DWD Announces Target Dates For Reopening Federal Unemployment Benefits

The Indiana Department of Workforce Development will reopen a federal program on Jan. 22 that extends unemployment benefits. Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) is for workers who have used up the state’s 26 weeks of unemployment insurance. The program expired at the end of last year, but was revived by Congress.

With changes from the latest COVID-19 relief bill, those receiving benefits will get additional weeks of eligibility and an extra $300 each week until mid-March.

Other workers, benefiting from regular unemployment insurance, are already getting additional benefits.

DWD says self-employed and non-traditional workers who had benefits paused in the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program can start filing vouchers again on Jan. 22 and new PUA applicants can also file a claim. However, the latest relief bill has increased income reporting requirements for those claimants.

DWD has also opted to launch another federal program intended to help workers who lost significant self-employed income on top of a regular job. The department is still working on implementing those changes. It has more information and common scenarios about how the Continued Assistance Act affects workers on its webpage.

UPDATE: A previous version of this story indicated new PUA applicants might not be able to file a claim until Jan. 29. DWD confirmed that unemployed workers with an existing PUA claim and new PUA applicants will be able to apply for federal unemployment benefits again beginning Friday, Jan. 22. 

Contact reporter Justin at jhicks@wvpe.org or follow him on Twitter at @Hicks_JustinM.