Unemployment insurance payments are slower than they were pre-pandemic

Unemployment Insurance form with pen

The difference varies from one state to the next, but overall, things are slower since COVID-19 hit. Not long aver the pandemic hit, the rate of joblessness in the United States spiked, sending millions of people to seek unemployment insurance benefits. The systems in every state were required to issue checks following a spike in claims handling. Because there was a sudden and sharp influx of unemployment insurance claims, the systems in place to manage them were not prepared for the numbers. This left people waiting for weeks – or…

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New York Uber and Lyft drivers win battle for unemployment insurance benefits

Unemployment insurance benefits - Uber and Lyft drivers

The ride hailing drivers sued the state in May and a federal judge has now ruled in their favor. Lyft and Uber drivers recently won the right to receive unemployment insurance benefits immediately. The ruling was made by a federal judge who determined that the New York Department of Labor had taken too long to issue payments. The ruling was made by U.S. District Judge LaShann DeArcy Hall in Brooklyn this week. The judge cited a backlog of claims was occurring from ride-hail drivers who sued New York state in…

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22 million unemployment insurance claims were filed in a 4-week span

Unemployment insurance - Closed Business Sign

As businesses continue to remain closed because of the pandemic, workers are steadily laid off. The steady stream of layoffs resulting from businesses temporarily closing due to the coronavirus pandemic has led to millions of additional unemployment insurance claims. In April’s first full week, an additional 5.2 million workers submitted their first week’s filing for benefits. US Department of Labor data showed that the total number of Americans who have filed their first unemployment insurance claims is 22 million in four weeks following March 14. This represents approximately 13.5 percent…

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Unemployment insurance proposal achieves bipartisan Senate support

Unemployment Insurance extension

A new deal has been reached in order to lengthen the long term coverage by another five months. A bipartisan senator group has now come to a deal that will allow the federal long term unemployment insurance program to be extended for an additional five months. This agreement has arrived after several months of focused negotiations and will be applied retroactively. The unemployment insurance will be distributed retroactively to those whose benefits expired at the close of last year. The price tag that comes with extending these benefits will be…

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Federal unemployment insurance benefits collapse

Unemployment Insurance

Legislative inaction could leave people without benefits Some 1.3 million people will lose their insurance benefits at the end of the month due to legislative inaction from the U.S. Congress. Federal lawmakers have declined to renew emergency funding that had been implemented for the federal unemployment insurance program. The benefits provided by this program have provided consumers throughout the country with some degree of financial stability as they look for employment. Unemployment insurance was augmented by emergency funds due to ongoing economic issues throughout the U.S. that made it nearly…

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