Jobless New Yorkers to get extra $300, extended benefits to start soon

Unemployed New Yorkers will begin getting an extra $300 and extended federal benefits next week, Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo said Tuesday.

More than 2 million state residents will qualify for the extended benefits that were scheduled to expire at year's end. The extended federal payments run for an additional 11 weeks through March 14.

A pandemic stimulus bill hammered out at year's end by Congress extended the unemployment programs initially included in the CARES Act.

The new legislation extends:

• Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which provides benefits for those not covered by state unemployment insurance, such as self-employed workers and independent contractors;
• Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, whose benefits pick up once the 26-week term of state unemployment insurance lapses;
• Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, which provides a $300 weekly payment on top of basic jobless benefits.

Cuomo chided the federal government for delays in approving the bill.

"I have repeatedly called on the federal government to do the right thing by renewing critical benefits ... and now that Washington has finally acted, New York is immediately delivering those funds," he said in a statement.

New Yorkers whose unemployment benefits lapsed will need to reapply online.

Those currently getting benefits should continue to certify for unemployment payments and will automatically receive the extended payments.

The new legislation extends the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program to a maximum of 57 weeks. Additional eligibility documentation will be required beginning Jan. 31, according to federal officials.

Coverage under Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation was extended from 13 weeks to a maximum of 24 weeks for New Yorkers whose state unemployment insurance has lapsed.

The weekly $300 checks under the Pandemic Unemployment Compensation program will start next week and last for 11 weeks.

Some self-employed New Yorkers who earned at least $5,000 annually but do not qualify for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance may qualify for $100 per week through the Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation program.

In November, 58,100 Long Islanders received standard unemployment benefits from the state, according to the state Labor Department. Those numbers, however, do not reflect all workers receiving extended benefits from federal pandemic relief.

Further information on all the programs can be found at the website of the New York State Department of Labor, http://www.labor.ny.gov.

By Ken Schachter

kenneth.schachter@newsday.comkschach

Ken Schachter covers corporate news, including technology and aerospace, and other business topics for Newsday. He has also worked at The Miami Herald and The Jerusalem Post.