USC - Pandemic emergency unemployment compensation

View all text of Subchapter II [§ 9021 - § 9034]

§ 9025. Pandemic emergency unemployment compensation

(a) Federal-State agreements

(1) In general

(2) Provisions of agreementAny agreement under paragraph (1) shall provide that the State agency of the State will make payments of pandemic emergency unemployment compensation to individuals who—

(A) have exhausted all rights to regular compensation under the State law or under Federal law with respect to a benefit year (excluding any benefit year that ended before July 1, 2019);

(B) have no rights to regular compensation with respect to a week under such law or any other State unemployment compensation law or to compensation under any other Federal law;

(D) are able to work, available to work, and actively seeking work.

(3) Exhaustion of benefitsFor purposes of paragraph (2)(A), an individual shall be deemed to have exhausted such individual’s rights to regular compensation under a State law when—

(A) no payments of regular compensation can be made under such law because such individual has received all regular compensation available to such individual based on employment or wages during such individual’s base period; or

(B) such individual’s rights to such compensation have been terminated by reason of the expiration of the benefit year with respect to which such rights existed.

(4) Weekly benefit amount, etc.For purposes of any agreement under this section—

(A) the amount of pandemic emergency unemployment compensation which shall be payable to any individual for any week of total unemployment shall be equal to—

(i) the amount of the regular compensation (including dependents’ allowances) payable to such individual during such individual’s benefit year under the State law for a week of total unemployment;

(ii) the amount of Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation under section 9023(b)(1)(B) of this title; and

(iii) the amount (if any) of Mixed Earner Unemployment Compensation under section 9023(b)(1)(C) of this title;

(B) the terms and conditions of the State law which apply to claims for regular compensation and to the payment thereof (including terms and conditions relating to availability for work, active search for work, and refusal to accept work) shall apply to claims for pandemic emergency unemployment compensation and the payment thereof, except where otherwise inconsistent with the provisions of this section or with the regulations or operating instructions of the Secretary promulgated to carry out this section;

1 So in original. Probably should be “a”.

pandemic emergency unemployment compensation account is established under subsection (b) shall not exceed the amount established in such account for such individual; and

(D) the allowable methods of payment under section 9023(b)(2) of this title shall apply to payments of amounts described in subparagraph (A)(ii).

(5) Coordination rules

(A) In general

(B) Special rule

(6) Nonreduction rule

(A) In general

(B) Maximum benefit entitlement

(7) Actively seeking work

(A) In generalSubject to subparagraph (C),2

2 So in original.

for purposes of paragraph (2)(D), the term “actively seeking work” means, with respect to any individual, that such individual—

(i) is registered for employment services in such a manner and to such extent as prescribed by the State agency;

(ii) has engaged in an active search for employment that is appropriate in light of the employment available in the labor market, the individual’s skills and capabilities, and includes a number of employer contacts that is consistent with the standards communicated to the individual by the State;

(iii) has maintained a record of such work search, including employers contacted, method of contact, and date contacted; and

(iv) when requested, has provided such work search record to the State agency.

(B) Flexibility

(8) Special rule for extended compensationAt the option of a State, for any weeks of unemployment beginning after December 27, 2020, and before September 6, 2021, an individual’s eligibility period (as described in section 203(c) of the Federal-State Extended Unemployment Compensation Act of 1970 (26 U.S.C. 3304 note)) shall, for purposes of any determination of eligibility for extended compensation under the State law of such State, be considered to include any week which begins—

(A) after the date as of which such individual exhausts all rights to pandemic emergency unemployment compensation; and

(B) during an extended benefit period that began on or before the date described in subparagraph (A).

(b) Pandemic emergency unemployment compensation account

(1) In general

(2) Amount in account

(3) Weekly benefit amount

(4) Coordination of pandemic emergency unemployment compensation with regular compensation

(A) In generalIf—

(i) an individual has been determined to be entitled to pandemic emergency unemployment compensation with respect to a benefit year;

(ii) that benefit year has expired;

(iii) that individual has remaining entitlement to pandemic emergency unemployment compensation with respect to that benefit year; and

(iv) that individual would qualify for a new benefit year in which the weekly benefit amount of regular compensation is at least $25 less than the individual’s weekly benefit amount in the benefit year referred to in clause (i),

then the State shall determine eligibility for compensation as provided in subparagraph (B).

(B) Determination of eligibilityFor individuals described in subparagraph (A), the State shall determine whether the individual is to be paid pandemic emergency unemployment compensation or regular compensation for a week of unemployment using one of the following methods:

(i) The State shall, if permitted by State law, establish a new benefit year, but defer the payment of regular compensation with respect to that new benefit year until exhaustion of all pandemic emergency unemployment compensation payable with respect to the benefit year referred to in subparagraph (A)(i).

(ii) The State shall, if permitted by State law, defer the establishment of a new benefit year (which uses all the wages and employment which would have been used to establish a benefit year but for the application of this subparagraph), until exhaustion of all pandemic emergency unemployment compensation payable with respect to the benefit year referred to in subparagraph (A)(i).

(iii) The State shall pay, if permitted by State law—(I) regular compensation equal to the weekly benefit amount established under the new benefit year; and(II) pandemic emergency unemployment compensation equal to the difference between that weekly benefit amount and the weekly benefit amount for the expired benefit year.

(iv) The State shall determine rights to pandemic emergency unemployment compensation without regard to any rights to regular compensation if the individual elects to not file a claim for regular compensation under the new benefit year.

(1) In general

(2) Treatment of reimbursable compensation

(3) Determination of amount

(d) Financing provisions

(1) Compensation

(A) In general

(B) Transfer of funds

(2) Administration

(A) In general

(B) Transfer of funds

(3) Certification

(e) Fraud and overpayments

(1) In generalIf an individual knowingly has made, or caused to be made by another, a false statement or representation of a material fact, or knowingly has failed, or caused another to fail, to disclose a material fact, and as a result of such false statement or representation or of such nondisclosure such individual has received an amount of pandemic emergency unemployment compensation under this section to which such individual was not entitled, such individual—

(A) shall be ineligible for further pandemic emergency unemployment compensation under this section in accordance with the provisions of the applicable State unemployment compensation law relating to fraud in connection with a claim for unemployment compensation; and

(B) shall be subject to prosecution under section 1001 of title 18.

(2) RepaymentIn the case of individuals who have received amounts of pandemic emergency unemployment compensation under this section to which they were not entitled, the State shall require such individuals to repay the amounts of such pandemic emergency unemployment compensation to the State agency, except that the State agency may waive such repayment if it determines that—

(A) the payment of such pandemic emergency unemployment compensation was without fault on the part of any such individual; and

(B) such repayment would be contrary to equity and good conscience.

(3) Recovery by State agency

(A) In general

(B) Opportunity for hearing

(4) Review

(f) Definitions

(g) ApplicabilityAn agreement entered into under this section shall apply to weeks of unemployment—

(1) beginning after the date on which such agreement is entered into; and

(2) ending on or before September 6, 2021.

(Pub. L. 116–136, div. A, title II, § 2107, Mar. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 323; Pub. L. 116–260, div. N, title II, §§ 206(a)–(c), 261(b)(2), Dec. 27, 2020, 134 Stat. 1954, 1962; Pub. L. 117–2, title IX, § 9016(a)–(d), Mar. 11, 2021, 135 Stat. 119, 120.)