Emergency Unemployment Compensation
Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) benefits have been extended through December 2013
EUC is a temporary federal program which provides additional unemployment benefits to eligible claimants following exhaustion of their regular Unemployment Compensation (UC) benefits. Claimants who remain unemployed after exhausting regular UC benefits may be eligible for EUC. Generally, EUC benefits are paid at the same weekly benefit amount as the regular UC claim on which they are based, including any dependents' allowances.
Eligibility requirements for receipt of regular UC are also applicable to EUC. For example, a claimant must be at least partially unemployed, able and available for suitable work, not disqualified for voluntarily leaving work, and not discharged for willful misconduct.
In Feb. 2012, federal legislation added requirements to the EUC program. The Active Search for Work prerequisite requires EUC claimants to register for employment services through the PA CareerLink® and conduct an active search for work. The Reemployment Eligibility Assessment (REA) prerequisite requires EUC claimants to attend an in-person meeting with a PA CareerLink® representative. Eligibility for EUC benefits is dependent on meeting these requirements. The following links provide information on these programs:
The last payable week of EUC benefits is the compensable week ending Dec. 28, 2013.
EUC Eligibility
EUC benefits are provided through separate "tiers". The charts below indicate the number of weeks of EUC benefits available in each tier. Changes to the Pennsylvania UC Law will affect the number of EUC weeks available. This will apply if the EUC corresponds to an application of benefits (AB) dated Jan. 6, 2013 or later.
|
EUC Eligibility for ABs prior to 1/6/2013 (in weeks) |
|
UC weeks |
*Tier 1 |
*Tier 2 |
*Tier 3 |
|
16 |
12.8 |
8.6 |
5.6 |
|
26 |
14 |
14 |
9 |
|
EUC Eligibility for ABs 1/6/2013 and after (in weeks) |
|
UC weeks |
*Tier 1 |
*Tier 2 |
*Tier 3 |
|
18 |
9.7 |
9.7 |
6.3 |
|
19 |
10.3 |
10.3 |
6.7 |
|
20 |
10.8 |
10.8 |
7 |
|
21 |
11.3 |
11.3 |
7.4 |
|
22 |
11.9 |
11.9 |
7.7 |
|
23 |
12.4 |
12.4 |
8.1 |
|
24 |
13 |
13 |
8.4 |
|
25 |
13.5 |
13.5 |
8.8 |
|
26 |
14 |
14 |
9 |
*The availability of these tiers is dependent on Pennsylvania's total unemployment rate (TUR) which must meet a certain threshold mandated by law. Once you begin a tier, a drop in the unemployment rate will not affect the number of weeks you may receive.
Important EUC Deadlines
No tier may begin after the week ending Dec. 21, 2013.
After week ending Dec. 28, 2013, EUC benefits are not payable regardless of any remaining balance on the claim.
Eligibility for further Unemployment Compensation Benefits
If the EUC program ended, you may be eligible as follows:
-
If you qualified for a new UC claim and remained on your EUC claim because your new UC claimant's weekly benefit rate was $100 or 25% less than your EUC weekly benefit rate, you may be eligible to file for any remaining UC benefits.
-
If you are qualified, you may begin or resume claiming Trade Readjustment Allowances.
If the EUC program has not ended you may be eligible as follows:
-
If you exhausted regular UC on a more recent claim, you may be eligible to establish EUC based on that more recent claim.
-
If you are not financially eligible for a regular UC claim and you have any unpaid benefits remaining on a previous EUC claim, you may claim benefits on the EUC claim.
Links
