Important Notice About
Unemployment Benefit Extensions
On November 10, 2009, Congress approved legislation to extend Unemployment Insurance benefits for an additional 14 weeks for states, like New York, with consistently high unemployment rates. Pending further legislation, another 6 weeks could also be provided, for a total of 20 weeks. As a result, New York State now provides 67 additional weeks of unemployment benefits, as well as the usual 26 weeks of regular benefits.
The first payable week under the new 14 week extension is the week ending November 15, 2009. This extension is not retroactive, so any weekly claims made by individuals after their extended benefits expired, up to week ending November 8, 2009, cannot be paid. The new additional benefits may be claimed in the usual manner; it is not necessary to file a new claim unless the individual is advised to do so.
The additional 67 weeks of benefits are currently provided under two separate programs that allow unemployed individuals to continue receiving benefits after running out of their regular state benefits. These programs are:
Extended Benefits (EB) – providing 20 weeks of extended benefits.
It is important to note that each program has its own timeframes and deadlines, and therefore, not all claimants are eligible for the full 47 weeks of Emergency Benefits and the 20 weeks of Extended Benefits. See below for the breakdown of each program, and important information and dates related to each: (see chart on maximum number of potential weeks)
Emergency Benefits are provided under the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) Program. There are currently three (3) tiers of EUC, providing a total of 47 weeks of emergency benefits:
Tier 1 (20 weeks) – to be eligible for Emergency Benefits under Tier 1, an individual must:
Have filed initial claim for regular unemployment effective on or before Monday, June 22, 2009.
Exhaust regular benefits on or before the week ending December 27, 2009
Start claiming Emergency Benefits on or before week ending January 3, 2010.
Tier 2 (14 weeks) – to be eligible for Emergency Benefits under Tier 2, an individual must:
Have filed initial claim for regular unemployment effective on or before Monday, February 2, 2009.
Exhaust all 20 weeks of Tier 1 Emergency Benefits on or before week ending December 27, 2009.
Start claiming Tier 2 Emergency Benefits on or before week ending January 3, 2010.
Tier 3 (13 weeks) – to be eligible for Emergency Benefits under Tier 3, an individual must:
Have filed initial claim for regular unemployment effective on or before Monday, November 3, 2008.
Exhaust at least 33 weeks of Emergency Benefits (20 weeks Tier 1 and the first 13 weeks of Tier 2) on or before week ending December 27, 2009.
Because of timelines under the current federal legislation, some individuals start receiving Tier 3 Emergency Benefits right after exhausting Tier 2 Emergency Benefits, while others start receiving Tier 3 Emergency Benefits right after exhausting Extended Benefits. The reason for this is:
If you claimed at least one week of Extended Benefits by week ending November 8, 2009, you will continue claiming remaining Extended Benefits before you can start claiming additional emergency benefits.
If by week ending November 8, 2009, you had not claimed any Extended Benefits, you will then continue claiming any additional Emergency Benefits available to you, and will not be eligible for Extended Benefits.
** Note: The last payable week of Emergency Benefits is the week ending June 6, 2010.
Extended Benefits are provided under the Extended Benefits (EB) Program. There are currently 20 weeks of Extended Benefits available. However, to be eligible for any Extended Benefits, the individual must:
Have filed their initial claim for regular unemployment benefits effective on or before Monday, September 8, 2008.
Exhaust 33 weeks of Emergency Benefits on or before week ending November 1, 2009.
Start claiming Extended Benefits on or before week ending November 8, 2009.
** Note: The last payable week of Extended Benefits is the week ending January 3, 2010.
Individuals who have a claim with New York State, but live in another state that is not in an extended benefit period, are eligible for only 2 weeks of extended benefits (for extended benefits status of other states, see Frequently Asked Questions below).
Work search requirements are more stringent for individuals claiming Extended Benefits (see Frequently Asked Questions below). However, individuals in training approved by the New York State Department of Labor, are not required to look for work while claiming benefits.
Under 18 U.S.C. §1001, knowingly and willfully concealing a material fact by any trick, scheme, or device or knowingly making a false statement in connection with this claim is a Federal Offence, punishable by a fine or imprisonment for not more than five years, or both, under Title 18 of the United States Code.
