The Department of Labor says that states will begin administering $600 weekly payments to many of those receiving state unemployment, which will be on top of standard unemployment checks issued by the states.
The payments are part of the CARES Act, which Congress voted on last month and Trump signed on March 27.
When the payments will be available will vary by state, as the federal government works with the states to administer the program. The program will run through the end of July.
The additional $600 payments will be available to those receiving standard unemployment from states, in addition to those receiving payments from the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC); Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA); Extended Benefits (EB); ShortTime Compensation (STC); Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA); Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA); and payments under the Self-Employment Assistance (SEA) program.
The program is being fully funded by the federal government.
As states begin providing this payment, eligible individuals will receive retroactive payments back to their date of eligibility or the signing of the state agreement, whichever came later, the Department of Labor said.
“The $600 weekly unemployment compensation boost included in the CARES Act will provide valuable support to American workers and their families during this challenging time,” said Secretary of Labor Eugene Scalia. “The Department will continue to provide guidance and support to the States so they can administer the important new benefits under the CARES Act while guarding against fraud and abuse in their Unemployment Insurance systems.”
Nearly 10 million Americans have applied for unemployment benefits in recent weeks. That number will likely climb on Thursday as many Americans have been unable to file for unemployment as many states are struggling to keep up with unemployment applications.
Justin Boggs is a writer for the E.W. Scripps National Desk. Follow him on Twitter @jjboggs or on Facebook .
