This resource was last updated on June 30, 2020.

In response to the Coronavirus Pandemic, the New York State Department of Labor’s Unemployment Insurance program has been modified and dramatically expanded to help people who are unable to work or who lost their jobs as a result of the COVID-19 health emergency.

Unemployed workers receiving either traditional unemployment benefits or PUA are also eligible for special Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC), another new assistance program funded by the CARES Act. For a limited time, from April 5, 2020 to July 26, 2020, these workers will receive $600 per week in addition to their unemployment or PUA benefits.

This material may become outdated due to rapidly changing events, so please check back periodically for important changes and updates.

Unemployment Insurance Benefits. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA).

Eligibility: Unemployment Insurance Benefits. Eligibility: Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA).

Application Mistakes, Denials, and Deductions. Appeals and Hearings.

Unemployment Insurance Benefits.

The Unemployment Insurance Program is a program that provides temporary cash benefits (money) to workers who have become unemployed through no fault of their own. Every state has its own unemployment insurance program which operates under federal and state law and is funded by contributions from the government and employers.

Who is covered by the Unemployment Insurance Program.

Traditionally, unemployment insurance did not cover independent contractors. However, eligibility requirements for unemployment were expanded in response to the Coronavirus pandemic to include independent contractors.

How much are my weekly unemployment benefits.

This means that you have to certify to the NYS Department of Labor (DOL) every week that you are eligible for benefits, but it is not a complicated process and can be done by telephone or internet. The amount of your weekly unemployment insurance benefits depends on your prior earnings.

Using the example above, the minimum amount for traditional unemployment benefits in New York is $104 per week for 39 weeks. You can calculate your unemployment benefits at the NYS Department of Labor’s Benefit Rate Calculator.

What is Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC).

The amount of the weekly benefit is $600 per week and will be automatically added to the amount of weekly unemployment or PUA benefits. This money was designed to be replacement income and to supplement unemployment and PUA benefits for unemployed workers.

Unemployment insurance claimants can expect to receive between $704 and $1104 per week during this time period. Benefit amounts for PUA recipients will range from $772 per week and $1104 per week.

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA).

The new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program provides cash benefits to people who are not otherwise eligible for traditional unemployment benefits, and covers individuals who are self-employed, unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable to work due to Coronavirus. The PUA program is funded by the federal government and administered by both the federal and New York State Department of Labor (DOL).

How much are my weekly Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) benefits.

The minimum PUA rate is calculated for each state by the US Department of Labor, quarterly. The minimum amount for PUA benefits in New York currently ranges from $172 to $182 per week.

Until July 26, you may be entitled to Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC), in addition to your weekly PUA benefits.

Whether you are eligible for PUA benefits is determined on a weekly basis. The amount of your weekly PUA benefits depends on your prior net income.

If they don’t receive this information, you will receive the minimum weekly amount of PUA benefits.

Submit proof of income documents within 21 days as requested by DOL.

According to a recently filed lawsuit, full time Uber and Lyft drivers are only receiving the minimum amount of PUA weekly benefits, but they should qualify for the maximum amount, $504 per week. The plaintiffs in this lawsuit, MD Islam et al.

Andrew Cuomo et al., Case No. 1:20-cv-02328 (E.D.N.Y.) want DOL to calculate their prior earnings more accurately, so that they qualify for higher benefits.

Could PUA be used as paid leave.

If a person is on approved unpaid medical leave from his or her employer, and the medical leave is based on one of COVID-19 reasons described in the section below, “Who can receive Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). ”, the individual may be eligible for PUA benefits.

If the schools are closed and I am home getting PUA in order to take care of my children, what happens at the end of the school year in June.

Department of Labor, once the regular 2019-2020 school year is over, “parents should rely on their customary summer arrangements for caring for their children. Absent some other qualifying circumstances, the individual will not be eligible to receive PUA.”.

If you have questions, call us at 1-800-724-0490, ext. 5827.

Applying for Unemployment and PUA Benefits.

The new rules make this question a little complicated because there is now one application for two different unemployment programs. To receive traditional unemployment benefits or Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) you need to file an application, frequently called a “claim.”.

You can do that at the NYS Department of Labor (DOL)’s website, File Your First Claim for Benefits. After completing the traditional unemployment benefits application, you should continue to complete the PUA portion of the application.

Should I apply for unemployment insurance benefits or Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA).

If you are not eligible for traditional unemployment benefits, the NYS Department of Labor (DOL) will then determine whether you are eligible for PUA, without you having to go through another round of applications. The PUA program is only for people who are not eligible for regular unemployment benefits.

What is the difference between unemployment insurance benefits and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA).

PUA benefits are only available for eligible claimants between January 27, 2020 and December 31, 2020.

You should file at the first available opportunity after you find yourself out of work. Under the traditional unemployment i.

BEACON. 1.

BEACON is Maryland’s online unemployment insurance (UI) system which integrates benefits, appeals, and contributions functionalities. BEACON allows claimants (a claimant refers to an individual who files an initial claim for UI benefits) to:

When you log in to BEACON, you will be in your claimant portal. You will receive correspondence and notices about your UI claim in your claimant portal.

NOTE: In addition to BEACON, you will receive correspondence through your preferred communication method: e-mail, text message, or postal mail. You will select your preferred communication method when you file an initial claim for UI benefits.

Which UI programs can I apply for using BEACON.

NOTE: If an additional federal or emergency UI benefit program becomes available, the Maryland Division of Unemployment Insurance ( the Division) website will include information about how to apply for the program. 3.

How do I file an initial claim in BEACON.

To create a BEACON account: 4.

To log in to your BEACON portal:.

How do I file a claim if I started an application in BEACON, but have not completed it.

How do I reset my BEACON username or password.

How do I file a weekly claim certification in BEACON.

If you do not file timely weekly claim certifications, your benefit payments may be delayed/denied.

To learn more, see the Claims Filing – Weekly Claims Certifications section of this webpage and the Filing Your Weekly Claim Certification tutorial video. 8.

How do I upload supporting documentation in BEACON.

How do I file an appeal in BEACON.

For more, see the Appeals webpage and the File an Appeal tutorial video. 11.

How do I follow the link.

Some e-mail servers protect end users from “phishing” attacks and other malicious behavior by converting embedded links to secure links. If you receive an e-mail from BEACON and the embedded link is displayed only as text, please activate the links using the instructions given by your e-mail provider.

I tried to log in to BEACON, but I received an error message in my browser. What should I do.

If you are receiving an error message in your browser (such as a 404 – File or directory not found), please try closing the browser and retrying BEACON, or try another supported browser. 13.

not recognized. invalid).

however, passwords MUST INCLUDE at least one special character. If your username and password follow these directives and you are still unable to login, please review the following login guides: BEACON User Guide.

I activated my account, but I can’t login and keep seeing the message “User ID is not defined.” What should I do.

however, passwords MUST INCLUDE at least one special character. If your username and password follow these directives and you are still unable to login, please return to BEACON and then select “Getting Started with BEACON” to try to activate your account again.

The Division created several resources to help you use BEACON, including:. 16.

If you require technical assistance with the BEACON system, call a claims agent at 667-207-6520. For agent hours, see the Claimant Contact Information webpage.

Justin Samuels was living abroad in Malaga, a Spanish port city in the country’s south, along the Costa del Sol, when the pandemic chaos began to unfurl. It has led to a lengthy battle for unemployment benefits — a situation facing many Americans stuck overseas in the early days of the health crisis.

She had a brain tumor and her surgeon recommended a therapy unavailable in the U.S. More from Personal Finance:How to best spend the stimulus aid that’s on the wayHere’s who qualifies for $1,400 stimulus checksMore than $45 billion in rental assistance is now available.

When that work dried up last March, he applied for unemployment. But the New York Department of Labor denied his claim.

Samuels and others like him are caught at the nexus of two competing and confounding forces: a state requirement that workers be physically present and able to work in the U.S. to collect unemployment, and a virus that made it impossible and unsafe to travel.

“I believe the DOL is trying to criminalize us for being out of the country.”. Deanna Cohen, a spokeswoman for the New York Labor Department, didn’t respond to that specific allegation.

The agency must also obtain specific documents from workers to determine if they qualify for benefits, she added. Speed of payout depends on how quickly New Yorkers send that information, she said.

had repatriated about 40,000 Americans stranded abroad due to pandemic lockdowns and restrictions on air travel. But some citizens weren’t so fortunate.

She couldn’t return until September. Brahim O., 34, lost his job as a cafeteria cook while stuck in Morocco, where he was visiting family.

In each case, their state labor agencies — Missouri and Massachusetts, respectively — started paying jobless benefits when they returned to the U.S. But now they’re fighting for back pay, worth thousands of dollars, which would help cover past-due bills and loans from friends.

He’s been able to remain in his home so far. But Brahim still hasn’t been called back to work.

“From April 13 through August when I got back, I had no income,” Brahim said. “It’s a very tough situation.”.

That’d be a small fraction of the tens of millions who lost their jobs amid Covid’s economic carnage. But critics argue their plight highlights the outdated nature of the U.S.

It’s also an unfair reading of rules due to the pandemic’s effect on international travel, they said. States are the ultimate arbiters of whether someone can collect unemployment benefits from overseas.

It’s largely a matter of physical presence — in states’ eyes, someone out of the country isn’t in the position to immediately accept offered work, and is therefore ineligible for benefits. Workers must be able to report to work in person, in a jurisdiction that has signed on to an accord known as the Interstate Benefit Payment Plan, according to state officials.

“Once the claimant traveled to Spain he was, as a matter of law, unable to comply with reporting requirements, rendering him ineligible for Unemployment Insurance benefits,” Anthony Inguanzo, a New York labor official, wrote in a hearing on Samuels’ case.

Indeed, international organized crime rings have stolen billions of dollars’ worth of benefits during the pandemic. But states’ stance is too rigid and an incorrect interpretation of the law, according to Harvey Sanders, a labor and employment lawyers based in New York.

“It ignores that so many people are telecommuting and have been for years.”. Americans can also engage in a job hunt remotely, Sanders added.

The Missouri and Massachusetts labor agencies didn’t return a request for comment. The U.S.

States are also overlooking a key aspect of the Covid crisis, Sanders said: its limitation on movement and travel due to social distancing and health guidelines. Some people had to choose between risking illness to fly back to the U.S.

“I didn’t come back because I didn’t want to get sick,” said Susanna D., 43, who lives in Monopoli, Italy, a coastal town on the heel of the Italian boot. She also has asthma.

Susanna, who asked that her full name not be used for privacy reasons, co-founded a New York-based non-profit firm hosts sporting events. As a dual citizen, she’s worked remotely from Italy since 2018.

Susanna recently won an appeal for benefits in New York and is waiting for all her back pay to arrive. She no longer has to repay close to $6,700 in benefits the state tried to claw back.

Woo also said the Interstate Benefit Payment Plan doesn’t have a provision preventing a worker from receiving benefits while outside the U.S. Adriana Marian, who lives in St.

The state cancelled a hearing in December and hasn’t set a new date. “I am so depressed.

“Because of this damn coronavirus, I got stuck [in Romania], and nobody does anything.”. Samuels won a hearing for his back pay, but New York is appealing to overturn that decision.

People residing outside the U.S. for “unknown durations” would be eligible for benefits from the U.S, and the labor bureau’s capacity “to take any action on suspect claims” would be significantly impacted, he said.

Spain offers free healthcare to citizens, but there are other costs like transportation to and from appointments. “It’s vital to the point of being a life and death matter that the money comes in, until I get a new job,” Samuels said.