Thousands may qualify for additional jobless benefits
Last updated Monday, December 1, 2008 5:55 PM CST in Business
By THE MORNING NEWS
LITTLE ROCK -- The state Monday began notifying thousands of Arkansans drawing unemployment checks that they may qualify for additional benefits under federal legislation approved last month.
The state Department of Workforce Services planned to send notices to more than 18,500 people who are potentially eligible for extended benefits under the Unemployment Compensation Extension Act that President Bush signed Nov. 21, said Ron Calkins, assistant DWS director for unemployment benefits.
The act amended the federal Supplemental Appropriations Act approved in July that provided up to 13 weeks of additional benefits to qualifying individuals who exhausted regular jobless benefits which were available for up to 26 weeks.
Under the new law, the program will provide up to an additional 20 weeks of unemployment insurance benefits to eligible individuals filing new EUC claims. For those who previously filed claims under the program, the extension grants up to seven additional weeks of jobless benefits to total 20.
The first payments under the extension could arrive as early as this week, Calkins said. Some people will have to notify the department to get the extra benefits and some will not, he said.
"Some already had their extended benefits and exhausted it," Calkins said. "We're going to have to notify those folks that they're eligible. They're going to have to contact us. As far as we know, they could have gone back to work, so we're going to have to reactivate their claims."
The first possible week the additional EUC benefits may be paid was the week ending Saturday.
"Practically speaking, those people are going to start coming in this week and getting paid starting sometime this week," Calkins said.
Another group will have a balance left on jobless claims and will keep drawing checks, with up to seven weeks of benefits added to those claims, Calkins said. They will be sent notices but will not have to apply for additional benefits, he said.
Others potentially eligible for extended benefits have inactive claims with benefits still left on them. They are being notified also and could qualify for extra benefits if they are still unemployed, Calkins said.
Arkansas' unemployment rate was 5.4 percent in October and 74,800 residents were out of work during the month, according to DWS. For the week ending Nov. 15, 29,990 claimants received regular employment benefits and 4,726 received extended benefits, the department said.
To file a claim for additional EUC benefits, individuals should report to their nearest Department of Workforce Services office.
The additional benefits and the costs to administer the program are financed by federal funding and will not affect Arkansas' Unemployment Insurance Trust Fund or employers' unemployment tax rates, the department said.
Reader Comments (No comments posted.)
The following comments are provided by readers and are the sole responsibility of their authors. The Morning News does not review comments before their publication, nor do we guarantee their accuracy. By publishing a comment here you agree to abide by our comment policy. If you see a comment that violates our policy, please notify the web editor.
Not already registered?
