On Tuesday, December 29, the Minnesota Department of Employment and Economic Development (DEED) shared an important update on new federal stimulus legislation.
This new legislation, recently passed by Congress, may impact the unemployment benefits for Minnesotans. Effective December 27, 2020, the legislation will provide:
Eleven more weeks of benefits under the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program.
Eleven more weeks of benefits under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program.
A $300 per week supplemental payment to anyone receiving unemployment benefits from any program.
A new program called Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation (MEUC), which provides a $100 per week supplemental payment for certain self-employed people/independent contractors who are collecting regular unemployment benefits.
The information we are providing here is based on initial readings of the new law.
DEED expects to start making payments for all three programs during the week of January 3, 2021, when the week of December 27, 2020, first becomes requestable. However, we need to receive official administrative guidance and funding from the U.S. Department of Labor before we can make any payments.
DEED is doing everything we can to get the federal programs set up and ready to go by January 3, 2021. To the greatest extent possible, we will simply move applicants to the program they are eligible for, and they will be able to request benefits (and get paid) on their usual schedule.
However, the new laws are a little different from the previous versions. There will be times when we may need more information from some applicants. We will contact you by email and letter if we need you to take any special action. We appreciate your patience as we make adjustments to your benefit account.
Please visit www.uimn.org for more information. We will make updates as they become available.
DEED is the state’s principal economic development agency, promoting business recruitment, expansion and retention, workforce development, international trade and community development. For more details about the agency and its services, visit the DEED website, or follow us on Twitter.
Leave a Reply