The biggest news of the week, at least for the unemployed by heart, is that federal benefits can start on January 29.
There is no need to remind unemployed people what they are, but let’s do it anyway: this is the weekly bonus of $ 300 for 11 weeks, also known as the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC).
The state Department of Labor and Employment is distributing federal benefits in four phases. In addition to the FPUC, the first phase is open to those who have not exhausted the benefits of the pandemic, also known as Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC).
The timing depends on the state’s supplier, Deloitte, turning on the system, which may be on Jan. 29, said Phil Spesshardt, benefits services manager for the state’s labor department.
Spesshardt showed me how this should work:
- Regular unemployment – Those receiving benefits since Christmas can see the $ 300 being sent to their bank accounts on the night of January 29th. This benefit is automatic and retroactive to December 27th, so four weeks of FPUC would appear at once. This, of course, assumes that Deloitte turns on the system. But, once activated, the program goes into action, sends the files to the bank and then it is up to the bank to make the money available.
- PUA – If you have not used 39 weeks of PUA by December 26, you will be notified by the state that you can reopen your PUA account. If that happens on January 29, you can reopen your claim and, at the same time, make sure of the past four weeks, and the state will send the money to the bank that night. The new law adds another 11 weeks.
- PEUC – If you still had money in your account on December 26th, you will be notified by the state that you can reopen your account as early as January 29th. You can be sure of the previous weeks until December 27th and the state will send the payment to your bank that night. The new aid plan adds another 11 weeks.
- Exhausted PUA and PEUC – You are part of Phase 2. After the state puts people above the system back, it plans to attack this second group of people.
- Extended state benefits (SEB) – Many are in Phase 2. More on that below.
→ FPUC, the weekly bonus of $ 300, is included in weekly benefits for almost all unemployed. In many cases, it is paid automatically and lasts for 11 weeks or until March 13.
→ Retroactive FPUC it is also automatically paid on the first payment request. This is one of the things that needed to be programmed, so remember this when you question why it took so long. Skip this step and users will have to file a retroactive complaint, overload the call center with questions and wait who knows how much more.
Phase 2: benefits exhausted
Phase 2, which begins after being programmed into the new computer system, includes those who exhausted their PEUC and PUA last year.
Now, Spesshardt shared an interesting difference between the programs. Most people who have read so far know that PEUC is for unemployed people in the state who have exhausted their regular benefits. And the PUA is for street workers and freelancers who do not pay unemployment insurance.
But the PUA calculation is based on weeks, while the PEUC calculation is based on dollars.
Since the CARES Act granted 39 weeks for PUA staff, some people used it every 39 weeks last year. These people must wait for Phase 2. The federal plan offers an additional 11 weeks.
Meanwhile, the original 13-week PEUC program is actually based on 13 times someone’s weekly benefit. Therefore, if someone works part-time, they do not receive the equivalent of one week of unemployment. The rest stays with your account. After 13 weeks, they can still have money on it. Therefore, it is not exhausted (and these people would be in Phase 1).
But if you ran out of PEUC and you have no money left, then you are part of Phase 2 and you will have 11 more weeks when the system is ready for you.
In SEB, the majority will return to PEUC for 11 weeks. But more about SEB below.
Phase 3: confusing benefits
Something new this year and, oh, so much fun for the state to program on its computer system, is the mixed breadwinner. These are people who have qualified for both the PUA and regular unemployment.
The new federal plan took into account the people who made the most money working on shows, but still did some regular work. According to last year’s rules, these “mixed wage earners” had to exhaust their regular benefits before moving on to the PUA – even though they earned a lot more by working as workers. This left some people with financial difficulties, since most of the previous year’s income came from working at shows
That rule is still the same this year, but the new law allows wage earners to receive an extra $ 100 a week as they use their regular benefits.
“This is extremely difficult to program,” said Spesshardt.
Phase 4: extremely confusing benefits
This phase includes people who switched between programs.
There may be others. Spesshardt says it is a kind of catch for people who cannot easily enter one of the previous phases, as scheduled.
Without retroactive SEB
There is a smaller group of people who last saw the benefit check on November 28. That’s when the state’s extended benefits ended a month earlier than expected, after Colorado’s unemployment rate dropped below 5%. Everyone did their best to try to bring Colorado back to SEB, including state lawmakers and US Senator Michael Bennet, who helped put the right language into the new federal relief bill.
It worked. But…
When SEB ended in late November, the state recommended that people apply for the PUA. Many do. And many saw a bigger weekly check, since the minimum of the PUA was $ 223, while regular unemployment was $ 25. And that created a retroactive SEB problem.
“There is a large group of low-income workers who, if we opted for the (retroactive) option of delaying SEB,” said Spesshardt, “we would have created all kinds of overpayments for people who are least able to pay.”
The state had to choose whether to allow retroactive payments or not. He decided not to do so due to the large number of people who would have to pay some PUA benefits and stay with the lower paid benefits.
“It was a battle for us because we appreciate what Congress did to give us the opportunity,” he said. “But the more we looked at it, the more damaging it was for the claimants. … We try to see who is the biggest group that is helped by doing this ”.
More unemployment stories:
→ Many more details were shared about unemployment. I will try to update them over the weekend, as my time permits. Check again!
UPDATED on January 23: For those with “integrity” issues in their accounts, this means that their account has been flagged for fraud. These users should use the ID.me app to verify themselves (mentioned last week). Some other things to know:
- The CDLE will send you the ID.me link to register. Do not go to the company website.
- A pilot test earlier in the week reached 500 people. Only 138 were verified, while the others did not complete the process.
- If you do not complete the verification, you will not receive your benefits.
- The CDLE reported that it sent links to 2,000 people on January 22, so stay tuned to your inbox or spam folder.
- Identity verification will increase rapidly to reach everyone for everyone with a fraud hold.
→ Speaking of fraud, if your identity was used fraudulently to apply for unemployment, complete THIS FORM to notify the state, complete THIS FORM if you received a 1099 tax form for benefits you should not have. The CDLE said it is now planning to confirm receipt of the archived reports. The CDLE is also sending 1,099 corrected forms from February to the victims.
Get closer and get your PPP
Two weeks on the redesigned paycheck protection program and there’s still money left.
Last spring, when banks first opened for these forgivable loans, the program ran out of money in less than two weeks.
That’s because Congress prioritized small businesses this time, allowing only small creditors and community creditors specializing in needy communities to participate in the first week. About 60,000 small businesses have requested about $ 5 billion, according to the US Small Business Administration, which is overseeing the program.
The average is $ 83,333.33 per loan.
State data is not yet available, but local community lender Colorado Enterprise Fund said that in the first seven days, the volume was 90% of what the organization processed into PPPs last year.
“To say there is interest / demand is an understatement,” said Nim Patel, director of strategy for the nonprofit organization Colorado Enterprise Fund, in an email. “Many see the (second PPP loan) as the lifeline that will take them through Colorado’s winter and spring and summer, where outdoor activities will bring a necessary turnaround for their business.”
The numbers are expected to rise as the big lenders were allowed to start taking loans on Tuesday.
If you need a PPP loan, talk to your bank or a community development financial institution, such as the Colorado Enterprise Fund. They work with small businesses that may not qualify for traditional loans. The application deadline is March 31 or until $ 284 billion is loaned.
Have a question about the check loan program? Ask and I will try to get an answer in a future column.
Have you applied for one of the 76,796 job openings?
In its weekly press update, the Department of Labor went on to share the most common job openings on ConnectingColorado.com, a database of jobs that are examined in some way by regional workforce centers.
As of Friday, there were 76,796 places available.
This week’s top jobs were for truck drivers, registered nurses and customer service representatives.
Now, 76,000 jobs look like many jobs, especially since the number of people still unemployed was 308,015 on January 2.
There seems to be a big disconnect here.
Help me guys: Have you tried to apply for any of these jobs? Has anyone received an answer, interview or … job offer? Tell me about your experience with ConnectingColorado.
And the employers who are hiring, what are you seeing? Hundreds of candidates? A good selection? I would like to interview employers who are finding good candidates or cannot find anyone. Send me an email to [email protected]
It is really amazing how much information appears each week to put in this column. I think that means that what is working will continue indefinitely. Thanks for reading this week and if you’re not getting it in Saturday’s inbox, sign up for the newsletter here. Send your questions and complaints to me and remember, I am an explainer, not someone who can solve your problem. But if I can, I will. See you next week! ~ date
