October 2, 2020
Vermont has trigged off of “High Extended Benefits,” a program within the Unemployment Insurance program. This change comes following the recent announcement of Vermont’s unemployment rate and, at the direction of the United States Department of Labor, the state acting in accordance with 21 VSA V.S.A. § 14-21 (2-3).
The High Extended Benefits Program, which provided 20 additional weeks of benefits to eligible regular UI claimants will now be reduced to 13 additional weeks as we shift from High Extended Benefits to Extended Benefits.
Please review the information below to better understand how this impacts claimants.
- If you have been filing in the High Extended Benefits program for more than 13 weeks, the final week you will be eligible to receive unemployment insurance benefits is the benefit week ending October 10, 2020.
- Claimants were mailed a notice when enrolled in the High E.B. program and may refer to the date on the notice to determine how many eligible weeks may be remaining.
- If you have been filing in the High Extended Benefits program for less than 13 weeks, you may continue to file until you have exhausted the additional 13 weeks of benefits.
- Example: If your notice states you began filing in Extended Benefits for the benefit week ending July 25, the final week you may be eligible to receive unemployment benefits is the benefit week ending October 17.