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Unemployed Pennsylvanians who lost the $600 in additional weekly federal assistance after Congress failed to renew the Pandemic Unemployment Compensation benefit will be able to get some of that aid back again.
A new $300 weekly benefit paid by federal money will begin once the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry gets the new program up and running, the state L&I secretary said Tuesday.
The benefit, through a program called Lost Wage Assistance, will be retroactive to Aug. 1, and it will run until the money runs out.
“The recently ended $600 weekly federal benefit was a true lifeline to many Pennsylvanians and I know you are anxious for these new payments to begin,” state L&I Secretary Jerry Oleksiak said. “L&I is working as quickly as possible to evaluate what it will take to implement this program and begin paying the $300 weekly supplement in Pennsylvania, while awaiting final program guidance from the federal government. We will get this money into the pockets of the eligible Pennsylvanians who need it and will be sure to keep everyone updated throughout this complex process."
The money will be administered by the Federal Emergency Management Agency after President Donald Trump authorized up to $44 billion to be used from the Disaster Relief Fund.
Trump issued several executive orders to provide relief to millions of Americans who remain out of work after Republicans in the U.S. Senate and Democrats in the House of Representatives could not come to a compromise on another round of pandemic stimulus.
States had to apply for the money.
To qualify for the extra $300, the program requires that eligible individuals must receive at least $100 per week in benefits from:
- Regular Unemployment Compensation (UC);
- Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC);
- Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA);
- Extended Benefits (EB);
- Short-Time Compensation (STC) or Shared Work; and
- Trade Readjustment Allowance (TRA).
Individuals must also self-certify that they are unemployed or partially unemployed due to disruptions caused by COVID-19.
