There are currently additional benefit programs for claimants in Regular Unemployment Insurance once their traditional 26 weeks of benefits have been exhausted. On Sunday December 27, the President signed COVID-19 economic relief legislation which included provisions to extend the unemployment insurance (UI) programs created under the CARES Act until March 14, 2021. Read the full press release here, or further details through the program links below. Further updates will be provided should new information become available.
Please note program end dates listed below. A claimant would no longer be able to recieve benefits through a program if it ends, even if the claimant has additional weeks of eligibility remaining.
- Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) provides an additional 13 weeks of benefits to claimants as a program under the federal CARES Act. PEUC went into effect April 5, 2020 and was originally to be available to claimants for only 13 weeks or until the benefit week ending December 26, 2020. However, PEUC, along with other CARES Act Programs, was extended until March 14, 2021. For more on CARES Act program extensions, click here:
- The Extended Benefits (EB) program went into effect on May 3, 2020, but Vermont recieved notice on December 11, 2020 that the state had 'triggered off' the program due to a change in the unemployment rate. Claimants may continue to file under the EB program through the week ending December 19, 2020. Additional details may be found by clicking here.
- EB provides an additional 13 weeks benefits to claimants after their 26 weeks of regular benefits and 13 weeks of PEUC benefits have been exhausted. *it is important to note that the EB program is dependent on Vermont’s unemployment rate and is subject to change.
- The High Extended Benefits program is an extension of the EB program that provides an additional seven weeks for claimants (from 13 to 20 total weeks, if eligible). Vermont last 'triggered on' to High EB on July 5, 2020, but because High EB and EB are dependent on Vermont’s unemployment rate, the final week High EB was available to claimants was for the benefit week ending October 10, 2020.
The graphic below illustrates how an unemployment claimant may have transitioned through Unemployment Insurance programs when PEUC, EB and High EB were in place, and is not a current represenation of the currently available programs.
