Extended Unemployment Benefits Roll Out In PA

June 30, 2020

Between February and April and driven by the pandemic, Bucks County’s unemployment rate went from 4.5 percent to a stunning 14.8 percent, the highest rate since at least the early 1990s.

As the area and state deal with high unemployment, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry announced Tuesday that residents who exhaust their regular unemployment compensation (UC) and federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) might be able to receive an additional 13 weeks of payments through the state extended benefits program.

Extended benefits began on May 3, but are not able to be paid to an individual until federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation is exhausted.

The federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which adds $600 weekly on top of state unemployment benefits, will end July 31.

The state will sent out important information by mail to all individuals who potentially qualify for the additional benefits.

Below is more information from the state:

Eligibility

You may be eligible for EB if:

You are totally or partially unemployed;

You have exhausted your regular state benefits on your most recent UC claim, or your most recent UC benefit year has ended; and

You have received the maximum amount of PEUC that you were eligible to receive.

Additional eligibility information is available here.

How to Receive EB

If you collect the maximum amount of PEUC that you are eligible to receive, an EB Notice of Financial Determination will be mailed to you.

You must complete your weekly EB online certification in order to claim EB for weeks that you are totally or partially unemployed.

Each EB online certification corresponds to one specific week, as indicated on the web form. Individuals who opt to use paper claim forms should only use the form that is specifically dated for the week of unemployment you are claiming.

If you do not receive your Financial Determination within two weeks after you receive your final PEUC payment, call the UC Service Center at 1-888-313-7284.

EB Weekly Benefit Amount

EB weekly benefit payments are the same as regular UC.

The total amount of EB that you may receive is 50 percent of the amount of regular UC you were financially eligible to receive on your most recent claim. Example:

If you were financially eligible for 26 weeks of regular UC, you may receive up to 13 weeks of EB.

There is an additional wage test for EB eligibility, so not all individuals will financially qualify.

EB may only be paid for weeks ending during an EB period.

If you are entitled to Trade Readjustment Allowances, you may receive fewer weeks of EB.

EB is currently fully federally-funded through the Families First Coronavirus Response Act, Public Law (Pub. L.) 116-127, specifically Division D, the Emergency Unemployment Insurance Stabilization and Access Act of 2020 (EUISAA).