HARRISBURG, Pa. – Due to Congressional legislation to expand the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) programs, it was delayed in Washington, DC, the Pennsylvania Department of Labor and Industry (L&I) encourages strongly the more than 500,000 Pennsylvania retirees who receive payments through these expiring programs to seek other forms of assistance.
According to a statement issued on Saturday, according to the CARES Act, both programs will stop at the end of this month, and applicants in Pennsylvania will not receive payments after the week ending December 26th.
“Pennsylvania residents receiving PUA or PEUC payments need to be aware that they will not be able to apply next week and should start training now to look for the needs they will need by other means,” said Jennifer Berrier, secretary. interim to L&I. “I urge the current PUA and PEUC applicants to seek additional assistance through non-L&I programs as soon as possible to prevent their families from reaching an emergency or dangerous situation.”
The US Department of Labor (US DOL) cannot issue guidelines for PUA and PEUC program extensions and has requested program changes to the CARES Act Extension until the bill is signed into law.
According to officials, because states cannot begin implementing the programs and provisions of the new law until they receive guidance from the US DOL, PUA and PEUC applicants will experience a few weeks between when the program extension is signed into law and payments resume.
The Department of Labor and Industry encourages PUA and PEUC applicants to review the following resources for eligibility and apply immediately if they qualify:
PUA and PEUC applicants are also encouraged to use the United Way of Pennsylvania 211 program to identify local resources, including food banks, housing assistance and utility assistance. Applicants can review the programs available in their zip code by accessing pa211.org, sending a zip code to 898-211, or calling 211 at any time.
According to officials, during November and December, Gov. Tom Wolf and L&I leaders repeatedly called on the federal government to approve an extension of the CARES Act before it expires at the end of 2020.
The Department of Labor and Industry will make updates on the PUA and PEUC programs and other federal programs affected by the expansion of the CARES Act as information becomes available, officials say.
More resources and advice from Pennsylvania, including financial aid with credit cards, mortgages or rent and mental health resources, are available by clicking on “COVID-19” at www.pa.gov.