What You Need to Know About Unemployment and COVID-19

• Receive unemployment benefits plus $600: The stimulus bill provided those who applied for unemployment an additional $600 for up to four months.
• Free-lancers, self-employed, and gig employees are now eligible: Unemployment has expanded to protect these employees if COVID-19 has affected their business.
• Sick pay and family leave might be the first available: Under the FFCRA employees can receive 80 hours of sick leave will fully pay if they are unable to work due to COVID-19. They may also receive up to 12 weeks of family leave if they need to stay home with their children.
• Furloughed employees are also eligible: Those who have been furloughed, but not completely laid off are also eligible to receive benefits. These employees can receive unemployment benefits and keep their company health insurance.
• The 7-day waiting period and other eligibility requirements may be waived: The Federal government has decided to provide full funding to applicants in the first week. Those who haven’t been laid off, but can’t work due to COVID-19 are eligible to receive unemployment. Those who were scheduled to begin working, but were unable to due to Coronavirus are also eligible for unemployment benefits.
• There is a shortage of staff due to last year’s unemployment rates: In one week 3.4 million unemployment insurance claims were filed during the global pandemic, however, there are not enough people to assist with those claims. The staff numbers for this year are based on last year’s unemployment rates, because last year’s numbers were low, the staffing is low. Even with the influx of claims, they will get to everybody!

During this uncertain time, be sure to utilize the resources you can, while you can. For more information on COVID-19 Resources, visit our site.