Unemployment Insurance

Objective

Increasing the ability of individuals to maintain consistent financial security to meet current and future financial obligations.

Who Can Apply

• U.S. State Government (including the District of Columbia)
• Reservist (including dependents)
• U.S. Territory (or Possession) Government (including freely-associated states)

U.S. Territories and possessions, state workforce agencies, including those in the District of Columbia, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands. The Workforce Innovation and Opportunity Act (WIOA) (Pub. L. 113-128) was passed on July 22, 2014. It supersedes titles I and II of the Workforce Investment Act of 1998, and amends the Wagner-Peyser Act and the Rehabilitation Act of 1973. The law went into effect on July 1, 2015. Also, unless otherwise stipulated, recipients are subject to Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit Requirements for Federal Awards; Final Rule on December 26, 2013, and found at 2 CFR Part 200 along with the OMB approved exceptions for DOL at 2 CFR Part 2900 published on December 19, 2014, in the Federal Register.

Who Benefits

All workers whose wages are subject to state unemployment insurance laws, federal civilian employees, ex-service members, and workers whose unemployment is caused by a presidentially declared disaster under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act or pandemic under the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020, as amended, are eligible if they meet the qualification and eligibility requirements of the relevant unemployment compensation program. For regular unemployment compensation (UC), UCFE, UCX, EB, and PEUC claims this generally means that the individual is involuntarily unemployed, able to work, available for work, meets the eligibility and qualifying requirements of the state law, and are free from disqualifications. For PUA claims, the individual must self-certify that they are otherwise able to work and available for work within the meaning of applicable state law except that they are unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable or unavailable to work for COVID-19 related reason(s) identified in Section 2102 of the CARES Act and Department guidance. Some states provide Short Time Compensation or Self Employment Assistance for eligible individuals. Workers who became unemployed or underemployed because of the adverse effect of increased imports or because of shifts in production outside the U.S. may be eligible for Trade Readjustment Allowance, Alternative Trade Adjustment Assistance or Reemployment Adjustment Assistance and other types of Trade Adjustment Assistance (see program 57.001). Individual state information on eligibility requirements is available from local American Job Centers or at https://www.careeronestop.org/LocalHelp/service-locator.aspx. Temporary UI programs may target other categories of workers.

Assistance Types

• Direct Payment with Unrestricted Use
• Grant

Program Contact

Beebe.Michelle.E@dol.gov
202-693-3029