This compilation is a summary for informational purposes only and does not constitute professional or legal advice. Please contact the relevant goverment agencies or other professionals if you have questions or concerns about your particular situation.

Unemployment:  Federal Programs

Overview
The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act provides an estimated $260 billion in enhanced and expanded unemployment insurance (UI) to millions of workers throughout the country who are being furloughed, laid off, or finding themselves without work through no fault of their own because of the COVID-19 pandemic and our public health response to it.

The CARES Act creates three new federally funded UI programs that will be administered by Washington State.

  • Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (PUC) will provide an additional $600 per week for four months to all people receiving UI benefits, or the newly created Pandemic Unemployment Assistance benefit. This will not impact eligibility for Medicaid or CHIP. 
    In Washington state, the maximum weekly benefit amount is $790. The minimum is $188. No one who is eligible for benefits will receive less than this, regardless of his or her earnings.
    The actual amount you are eligible to receive depends on the earnings in your base year.  We calculate your weekly benefit amount (WBA) and maximum benefits payable (MBP) on the wage information reported to us by your employer(s).  You can estimate your benefit here.
  • Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) adds an additional 13 weeks to traditional state UI benefits. Most states offer 26 weeks of traditional UI benefits, so PEUC will give most recipients 39 total weeks of UI benefits. The bill directs states to be flexible in their job search requirements, waive waiting periods, and refrain from reducing the  length of traditional UI benefits while the states are receiving these new federal funds.
  • Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) is available to workers who are ineligible for traditional state UI benefits, such as: self-employed workers, independent contractors, freelancers, workers seeking part-time work, and workers who do not have a long-enough work history to qualify for state UI benefits. People who have exhausted their traditional state UI benefits also qualify. It will have a minimum benefit that is equal to one-half the state’s average weekly UI benefit, estimated at roughly $190 per week. Undocumented workers do not qualify.

In addition, it creates a Short-Time Compensation (STC), a work-sharing program that helps employers avoid layoffs by putting workers on part-time schedules with partial unemployment benefits to help make up for some of the lost income. The federal government will fully reimburse states for all STC programs already in place and provide $100 million in grants to states to implement, improve, and promote STC programs. This option is only available in states with STC programs and with employers who opt in.


State unemployment programs
The Washington State Employement Security Department (ESD) has a web page with useful information to connect Washington residents with new and existing services

Preparing to file for unemployment:  ESD has a handy checklist to help individuals prepare to file for unemployment insurance

 

  • For traditional employees, start by collecting these documents and information:
    • Social Security number
    • Name, birthdate and contact information (mailing address, phone number and email address)
    • Highest level of education.
    • Names and mailing addresses of all your employers during the past 18 months, including part-time and temporary jobs. (If you worked for more than 16 employers in the past 18 months, you must file your claim by phone)
    • Dates you worked for all employers in the past 18 months. Use your best estimate if you don't remember the exact dates. The system will not accept a future date. If you are still working, use the date you last worked before you apply for benefits.
    • If you were in the military during the last 18 months, your DD-214, any member copy, 2 through 8.
    • Citizenship status. If you are not a U.S. citizen, your work authorization information.
    • Bank account and routing numbers for your bank or credit union if you want direct deposit
       
  • For self-employed/sole proprietors:
    • Pandemic Unemployment Assistance is a new program in the CARES Act (March 27, 2020), and Washington’s Employment Security department must develop new practices for how to implement this program.  In the meantime, self-employed, sole-proprietors, gig economy workers, and other folks who are not covered by traditional unemployment may be well served by collecting some of the following documents to make application easier when it comes online:
    • Documents that demonstrate hours and income (1099s, tax statements, contracts that commit a person to delivering a number of hours of work in a given time frame, etc.)
    • Documents that demonstrate a loss of business at their business (attendance logs, bank statements from Jan/Feb/March and comparison months (for instance, Oct/Nov/Dec or 2019 Jan/Feb/March)
    • Documents that demonstrate they are legally allowed to work in the US and in WA (any licenses, certifications, as well as SSN/green cards, etc.)
    • ESD anticipates a 2-3 week delay from when the bill was signed into law on March 27, 2020.  Interested parties should sign up for updates and information about when the program will go live here.