What Was Pandemic Unemployment A♛ssistance (PUA)?

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) was a program that temporarily expanded unemployment insurance (UI) eligibility to people who wouldn't otherwise qualify. This included self-employed workers, freelancers, independen🐲t contractors, and par𒁃t-time workers impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

PUA was among the programs established by the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Ec⭕onomic Security (CARES) Act, a $2 trillion coronavirus emergency stimulus package that then-President Donald Trump signed into law on March 27, 2020.

The program expired on Sept. 6, 2021, along with other employment-related programs that provided COVID relief.

Understanding PUA

PU💝A extended unemployment benefits to eligible workers, including:

• Freelancers and independent contractors
• Workers seeking part-time work
• Workers who don’t have a work history long enough to qualify for state unemployment insurance benefits
• Those who have exhausted or don't qualify for regular unemployment insurance or Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation

The program started on Jan. 27, 2020, and was set to expire on Dec. 31, 2020, under the CARES Act. It was extended until March 14, 2021, when the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:Consolidated Appropriations Act was signed into law on Dec. 27, 2020.

PUA was given new life again, adding 25 weeks to the program after the Biden administration passed the 澳洲幸运5开奖号码历史查询:American Rescue Plan Act, a $1.9 trillion stimulus package, in March 2021. PUA officially expired on Sept. 6, 2021, after a total of 79 weeks.

PUA Eligibility

You were required to provide self-certification that you would have been able to work and available for work if it weren't for COVID-19. Other eligibility criteria included being unemployed, partially employed, unable to work, or unavailable for work due to one of the following COVID-19-related situations:

• You were diagnosed with or showed symptoms and were trying to get diagnosed with COVID-19.
• A member of your household was diagnosed with COVID-19.
• You provided care for someone diagnosed with COVID-19.
• You provided care for a child or other household member who couldn't attend school or go to a care facility because of a COVID-19 closure.
• You were quarantined or were advised by a healthcare provider to self-quarantine.
• You were scheduled to start a job and no longer had or couldn't reach it due to COVID-19.
• You became the primary earner for a household because the head of the household died as a direct result of COVID-19.
• You quit your job as a direct result of COVID-19.
• Your place of employment closed as a direct result of COVID-19.

Benefit amounts were calculated based on previous earnings, using a formula from the Disaster Unemployment Assistance program under the Robert T. Stafford Disaster Relief and Emergency Assistance Act.

Unemployment Programs Under the CARES Act

Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) was a flat amount given weekly to people who received unemployment insurance, including those who got a partial unemployment benefit check. People who received benefits under PUA or regular state unemployment insurance could also receive FPUC.

The original $600 amount was reduced to $300 per week after the Consolidated Appropriations Act first extended the program in December 2020. Like PUA, FPUC expired on Sept. 6, 2021.

Special Considerations

Federal law allowed considerable flexibility for stat🦄es to amend their laws to provide unemployment insurance benefits in several COVID-19-related situations. For instance, states were able to pay benefits when:

• An employer temporarily closed due to COVID-19, preventing employees from going to work
• A person was quarantined and anticipated going back to work after the quarantine was complete
• A person stopped working due to a risk of COVID-19 exposure or infection—or in order to care for a family member

Under federal law, an employee didn't have to be laid off to receive benefits due to COVID-19.

The Bottom Line

The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program was an important safety net for workers during the COVID-19 pandemic. Though the program has now expired, it shed light on gaps in the unemployment system and stressed the need for flexible policies in assisting the unemployed who would otherwise have been left without any support.