$ 300 unemployment increase spent in California, New York, other states

A handful of states have started giving a weekly boost of $ 300 in unemployment benefits or reported workers will receive the payments starting this week. Others expect aid to start later this month.

Workers in Arizona, California, New York and Rhode Island will receive the first set of improved payments this week, according to state employment offices. California and New York are the No. 1 and 2 states respectively in relation to the number of employees receiving unemployment benefits.

Connecticut and Washington state aim to pay out the supplement from mid-January, officials said.

Workers in California were paid the $ 300 weekly supplement as early as Sunday, according to the State Employment Development Department.

However, the first tranche is only available to the 1.3 million Californians who receive regular state benefits or aid through the Federal-State Extended Duration program, which begins during periods of high unemployment, the agency said.

Benefits will be delayed for others – nearly 3 million people – until there is “revised programming” for the expanded federal programs, the agency said.

Those federal programs include pandemic unemployment assistance and pandemic emergency unemployment compensation.

All workers in New York and Rhode Island, including those who collect PUA and PEUC benefits, will receive the $ 300 raise along with this week’s payments, according to state labor officials.

Rhode Island recipients will get the money as early as Monday, according to Margaux Fontaine, a spokeswoman for the state’s Department of Labor and Training.

According to Tasya Peterson, a spokeswoman for the State Department of Economic Security, Arizona residents could file a weekly claim for the additional $ 300 starting Sunday. Payments began to flow this week along with regular employee benefits, she said.

Connecticut labor officials expect to begin paying the $ 300 increase in mid-January, according to a statement released Tuesday by Governor Ned Lamont and Kurt Westby, the state labor commissioner.

According to information on the state’s unemployment website, Washington state expects to pay two-week benefits on January 15. Banks typically take a few days to process payments after they are issued, the agency said.

According to spokeswoman Angela Delli-Santi, the New Jersey Department of Labor has reprogrammed its systems to manage the $ 300 benefit and will begin distribution soon once user testing is successfully completed.

The $ 300 weekly supplement follows two others enacted during the coronavirus pandemic: a $ 600 weekly allowance provided by the CARES Act through July, and a subsequent $ 300 weekly allowance for lost wages that will last for six weeks. is offered at the beginning of September.

While some states were able to quickly disburse that aid, many took several weeks – even months – to do so.