Unemployment Insurance: Available Unemployment Benefits and Legislative Activity

Publication Date: May 2006

Publisher: Library of Congress. Congressional Research Service

Author(s):

Research Area: Labor

Type:

Abstract:

A variety of benefits may be available to unemployed workers to provide them with income support during a spell of unemployment. When eligible workers lose their jobs, the Unemployment Compensation (UC) program may provide income support through the payment of UC benefits. Certain groups of workers who lose their jobs on account of international competition may qualify for additional or supplemental income support through Trade Adjustment Act (TAA) programs. UC benefits may be extended at the state level by the Extended Benefit (EB) program if certain economic situations within the state exist. As of this writing, the EB program is not currently triggered "on" in any state. The EB program for Louisiana triggered "off" on February 25, 2006. Unemployed Louisiana workers who exhausted their regular UC benefits before February 25, 2006, were eligible for 13 weeks of EB; unemployed Louisiana workers who exhausted their regular UC benefits after February 25, 2006, were not eligible for the EB program. During some economic recessions, Congress has created a federal Temporary Extended Unemployment Compensation (TEUC) program. These programs generally have extend UC benefits for an additional 13 weeks and have an expiration date. As of this writing, no TEUC program exists and these benefits are not available.

If an unemployed worker is not eligible to receive UC benefits and the worker's unemployment may be directly attributed to a declared major disaster, a worker may be eligible to receive Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA) benefits. The disaster declaration will include information on whether DUA benefits are available.

The 109th Congress considered many bills intending to mitigate the impact of Hurricane Katrina.

P.L. 109-91, the QI, TMA, and Abstinence Programs Extension and Hurricane Katrina Unemployment Relief Act of 2005, Section 201, created a special Unemployment Trust Fund (UTF) transfer from the Federal Unemployment Account (FUA) for FY2006 to the state UTF accounts of Alabama ($15 million), Louisiana ($400 million), and Mississippi ($85 million). Section 202 of the law allows administrative funds received by any state to be used to assist in the administration of claims for compensation on behalf of any other state if that other state was declared a disaster under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act by reason of Hurricane Katrina.

P.L. 109-176, the Katrina Emergency Assistance Act of 2006, extended DUA benefits for persons eligible for DUA benefits under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act by reason of Hurricane Katrina for an additional 13 weeks.

This report will be updated as legislative events warrant.