I got my $600 UI bump today.....

[getagrip_already]

So did my kids. This is in MA, so your mileage will vary (sorry red state du'rs).

This is supposed to be a weekly bump, plus an extra 13 weeks of ui benefits. Two of my adult kids and a plus one are unemployed, and are now making more on ui than they did working.

Strange times.

I'm still in the hole, especially with cobra payments, but hopefully a job offer I'm expecting will come through tomorrow.

But there is at least some hope if you are on UI and struggling to cover expenses.

[rzemanfl]

1. Still trying to sign up in Florida. We paid enough sunshine tax already. n/t

[sarcasmo]

11. Rick Scott set Florida unemployment up for failure.

https://www.politico.com/states/florida/story/2020/04/03/its-a-sh-sandwich-republicans-rage-as-florida-becomes-a-nightmare-for-trump-1271172

[rzemanfl]

14. I know and his pals got $77 million for doing it if I recall correctly. n/t

[stopbush]

2. Waiting for my wife's BoA debit card to show up.

Here in CA, unemployment benefits are deposited by EDD into a Bank of America account. You have the option of using the card as a debit card and/or having your IU money transferred to your bank account. My wife has two weeks of UI sitting in her BoA account, but she can't get to it until the damn credit card arrives.

[Codeine]

7. Same here.

Been rushing to the mailbox for a week looking for the damned thing.

[Yonnie3]

3. No sign of UI in Virginia yet for gig workers

Yesterday they told them to apply for regular UI because they needed to be rejected for that first. At some unknown future date they will contact those rejected to figure out their special UI eligibility and amount. Most of these folks have been out of work 4 or more weeks.

[getagrip_already]

4. yup, MA hasn't enabled that yet either....

They are still waiting on guidance, then they need to rewrite the UI app to allow it.

But hopefully they will allow some retroactive payments. UI typically doesn't. If you sign up a few weeks late, you can't go back and claim those weeks, at least in MA.

[Yonnie3]

5. About retroactive UI

DOL website says

"The PUA program provides up to 39 weeks of benefits, which are available retroactively starting with weeks of unemployment beginning on or after January 27, 2020, and ending on or before December 31, 2020. The amount of benefits paid out will vary by state and are calculated based on the weekly benefit amounts (WBA) provided under a state’s unemployment insurance laws. Under the CARES Act, the WBA may be supplemented by the additional unemployment assistance provided under the Act."

It worries me that is also says (my bolding)

"You may be eligible for unemployment benefits, depending on your personal circumstances and how your state chooses to implement the CARES Act. States are permitted to provide Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) to individuals who are self-employed, seeking part-time employment, or who otherwise would not qualify for regular unemployment compensation."

https://www.dol.gov/coronavirus/unemployment-insurance

[stopbush]

9. IIRC, the $600-a-week Fed contribution ENDS August 1.

I imagine that means that those who are delayed in getting state approval will miss out on the weeks of $600 payments that are going out right now. If you don't get approved before May 1 you will have missed out on $3600 in benefits.

[Tink41]

12. I dont think so

The date it was enacted was March 29. So once your UE goes thru they will use the day you were unemployed and pay from there. Your benefits start the week you had no income. Even if it takes a month to straighten it all out you will get benefits owed up until the stop date. If the program ends July 30th and your certify week is a week later you were still unemployed the week it ended and will receive those benefits.

[stopbush]

15. Not here in CA. They use the date you filed as your UI start date, not your last day of work.

[Tink41]

16. I'm stunned

If I get laid off on a Monday and don't file til Friday it starts on Monday. Its how the system is set up. Weeks go from Sunday -Saturday.
I also need to add according to the guidelines in the stimulus package it's supposed to work like I first described

[Polybius]

6. Me too, and with the rest of my unemployment, I'm now making more than I was before

I don't want to go back to work anytime soon.

[Codeine]

8. My wife will see a significant boost in her pay.

Meanwhile as an “essential worker” I’ve seen my sales commissions plummet to the point where I’d be better off on UI.

[Tink41]

13. I'm banking the extra

We were already headed towards a recession last summer. This will not end when the quarantine/shutdown is over. I don't expect to go back to work until November at best. I lived thru 2008-2012 w a child in college and only 6 months of employment during those 4 years. Put it away, live it up when things become more stable.

[forthemiddle]

10. Indiana is starting to add it April 20th

But it will be retroactive. So even though it won’t show up in my deposit this week or next, I will still get the full amount in my check of the week of the 20th.

[Marrah_Goodman]

17. That's great to hear.

[Progressive Jones]

18. Mine was included in my first UI payment, earlier this week. I'm in Illinois. nt