Pandemic Unemployment Assistance Program Updates [Tuesday April 28th]

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• [MAINE]:   “The Maine Department of Labor has announced it will begin accepting applications for the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program at 8 a.m. Friday, May 1. Applicants whose claims do not require further review should begin receiving benefits within seven days of filing. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) is a new federal program that expanded eligibility for unemployment benefits to certain categories of workers not typically able to receive unemployment in the past. That includes the self-employed, farmers, fishermen, independent contractors, gig workers and nonprofit employees not already covered by regular state unemployment benefits… [FULL ARTICLE]
• [OREGON]:   “Oregonians impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic who didn’t previously qualify for unemployment compensation, such as self-employed gig workers, freelancers, and independent contractors, are now eligible to receive benefits, the Oregon Employment Department announced Tuesday. The benefits come through the CARES Act Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program…” [FULL ARTICLE]
• [CALIFORNIA]:   “Gov. Gavin Newsom signed an executive order earlier this month creating the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, which opens up unemployment insurance payments to more workers who don’t typically qualify. The program is accepting applications online as of April 28. PUA benefits will apply to self-employed workers, independent contractors, those whose wage history isn’t long enough to qualify for unemployment, and those who have exhausted unemployment benefits…” [FULL ARTICLE]
• [ILLINOIS]:   “The state is doing its utmost to catch up with claims, Pritzker said. It has hired consultants, recruited retired employees to help, and is paying overtime to meet demand. According to Schaumburg Democrat U.S. Rep. Raja Krishnamoorthi’s office, IDES doesn’t have the systems in place to process independent contractor claims. But the agency “is contracting with Deloitte to implement and maintain a web-based solution for PUA” that should be operating by the week of May 11, said the agency’s information strategy director, Rebecca Cisco…” [FULL ARTICLE]
• [MARYLAND]:   “After a rough start on Friday, Maryland’s new one-stop unemployment benefits website has been struggling to handle a massive volume of applicants. And now the state’s Labor Department has some changes underway to help the BEACON One-Stop application system work better. For starters, the system will be taken down every morning from 1 a.m. to 3 a.m. “until the problem is fixed to perform maintenance and resolve any ongoing technical issues,” Labor Secretary Tiffany Robinson said in a statement Monday…” [FULL ARTICLE]