New Yorkers already receiving unemployment benefits do not need to contact the state’s Department of Labor for an additional $ 300 that the federal government approved at the end of December.

The additional funds and extended federal programs will start on Sunday, the first date the federal government allows.

People who are already in a program must continue to certify every week as usual and will automatically receive the extended benefits, according to the Department of Labor.

Congress approved the additional waiver in the last week of December, after the last round of fringe benefits expired. Countries were given little time to adjust and channel money to millions of unemployed people without losing a check.

New York State was ready. New York State unemployment checks will not go past a week.

Phone lines at the Department of Labor are filled with callers who want to know what they need to do to qualify for the extended programs. This means that people who really need to fix a problem with their claims can’t get an answer.

Read this instead of calling:

Everyone who actually gets any type of unemployment insurance will get an additional $ 300 every week for 11 weeks, from January 3 to March 14. This means that people who receive benefits from any alphabetical program will receive additional money. All they have to do is certify every week as normal.

There are three federal programs that extend benefits beyond the typical 26 state weeks. Two of these programs expired on December 26 and have now been extended. The third remained in place.

One of these programs is particularly important to New York’s temporary worker economy. Epidemic unemployment assistance, or PUA, goes to the self-employed who would not normally qualify for unemployment benefits. This program now pays benefits for 57 weeks. People who qualify by March 14 will continue to claim benefits until they reach the maximum number of weeks or reach the week beginning April 5.

PUA recipients simply must continue to certify as usual each week to receive the extended benefits. Starting January 31, the federal government will require additional proof of eligibility. The state Department of Labor will contact people who need to provide more paperwork.

The Epidemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation Program, or PEUC, is for people who have consumed 26 weeks of conventional unemployment insurance. In 2020, there was a 13-week limit for PEUC. This has now been raised to 24 weeks. Like the other program, people who qualify by March 14 will continue to claim benefits until they reach the maximum number of weeks or reach the week beginning April 5.

There is a third program called Extended Benefits. This is an old program that provides an additional 20 weeks in high-unemployment states. New York is now eligible for this program.

People who exhausted 26 weeks of state insurance and 13 weeks of PEUC in 2020 were enrolled in this third program.

When these extended benefits run out, the state Department of Labor will automatically transfer people back to PEUC. Again, there is no need to call.

People who need to first apply for unemployment insurance can Do this online.

People who have reached the end of the entitlement year, that is, 52 weeks after they first submitted their claim, must re-apply. This can also be done Online.

Contact Michelle Bridenbach | mbreidenbach@syracuse.com | 315-470-3186.