Federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation Benefits Will Continue

New Jersey Department of Labor and Workforce Development (LWD) Commissioner Harold  Wirths announced today that a continuation of federal Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) has been signed into law by President Barack Obama.

The continuation of the federal EUC program, which was passed by the U.S. Senate and House of Representatives on Tuesday, is retroactive to December 30, 2012 and will be extended for a year, through the week ending December 28, 2013. The legislation does not create any additional offer of benefits to unemployed people who have already collected EUC and exhausted all benefits under the program.

Since September, the EUC program has offered up to a maximum of 47 additional weeks of supplemental Unemployment Insurance to people who exhaust New Jersey’s 26 weeks of Unemployment Insurance benefits and who qualify for EUC.

More than 132,000 unemployed workers collecting EUC benefits in New Jersey were notified last month that EUC would expire at the end of 2012 barring any federal action to extend the program.  The department will be notifying all EUC eligible claimants by letter and e-mail regarding the continuation of the program through 2013.

Claimants will be able to certify for EUC benefits for the week ending January 5, 2013 beginning on Sunday, January 6, 2013, through the LWD’s Unemployment Insurance website at www.njuifile.net.

Unemployed people who have been collecting EUC benefits will continue receiving those benefits, without interruption, for as long as they remain eligible and until they exhaust the available benefits offered under the program. The legislation also will allow EUC to remain available to unemployed people in New Jersey who exhaust state Unemployment Insurance benefits during 2013 and qualify to collect EUC.

(Information provided by The Christie Administration.)