Extra $600 unemployment payments are ending — will they ever return? Here’s what we know
That extra $600 weekly payment for unemployed workers Congress allocated in March ends on Saturday, and no one knows when at least a portion of that payment may return.
That means the maximum benefit in California will revert back to $450 next week, instead of the $1,050 those unemployed workers earning the maximum have received in weekly checks since the end of March.
Even if and when a replacement for the $600 is approved, it could be weeks before people see another extra payment.
“Any change to the $600 would require a fair amount of lead time for states to implement,” said Jesse Rothstein, faculty director of the nonpartisan California Policy Lab at Berkeley.
“It might have been possible to do so seamlessly if Congress had passed an extension in June, but now, any change is guaranteeing weeks or months of disruption while states set up new systems.,” he said.
The delay means that hundreds of thousands of people could fall below the poverty line, suggests a study from the California Policy Lab.
And it probably means that even if President Donald Trump and Congress agree on new benefits in an economic stimulus bill — which appears to be a decent possibility — it could be weeks before the state system can implement the new program.
Gov. Gavin Newsom was asked Friday about state plans to ease the financial pain. He expressed faith in House Speaker Nancy Pelosi of California to champion unemployed workers’ cause, and said he’d be rolling out a new strategy next week to help EDD be more efficient.
He said he say a change that would help “reimagine and reprocess that entire system,” adding “Don’t think for a second we have not been focused on the medium and long term….you’re going to hear a lot more about that next week.”
The Pelosi-led House in May voted to extend the $600 benefit through January. The Republican-run Senate balked, and has been in talks with the White House this week about an alternative.
The Trump administration has suggested a system where 70% of wages would be replaced up to a certain level, as part of a broader economic relief package. Republican estimates are that such a plan could mean an extra $200 or so a week.
GOP negotiators have been unable to agree, however, and postponed unveiling their plan until next week.
In the meantime, the state’s Employment Development Department is advising California’s millions of beneficiaries that unless Washington approves an extension or a replacement “the extra boost on benefits will no longer be available for any weeks of unemployment or reduced hours for weeks from July 26 on.”
Those eligible will still get the extra $600 for payable, certified weeks of unemployment between March 29 and July 25, even if those benefits are processed after Saturday.
If Washington agreed to extend the full $600, which appears unlikely, the system could produce the payments fairly quickly, said EDD spokeswoman Loree Levy.
But if something more complicated is adopted, such as the 70% plan, that could take time.
“We are preparing as best we can as we await a decision from the federal government. If the guidance is similar to what was previously approved it will be a smoother transition than if new guidelines are created,” Levy said.
She said states have expressed their concern to the U.S. Labor Department.
Typically, without the extra $600, weekly benefit amounts range from $40 to $450 a week for regular unemployment insurance.
Those benefits are also available in programs aimed at providing extra help during the covid emergency , Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation and FED-ED extension benefits.
The range is somewhat different for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, the federal program created in March to provide benefits to those who generally would not qualify for the state’s regular benefits program, such as self-employed people, gig workers or independent contractors.
This story was originally published July 24, 2020 at 11:30 AM.
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