their employer, or loss of wages as a gig worker.