Dear New Yorker:

As you may know, the federal government has extended the federal unemployment benefits available under the CARES Act for an additional 11 weeks. This week, Governor Cuomo announced that these extended and expanded benefits will begin the week of January 3, 2021 in New York State. That means there will be no delay or lapse in benefits for you.

The programs that have been extended are Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), which provides benefits for those not covered by traditional state unemployment insurance; Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), which provides additional weeks of benefits after an individual exhausts the 26 weeks of state unemployment insurance; and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), which provides all New Yorkers receiving unemployment benefits with an additional $300 weekly payment.

You do not need to call the Department of Labor to receive extended benefits. If your unemployment benefit year (the 52-week period after you first received benefits) has not expired, you should continue to certify weekly to automatically receive the extensions. If your unemployment benefit year has already ended, and you have not previously reapplied for extended benefits, you should submit a new application online.

Details of how we will implement these programs:

⚬ Pandemic Unemployment Assistance - New Yorkers can now receive up to 57 weeks of PUA benefits, with the program extended from the week ending January 3, 2021 through March 14, 2021. If you are currently receiving PUA, you should continue to certify as usual to continue receiving your benefits. According to the Federal government, additional eligibility documentation will be required beginning January 31, 2021. The Department of Labor will directly contact you if you need to provide additional documentation.

⚬ Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation - New Yorkers can now receive up to 24 weeks of PEUC (up from the 13 weeks originally authorized in the spring) with the program extended through March 14, 2021. If you have exhausted the 26 weeks of state unemployment insurance, you should continue to certify as normal to automatically receive up to 24 weeks of PEUC. If you previously exhausted your original 13 weeks of PEUC and transitioned to the Extended Benefits (EB) program, you will begin to receive extended PEUC benefits after you exhaust your EB benefits. The Department of Labor will automatically handle these program transfers.

⚬ Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation - Your FPUC benefits will resume the week ending January 3, 2021 and will last for 11 weeks. During that time, all New Yorkers who are receiving unemployment benefits — including traditional state UI, Shared Work Benefits, PEUC, EB, or PUA — will receive an additional $300 payment per week. Per federal guidelines, FPUC benefits will not be backdated, and can only be provided starting the week ending January 3, 2021.

Read the Governor’s full announcement for additional information: Governor Cuomo Announces New Yorkers to Begin Receiving Extended Federal Unemployment Benefits Next Week

Thank you.

 

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