Unemployment Benefits Bill Ready for Obama's Signature

On Wednesday, the House of Representatives approved a bill that will extend unemployment insurance benefits through November, and make such benefits retroactive to June 2. The Senate similarly approved this bill on Tuesday by a 59-39 margin. The version of the American Jobs and Closing Tax Loopholes Act (H.R. 4213) (pdf) that cleared both chambers is a significantly scaled-back draft that did not contain a number of extensions to other tax benefit programs. The limited bill that will likely be signed into law today will do the following:

  • Extend the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program through November 2010, and apply its benefits retroactively to June 2. Depending on a state’s unemployment rate, the program provides up to 53 weeks of extended benefits.
  • Continue the Extended Benefits (EB) program through November 2010. This program, which expired in May, provides up to an additional 13 weeks of benefits in states with unemployment rates at or exceeding 6.5 %, and up to 20 weeks of benefits in states with unemployment rates at or above 8 %.
  • Eliminate the penalty for part-time employment in the EUC program. The bill would coordinate EUC benefits with regular benefits by providing states with a number of options to allow EUC claimants to remain eligible for the EUC program when they become newly entitled to state unemployment compensation, if switching to state benefits would reduce their weekly UI check by at least $100 or  25 %.

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Information contained in this publication is intended for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice or opinion, nor is it a substitute for the professional judgment of an attorney.