Update 8:15 pm: President Trump signed the bill into law. Stay tuned for details.

The CARES Act Unemployment expansion expires December 31st, 2020 and there is a potential new bill that may extend it.

As a general rule, I don’t write about potential or draft bills (there were many the past few months). That being said, people have reached out to find out what’s the story with the new potential bill, especially with the Unemployment expansion about to expire.

Congress and the Senate passed the Coronavirus Response and Relief bill, which includes $600 Stimulus checks, extends Unemployment, adds $300 to Unemployment for 11 weeks plus much more personal and business assistance. The thing is, the bill is currently NOT law, as President Trump did not yet sign the bill.

Right now, it’s unclear what will happen with the new bill. The options are:

• President Trump signs it into law.
• He vetoes the bill, canceling it. Congress and the Senate may then override the veto, thus making the bill into law.
• He does nothing with the bill, effectively canceling it, in a way that Congress and the Senate cannot do anything about it.
• The bill is changed.

As of now, the new stimulus package is NOT law. All the rules of the previous bill are in place, including Unemployment expansion expiring on December 31st.

Here, I will outline my understanding of what will happen to Unemployment based on the current rules (from the CARES Act passed on March 27 2020 – the primary bill that outlined all Covid-related Federal assistance, including Unemployment, EIDL and PPP). Then I will briefly outline how the new proposed bill will affect Unemployment, EIDL, PPP and stimulus checks, if it indeed becomes law.

Current Rules – Unemployment Expiring 

Based on the current rules, here are a few things that will change this week:

PUA Claimants

• Week Ending December 27 is the last week of PUA (Pandemic Unemployment Assistance). If you are on PUA, you will not receive any payments from the week starting December 28 and on (Unemployment weeks in NY run Monday-Sunday).

UI Claimants

• If you are on UI (regular Unemployment) you will likely continue receiving payments even after the week ending December 27:
  • Base Weeks: If you are still within your base period (first 26 weeks in NY), then you can continue claiming regular Unemployment after December 27.
  • PEUC: If you have already used your 26 weeks and are now receiving the extra 13 weeks of PEUC (Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation), the last payment will be for the week ending December 27, but you may be eligible for Extended Benefits.
  • Extended Benefits: You may still continue claiming Extended Benefits (currently 20 weeks in NY), which applies anytime there is a high unemployment rate – nothing to do with the CARES Act.

Backdated Claims – Missing Backweeks

• Although the last paid week of expanded Unemployment finishes today (December 27), the program officially ends on December 31st. Unemployment is only paid for complete weeks, so that’s why today, December 27, completes the final week of Unemployment (NY Unemployment weeks are Monday-Sunday) even though the program ends on December 31.
• You can still file a backdated claim until December 31st, but it is uncertain to me if it will be processed before December 31st. I doubt that you will be able to file a backdated claim after December 31st.
• It’s unclear if you will be able to request payment for missing backweeks after December 31st. My suggestion is to try to get your missing weeks sorted before December 31 if at all possible.

Read the ‘Unemployment Roundup‘ to understand what Unemployment payments were made so far.

Potential New Bill – Coronavirus Response and Relief

If the new bill becomes law, I will write more details about the bill. In the meantime, here are a few key aspects of the new bill:

• Unemployment
  • Current Unemployment claims (UI and PUA) will have 50 weeks instead of 39.
    • Those on PUA in NY might be eligible for an additional 7 weeks (due to high unemployment rates), totaling 57 weeks.
    • Those on UI in NY might be eligible for an additional 20 weeks (due to high unemployment rates), totaling 70 weeks.
  • The 50 weeks will expire either when all 50 weeks are used or April 4 2021, whichever comes first.
  • Extra $300 for 11 weeks: Weeks ending 01/03, 01/10, 01/17, 01/24, 01/31, 02/07, 02/14, 02/21, 02/28, 03/07 and 03/14. (If the bill is signed into law later than today, people may not be able to receive the $300 for the week ending 01/03 – we will have to see)
  • New backdated claims will only backdate to December 1st (unlike with the current rules where claims can be backdated to January 27). A potential benefit in the bill not beings signed yet, for those who still want to apply with backdated claim.
• Stimulus Checks
  • Additional $600 one-time payments per person (including children).
  • Income rules are the same for the $1,200 payments in the original CARES Act.
• PPP
  • To reopen for those who missed it last time.
  • An option for a second fully forgivable loan.
• EIDL $10,000 Grant
  • Potential for $10,000 grant (not a loan) for those who are eligible, including those who received less than $10,000 grant during 2020.
• More…
  • More personal and business assistance.

To summarize: As of now, the new bill is not law. If anything changes, I will post an update.