HELENA – Montana Department of
Labor & Industry Acting Commissioner Brenda Nordlund today announced that
Montana has begun paying the additional $600 Unemployment Insurance (UI)
benefit established with the passage of the recent federal stimulus package, or
CARES Act.
DLI began paying the Federal Pandemic Unemployment
Compensation (FPUC) benefit on the evening of Monday, April 13, issuing
$20,520,000 in FPUC payments. Montanans using direct deposit should expect to
see the funds within two to three days, if not sooner. Claimants who receive checks
should expect to see their benefits within the week. At this time, these funds
are not being issued to the population expanded under the CARES Act, which
includes those that are self-employed. DLI will begin processing those claims
as soon as possible and benefits will be backdated as provided under the
law.
DLI issued a combined total of
$30,770,721 in FPUC and regular UI payments on April 13.
“We understand the difficulties of
many Montanans who are out of work due to the COVID-19 outbreak, and we know
that these benefits are providing relief,”
said Nordlund. “We are working as hard as we can
to make sure that everyone receives their benefits as quickly as possible. This
is an important step in employing the assistance provided as part of the CARES
Act. We continue to urge patience, as the department works to implement all the
components of this vital legislation.”
Under the legislation, anyone
receiving unemployment compensation benefits is eligible for the additional
$600 a week stimulus payment. The payment is added to the recipient’s state
weekly
benefit amount
.
The payments will be made for eligible weeks beginning the UI week ending April
4 through July 25, 2020.
Programs included in the CARES Act
legislation:
• Federal
Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC)
- Provides an additional $600 per week to any
individual eligible for any of the Unemployment Compensation programs. This
benefit is retroactive for those who had a claim beginning the UI filing week
of March 29 through April 4, 2020.
• Pandemic
Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC)
- Allows for an additional 13 weeks of benefits added
to the end of regular unemployment benefits. This means claimants may collect
unemployment benefits for a longer period of time than under normal
circumstances.
• Pandemic
Unemployment Assistance (PUA)
-
Provides unemployment benefits to those not ordinarily eligible for them,
including the self-employed
.
The department must complete a
review of detailed federal guidance on PEUC and PUA before it can implement
changes to IT systems to process claims for self-employed Montanans and those
who have exhausted their regular UI benefits. DLI will start processing these
claims as soon as possible.
DLI is encouraging anyone who
believes they may be eligible for these programs to file an Unemployment
Insurance claim online at MontanaWorks.gov. Those who already have an active
claim, or who have already filed a claim, do not need to refile to be eligible for
these benefits.
In addition to the expansion of UI
benefits under the CARES Act,
Governor Bullock has issued
directives to waive the one-week waiting period
to minimize the time Montanans
await UI benefits, and waived the requirement that claimants search for a job
during this time.
DLI is providing daily updates for
Montana employers and individuals impacted by COVID-19 at
dli.mt.gov/covid-19. Montanans can also follow DLI on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and LinkedIn
for timely updates.