Unemployment Insurance: Wage Replacement and Automatic Economic Stabilization

The Unemployment Insurance (UI) system is constructed as a joint federal-state partnership providing temporary and partial wage replacement to involuntarily unemployed workers. The Unemployment Compensation (UC) program and the UC benefit provide the foundation of the UI system. Although there are broad requirements under federal law regarding UC benefits and financing, the specifics are set out under each state's laws, resulting in 53 different UC programs operated in the 50 states, the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands. The U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) provides oversight of state UC programs and state administration of federal UI benefits. States operate their own permanent-law UC programs and also administer any temporary, federal UI benefits. Each state's UC laws determine the weekly benefit amount and the number of weeks of UC available to an unemployed worker. Most states provide up to 26 weeks of UC to eligible individuals who become involuntarily unemployed for economic reasons and meet state-established eligibility rules.

The UI system's main objectives are to provide temporary and partial wage replacement to involuntarily unemployed workers and to stabilize the economy during recessions.¹ The two permanently authorized UI programs—UC and Extended Benefits (EB)—provide weekly, countercyclical payments that increase automatically during a recession. The intent to provide economic stability is reflected in the UI system's funding and benefit structure. During economic expansions, states fund approximately 85%-90% of all UC expenditures—as almost all UC benefits are state-financed by state unemployment taxes. In comparison, federal UC expenditures are relatively small during these expansions (approximately 10%-15%) and are primarily made to the states via administrative grants financed by federal unemployment tax revenue.²

When employment grows, state and federal UC tax revenues rise and spending on UC benefits falls because fewer workers are unemployed.³ In a recession, UC tax revenue decreases and UC program spending increases as more workers lose their jobs and receive UC benefits. The increased amount of UC payments to unemployed workers mitigates the economic impact of their lost earnings by injecting additional funds into the economy.

To support the UC program's economic stabilization efforts during higher unemployment periods, federal law includes an automatic extension of the regular UC benefit through the permanently authorized EB program. The UI system is designed to supplement the weeks of UC payments by automatically triggering the availability of up to an additional 13 or 20 weeks of EB payments. Triggering on to EB requires that a state meets certain unemployment thresholds (the state also has options to adopt certain additional unemployment triggers). In practice, the required EB trigger is set to such a high level of unemployment that the majority of states do not trigger onto EB in most recessions.⁴ The weekly EB payment is the same as the underlying UC benefit amount, and thus, it also varies by state.

Congress often supplements these UI system stabilization efforts by enacting temporary UI benefit expansions—such as the now-expired benefits created under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act (P.L. 116-136).

Temporary Federal Extensions of UI: Congressional Response to Recessions

Since the creation of the UI program in 1935, Congress has acted nine times—1958, 1961, 1971, 1974, 1982, 1991, 2002, 2008, and 2020—to create temporary additional UI benefits.⁵ These temporary benefits extended the number of weeks an individual might claim UC benefits (ranging from an additional 6 weeks to 53 weeks) and included expiration dates for the additional benefits. Congress often extended the authorization of these temporary benefits as well as expanded and contracted the benefits as the labor market recovered from the recession. Some weeks of additional benefits were conditional on state economic conditions.⁶ Additionally, in response to the 2020 recession, Congress created a separate benefit (Pandemic Unemployment Assistance) for those individuals who were traditionally unable to access regular UI benefits because of the nature of their employment. All temporary, now-expired programs that were enacted in 2020 in response to the COVID-19 pandemic are discussed in the "Temporary COVID-19 Pandemic UI Programs" section of this report.

During the COVID-19 pandemic-related recession, individuals may have received benefits under multiple, temporarily and permanently authorized UI programs. Figure 1 at the end of this report provides the flow of all UI benefits that were available from March 13, 2021, through September 4, 2021, in participating states.

Permanently Authorized UI Programs: UC and EB

As noted, there are two permanently authorized benefit programs (UC and EB) in the UI system. In general, when eligible workers lose their jobs, the joint federal-state UC program may provide up to 26 weeks (in most states) of income support through weekly UC benefit payments. ⁷ UC benefits may be extended for up to 13 weeks or 20 weeks by the EB program, depending on state economic conditions and state law options.⁸ (For an overview of EB, see the "Extended Benefits" section.)

Unemployment Compensation

The Social Security Act of 1935 (P.L. 74-271) authorizes the joint federal-state UC program to provide weekly unemployment benefits. Most states provide up to a maximum of 26 weeks of UC benefits.⁹ Although federal laws and regulations provide broad guidelines on UC benefit coverage, eligibility, and determination, the specifics regarding UC benefits are determined by each jurisdiction. This results in essentially 53 different programs.¹⁰

Eligibility

In general, UC eligibility is based on attaining qualified wages and employment in covered work over a 12-month period (called a base period) prior to unemployment. All states require a worker to have earned a certain amount of wages or to have worked for a certain period of time (or both) within the base period to be eligible to receive UC benefits. The methods states use to determine eligibility vary greatly. In addition, each state's UC law requires individuals to have lost their jobs through no fault of their own, and recipients must be able to work, available for work, and actively seeking work.¹¹ These eligibility requirements help ensure that UC benefits are directed toward workers with recent labor market experience who are unemployed because of economic conditions.¹² Self-employed workers—potentially including independent contractors and gig economy workers—are the largest group of workers generally excluded from eligibility for UC benefits.¹³

Benefit Amount

UC benefit calculations are generally based on wages for covered work over the 12-month base period. Most state benefit formulas replace half of a claimant's average weekly wage up to a weekly maximum. All states disregard some earnings during unemployment as an incentive to take short-term or part-time work while searching for a permanent position. States also disregard earnings in situations of partial unemployment, in which individuals have their work hours reduced (rather than being laid off). Generally, in partial unemployment situations, a worker's net UC payment equals the difference between the underlying UC weekly benefit amount and a proportion of earnings (after a small disregard).¹⁴

Similarly, there is considerable variation by state in the maximum weekly UC benefit amounts. In July 2021, the maximum weekly benefit amount ranged from $235 (Mississippi) to $855 (Massachusetts). Additionally, in states that provide dependents' allowances, the maximum benefit was $1,282 (Massachusetts, requiring 18 dependents for the maximum payment).¹⁵ The 12-month average, national weekly benefit amount was $350 as of December 2021.¹⁶

Benefit Duration

Until 2011, all state UC programs offered at least 26 weeks as the maximum duration available in the state. Nothing in federal law requires states to set their UC benefit duration maximum at 26 weeks. Thus, states have the discretion to offer fewer than 26 weeks as the maximum or to set their own higher UC benefit durations via their state UC laws.¹⁷ (Two states provide more than 26 weeks of UC benefits: Montana provides up to 28 weeks¹⁸ and Massachusetts provides up to 30 weeks, depending on local economic conditions.¹⁹) Ten states have decreased their maximum UC durations,²⁰ but three of these states (Georgia, Kansas, and North Carolina) temporarily restored their UC maximum durations to 26 weeks in response to the COVID-19 pandemic (two of these states—Georgia and Kansas—continue to have up to 26 weeks of UC available):

• Alabama: 14 weeks²¹ (14-20 weeks, variable duration based on state unemployment conditions);
• Arkansas: 16 weeks;
• Florida: 19 weeks²² (12-23 weeks, variable duration based on state unemployment conditions);
• Georgia: temporarily restored to 26 weeks due to the pandemic²³ (14-20 weeks, variable duration based on state unemployment conditions);
• Idaho: 20 weeks²⁴ (20-26 weeks, variable duration based on state unemployment conditions);
• Kansas: temporarily restored to 26 weeks due to the pandemic²⁵ (16-26 weeks, variable duration based on state unemployment conditions);
• Michigan: 20 weeks;²⁶
• Missouri: 20 weeks;
• North Carolina: 12 weeks²⁷ (12-20 weeks, variable duration based on state unemployment conditions); and
• South Carolina: 20 weeks.

Financing

The UC program is financed by federal taxes under the Federal Unemployment Tax Act (FUTA) and by state payroll taxes under the State Unemployment Tax Acts (SUTA).²⁸ The 0.6% effective net FUTA tax paid by employers on the first $7,000 of each employee's earnings (no more than $42 per worker per year) funds federal and state administrative costs, loans to insolvent state UC accounts, the federal share (50%) of EB payments under permanent law, and state employment services. States levy their own payroll taxes on employers to fund regular UC benefits and the state share of the EB program under permanent law. Federal law requires that the SUTA tax rate of an employer be based on the amount of UC benefits paid to former employees. Generally, the more UC benefits paid to its former employees, the higher the tax rate of the employer—up to a maximum established by state law.

Extended Benefits

Federal law includes an automatic extension of the regular UC benefit with the permanently authorized EB program if specific economic conditions exist at the state level. The EB program was established by the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (P.L. 91-373; 26 U.S.C. §3304, note) and may provide up to 13 or 20 weeks of additional weeks of UI benefits.²⁹

Extended Benefit Triggers

The EB program is active, or triggered on, when a state's three-month general unemployment rate (Total Unemployment Rate, TUR) or its programmatic Insured Unemployment Rate (IUR) meets certain thresholds.³⁰ Under federal EB law, all states must pay up to 13 weeks of EB if the IUR for the previous 13 weeks is at least 5%, and is 120% of the average of the rates for the same 13-week period in each of the two previous years. Additionally, states may choose to enact up to two other optional thresholds. (States may choose one, two, or none.) If the state chooses one or more of the EB trigger options, it would provide the following:

• Option 1—based upon the IUR
• up to an additional 13 weeks of benefits if the state's IUR is at least 6%, regardless of previous years' averages.
• Option 2—based upon the TUR
• up to an additional 13 weeks of benefits if the state's TUR is at least 6.5% and is at least 110% of the state's average TUR for the same 13 weeks in either of the previous two years;
• up to an additional 20 weeks of benefits if the state's TUR is at least 8% and is at least 110% of the state's average TUR for the same 13 weeks in either of the previous two years (this is designated as a high unemployment period [HUP] for EB).

When a state triggers off of an EB period, all EB benefit payments in the state cease immediately, regardless of individual entitlement.³¹ That is, EB benefits are not phased out (grandfathered) when a state triggers off the program.³²

Eligibility and Benefit Amount

The EB benefit amount is equal to the eligible individual's weekly regular UC benefit. The EB program imposes federal restrictions on individual eligibility for EB beyond the state requirements for regular UC. The EB program requires that a worker make a "systematic and sustained" work search. Furthermore, the worker may not receive benefits if he or she refused an offer of suitable work, which is defined as "any work within such individual's capabilities."³³ In addition, claimants must have worked at least 20 weeks of full-time insured employment (or the equivalent as defined by the state) in insured wages during their base period.

EB Financing

Under permanent law, FUTA revenue finance 50% of the EB payments and 100% of EB administrative costs. States fund the other half 50% of EB benefit costs, under permanent law, through their SUTA revenue.

Temporary EB Financing Changes (expired)

Section 4105 of P.L. 116-127, the Families First Coronavirus Response Act (FFCRA), as amended, temporarily provided 100% federally financed EB (with the exception of state and local employees) for states that received both halves of the emergency administrative grants authorized under FFCRA beginning with enactment of this law (March 18, 2020) through December 31, 2020.³⁴ The UI provisions in Division N, Title II, Subtitle A of the Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021 (P.L. 116-260; the Continued Assistance for Unemployed Workers Act of 2020, or "Continued Assistance Act") extended the authority for this 100% federal financing of EB through March 13, 2021.³⁵ The UI provisions in the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA; P.L. 117-2) further extended this authority through September 4, 2021 when it expired.³⁶

Temporary Adoption of Optional EB Triggers Based Upon Expired 100% Federal Financing for EB

Some states reacted to this temporary 100% federal financing by enacting temporary EB trigger options that remained in place for the duration of the increased federal cost share. According to DOL, 13 states adopted the more responsive TUR trigger, but authorized a sunset for their TUR triggers related to availability of the 100% federal funding of EB.³⁷

Temporary COVID-19 Pandemic UI Programs (Expired)

The COVID-19 pandemic dramatically disrupted the economy, as many businesses reduced operations and consumer demand shifted away from in-person commerce. The sharp fall in economic activity translated into massive and widespread employment loss. Recessions generally are a difficult time to find work, and the increased workplace hazards created by the COVID-19 pandemic further limited jobseekers' options for employment.

Responding to the COVID-19 pandemic and the resulting economic recession, the 116^th Congress created several new temporary, now-expired UI benefits for unemployed workers through the CARES Act (P.L. 116-136). These temporary CARES Act UI programs (1) augmented all UI benefits, (2) created additional weeks of temporary benefits, and (3) expanded coverage to new groups of workers through a new benefit. The Continued Assistance Act (contained within P.L. 116-260) subsequently extended the authorization of these programs. See Table 2 for the final expiration dates of the federal authorization of the temporary UI programs under the Continued Assistance Act. Figure 1 displays the flow of all UI benefits that were available under permanent law and the temporary UI benefits as authorized by the Continued Assistance Act, which are now expired. The statutory authority for the temporary UI benefits specified that they were payable through voluntary agreements between DOL and each state that chose to provide them. While almost all states initially signed agreements to pay all of these benefits, 26 states announced terminations to their agreements to pay COVID-19 UI benefits prior to program expiration. Of those states, DOL reported that in Indiana and Maryland state courts issued temporary orders prohibiting early termination from some or all of the COVID-19 UI programs. (Additional legal challenges were reported in other states but do not appear to have reestablished participation.)

UI Benefit Augmentation: Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC; $300 a week prior to expiration)

Section 2104 of the CARES Act originally created a temporary, additional, federally financed $600-a-week FPUC benefit that augmented most weekly UI benefits, including UC, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), EB, Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA), Short-Time Compensation (STC), Trade Readjustment Allowance (TRA), and Self Employment Assistance (SEA).³⁸ When the $600 weekly FPUC benefit was available for weeks of unemployment beginning on March 29, 2020,³⁹ an eligible UI claimant would have received both the UI benefit plus the $600 each week. One $600 FPUC benefit was payable to an eligible UI claimant for any given week. That temporary $600 weekly augmentation of UI benefits terminated the week ending July 25, 2020.⁴⁰

The Continued Assistance Act reauthorized (and reestablished) the temporary FPUC benefit at a lower amount of $300 per week for weeks of unemployment beginning after December 26, 2020, and ending on or before March 14, 2021.⁴¹ ARPA extended the Continued Assistance Act's reauthorization of FPUC at $300 per week through weeks of unemployment ending on or before September 6, 2021. No FPUC benefits were payable for weeks of unemployment that began after September 4, 2021.⁴²

While the $300 weekly FPUC benefit was available, an eligible UI claimant would have received both the UI benefit plus the $300 each week. One $300 FPUC benefit was payable to an eligible UI claimant for any given week. FPUC income was required to be disregarded for the purposes of Medicaid and the Children's Health Insurance Program (CHIP). During the FPUC authorization period, states were prohibited from reducing the UC benefit amount or duration.

For an explanation of the previously authorized $600-a-week version of FPUC as well as the now-concluded $300 Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) program authorized by a presidential memorandum, see the Appendix.

Additional Weeks of UI: Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC; up to a total of 49 weeks prior to expiration)

PEUC provided additional weeks of federally financed UI benefits for individuals who exhausted state and federal UI benefits and were able to work, available for work, and actively seeking work, subject to COVID-19-related flexibilities. PEUC was originally created as a 13-week UI extension under the CARES Act for weeks of unemployment beginning on March 29, 2020,⁴³ and payable through weeks of unemployment ending on December 26, 2020 (December 27, 2020, in New York). The Continued Assistance Act extended the authorization for PEUC through weeks of unemployment ending on or before March 13, 2021.⁴⁴ In addition, for weeks of unemployment beginning after December 26, 2020,⁴⁵ the Continued Assistance Act authorized 11 additional weeks of PEUC benefits (not retroactive⁴⁶)—for a total of 24 weeks of PEUC.⁴⁷

The Continued Assistance Act created a new requirement that individuals receiving EB must exhaust any remaining EB eligibility prior to being eligible to receive the additional weeks of PEUC authorized under the act.⁴⁸

ARPA authorized 29 additional weeks of PEUC benefits payable with respect to weeks of unemployment beginning March 14, 2021 (not retroactive), and extended the authorization for PEUC through weeks of unemployment ending on or before September 6, 2021. The new PEUC expiration date effectively limited PEUC benefits to no more than an additional 25 weeks for a cumulative total of 49 weeks. There was no phase-out period authorized under ARPA. Thus, no PEUC benefits were payable for weeks of unemployment that began after September 4, 2021.⁴⁹

ARPA also maintained the same requirement that individuals receiving EB must exhaust any remaining EB eligibility prior to being eligible to receive the additional weeks of PEUC authorized under ARPA.⁵⁰

Expanded UI Coverage: Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA; up to a total of 75 weeks prior to expiration)

PUA was a temporary federal UI program for individuals who are (1) not otherwise eligible for UI benefits (e.g., self-employed, independent contractors, gig economy workers); (2) unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable to work due to a specific COVID-19-related reason; and (3) not able to telework and are not receiving any paid leave. Under the CARES Act, PUA provided up to 39 weeks of benefits for weeks of unemployment beginning on February 2, 2020,⁵¹ and ending December 26, 2020.⁵² The Continued Assistance Act extended the authorization for PUA through weeks of unemployment ending on or before March 13, 2021.⁵³ In addition, for weeks of unemployment beginning December 26, 2020,⁵⁴ the act also authorized 11 additional weeks of PUA benefits (not retroactive)—for a total of 50 weeks of PUA.⁵⁵

Generally, the PUA benefit amount was based upon the same general formula as the state's weekly benefit amount; however, it was based on recent earned income (rather than solely UI-covered wages), subject to the minimum benefit under Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA),⁵⁶ which is half of the state's average weekly UC benefit amount. In territories without UC programs, the PUA benefit was determined by applying DUA regulations.⁵⁷

The Continued Assistance Act provided a new deadline for the backdating of PUA claims (previously, PUA claims could be backdated to February 2, 2020): initial applications for PUA filed after December 27, 2020, could not be backdated earlier than December 1, 2020.⁵⁸

The Continued Assistance Act also included additional measures related to PUA, including (1) authority for states to waive recovery of PUA overpayments in cases of non-fault and hardship (retroactive for any PUA overpayment); (2) codification of the PUA appeals process to be conducted by states; and (3) requirements for additional documentation from claimants and for other PUA program integrity measures (as described in CRS Report R45478, Unemployment Insurance: Legislative Issues in the 116th Congress).⁵⁹

ARPA authorized 29 additional weeks of PUA benefits payable with respect to weeks of unemployment beginning March 14, 2021 (not retroactive), and extended the authorization for PUA through weeks of unemployment ending on or before September 6, 2021. The new PUA expiration date effectively limited PUA benefits to no more than an additional 25 weeks for a cumulative total of 75 weeks.⁶⁰ There was no phase-out period authorized under ARPA. Thus, no PUA benefits were payable for weeks of unemployment that began after September 4, 2021.⁶¹

UC and EB Offset PUA

If an individual had exhausted all available entitlement to UC, PEUC, and EB, he or she may have been eligible to collect PUA if the underlying cause of unemployment was attributable to a PUA-covered circumstance (e.g., specific COVID-19-related condition). However, the 75-week entitlement to PUA was reduced by the weeks of UC and EB received. (PEUC did not reduce the number of PUA weeks available.)

Additional UI Augmentation: Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation (MEUC; $100 a week prior to expiration)

The Continued Assistance Act also authorized a newly created $100-a-week MEUC payment (in states that elected to participate in MEUC) in addition to the $300-a-week FPUC benefit.⁶² MEUC addressed an issue raised by potential differences in benefits calculated under regular state UI programs and those calculated under PUA. Specifically, the PUA benefit was created with a higher minimum benefit than each state's UI minimum benefit (the minimum PUA benefit was 50% of the average state UI benefit amount). Because PUA was not available to anyone who qualified for state UI (or any other federal UI benefit), there was a concern related to perceived equity for unemployed workers who would qualify for PUA with a higher weekly benefit if they were not also eligible for regular state UI benefits. MEUC addressed this issue by increasing the amount of state UI benefits for individuals in this situation.

MEUC provided $100 weekly for individuals who received at least $5,000 in self-employment income in the most recent tax year (i.e., ending prior to the individual's application for state UI benefits) and who received a UI benefit other than PUA. Under the Continued Assistance Act, MEUC was payable only in states that opted to administer the benefit for weeks of unemployment beginning on or after December 27, 2020, and ending on or before March 13, 2021.⁶³

ARPA extended the now-expired MEUC authority at $100 per week in participating states until September 4, 2021.⁶⁴

State Termination of Temporary COVID-19 Pandemic UI Programs

The statutory authority for the temporary COVID-19 pandemic UI benefits specified that they were payable through voluntary agreements between DOL and each state that chose to provide them. The law required states to provide at least a 30-day notice to DOL that they planned to terminate their agreements to administer FPUC, PEUC, and MEUC. According to DOL guidance, all signed PUA agreements also contained the requirement to provide at least a 30-day notice before terminating PUA.⁶⁵

Through June 2021, all states had active, signed agreements to administer FPUC, PEUC, and PUA. Most states (excluding Idaho and South Dakota) agreed to provide MEUC through following the required process of amending their FPUC agreements. As mentioned earlier, 26 states announced terminations of their agreements with DOL to pay some or all of these temporary UI benefits, with effective benefit termination dates ranging from June 12, 2021, to July 31, 2021.⁶⁶

Some state courts issued temporary orders prohibiting the state from terminating the COVID-19 UI agreements. In Indiana, PUA, PEUC and FPUC continued to be payable until the expiration of the federal authorization of those programs (September 4, 2021). However, Indiana terminated its MEUC amendment, effectively ending the program on July 19, 2021. Because of its court challenges, Maryland continued to pay PUA, PEUC, FPUC, and MEUC benefits until September 4, 2021. There also were media reports of additional legal challenges in other states that announced terminations of COVID-19 UI agreements, but those do not appear to have been successful.⁶⁷ Additional details on these state terminations, including the effective dates for benefit terminations, are provided in Table 1.⁶⁸

Coordination of UI Benefits

During a period of unemployment, individuals may have been eligible for benefits under multiple authorized UI programs, including the temporary, now-expired COVID-19 UI programs. Figure 1 provides the statutory order of the flow of UI benefits from March 13, 2021, through September 4, 2021. This flow was contingent on an individual meeting all eligibility criteria for the respective programs. It was also contingent on a state having an agreement with DOL to administer the programs authorized under the CARES Act, as amended by the Continued Assistance Act and ARPA. As described above, 26 states announced an early termination of some or all of the temporary UI benefits authorized under the CARES Act, as amended. However, in two of these states (Indiana and Maryland), state courts issued temporary orders prohibiting withdrawal from COVID-19 UI programs.

Figure 1. Coordination of the Flow of UI Benefits Under the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (Prior to Expiration) Benefit Availability Depended Upon State Agreement (March 13, 2021, through September 4, 2021)

Source: CRS analysis based on the UI provisions in Title IX, Subtitle A, of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (P.L. 117-2) and U.S. Department of Labor (DOL) guidance. Notes: This coordination flow was contingent on an individual meeting all eligibility criteria for the respective programs. It was also contingent on a state having an agreement with DOL to administer each benefit. Transition rules: (1) Individuals who were receiving EB for the week ending December 26, 2020, were required to remain on EB until those benefits were exhausted; after that point, they may have been eligible for additional PEUC if available. (2) Individuals who were receiving EB for the week ending March 13, 2021, were required to remain on EB until those benefits were exhausted; after that point, they may have been be eligible for additional PEUC if available. PUA was the last payer. All other UI benefits must have been exhausted or unavailable. States had a temporary, six-week authorization to continue to pay PUA rather than PEUC if an individual was receiving PUA for the week ending March 13, 2021. Federal authorization for FPUC, MEUC, PUA, and PEUC existed through September 4, 2021 (September 5, 2021, for New York). South Dakota and Idaho did not sign agreements to offer MEUC, according to DOL. As of August 4, 2021, according to DOL, the following 24 states terminated their agreements with DOL to pay some or all COVID-19 UI benefits prior to the expiration of the federal authorization for the benefits: Alabama, Alaska, Arkansas, Arizona, Florida, Georgia, Idaho, Iowa, Louisiana, Mississippi, Missouri, Montana, Nebraska, New Hampshire, North Dakota, Ohio, Oklahoma, South Carolina, South Dakota, Tennessee, Texas, Utah, West Virginia, and Wyoming. Two additional states—Indiana and Maryland—also announced terminations of their state agreements to pay COVID-UI benefits prior to the expiration of the federal authorization. According to DOL, state courts in Indiana and Maryland issued temporary orders prohibiting early termination from some or all of the COVID-19 UI programs. (Additional legal challenges were reported in other states but do not appear to have reestablished participation.) Thus, in Indiana PUA, PEUC, and FPUC continued to be payable until the expiration of the federal authorization (but MEUC was terminated, effective July 19, 2021); and in Maryland, PUA, PEUC, FPUC, and MEUC continued to be payable.

Appendix. Expired Programs: $600 FPUC, $300 LWA

$600 Weekly Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation

Section 2104 of the CARES Act created a temporary, additional, federally financed $600 benefit that augmented weekly UI benefits, including UC, PUA, PEUC, EB, DUA, STC, TRA, and SEA.⁶⁹ This original FPUC was payable for weeks of unemployment beginning after a state signed an agreement with DOL through weeks ending on or before July 31, 2020.⁷⁰ When the $600 weekly FPUC benefit was available, an eligible UI claimant would have received both the UI benefit plus the $600 each week. One $600 FPUC benefit was payable to an eligible UI claimant for any given week. For most states, this meant that FPUC payments under the CARES Act ended on July 25, 2020.⁷¹

Shortly after the $600 weekly FPUC expired, LWA provided $300 in weekly benefits to some UI beneficiaries through September 5, 2020.⁷² See the section below for details. Approximately four months later, the Continued Assistance Act reauthorized FPUC at a lower $300 weekly amount. See the section "UI Benefit Augmentation: Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC; $300 a week prior to expiration)" for additional details on this reauthorized FPUC benefit.

FPUC income was required to be disregarded for the purposes of Medicaid and CHIP.

$300 Weekly Lost Wages Assistance

On August 8, 2020, President Donald Trump issued a presidential memorandum authorizing other needs assistance (ONA) under Section 408 of the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act (Stafford Act; P.L. 93-288, as amended; 42 U.S.C. §5174(e)(2)) for lost wages.⁷³ As described in Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) guidance,⁷⁴ this LWA program provided grants to states to supplement the weekly benefits of certain eligible UI claimants in participating states, subject to a cost-sharing requirement.⁷⁵

LWA grants were paid as a $300-per-week supplement in entirely federal funds to individuals with underlying weekly UI benefit amounts of at least $100, or, if a state chose to contribute an additional $100 a week in state funds, the total supplement would have been $400 a week.⁷⁶ LWA was not available to those receiving DUA.

As constructed, LWA grants were potentially available for weeks of unemployment ending between August 1, 2020, and December 27, 2020, but the program would have terminated earlier if either (1) Congress had enacted supplemental COVID-19 pandemic-related unemployment compensation (e.g., reestablished the FPUC authority, which did not occur in that period) or (2) certain conditions were met related to the balance of the Disaster Relief Fund (DRF).⁷⁷ In practical terms, the first week of unemployment covered by LWA began on July 26, 2020, and all states ended LWA payments by September 6, 2020, as the amount of available funds in the DRF precluded additional payments.⁷⁸