GDOL awaiting Next Steps for CARES Act

As the Georgia Department of Labor (GDOL) anticipates a decision on the future of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, Congress continues to debate the specifics of funding allocation and program timeframes.  On Dec. 31, 2020, all federal CARES Act unemployment insurance (UI) programs are scheduled to end. After the programs end, the GDOL will not be able to continue to pay benefits for Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) or Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA). The last week payable for PUA and PEUC is week ending Dec. 26, 2020 for individual-filed claims and week ending date Dec. 30, 2020 for employer-filed claims.  “There is no use speculating over what could potentially be passed by Congress, and at this point, we still have not heard anything from our delegation on what is actually in the bill,” said Georgia Labor Commissioner Mark Butler. “While Congress continues to deliberate on the future of these programs, we will focus on issuing payments to ALL eligible Georgians as the original CARES Act comes to a close.”  Claimants receiving regular state UI will continue to receive benefits for weeks they are found eligible up to 26 weeks. Claimants who have yet to exhaust all benefits provided by the CARES Act will not receive the balance of their funds for any week ending dates after Dec. 26. Claimants are encouraged to continue to request benefits after the programs end in the event Congress passes new legislation or extends these programs.  If additional federal legislation is passed, the new programs will be implemented or current programs extended and updates will be made on the GDOL website and social platforms.