The following announcement from the Department of Labor & Industry outlines the CARES Act and additional benefits available during the COVID-19 health crisis. It details various programs available, on a Federal level, to provide economic relief for those whose jobs were/are impacted by the pandemic.
Federal CARES Act & Unemployment Benefits
On March 27, 2020, the President signed into law the CARES Act, which includes the Relief for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act. Section 2104 of the CARES Act provides for Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, or FPUC.
FPUC is a temporary federal program that provides an additional $600 per week to individuals who are eligible for unemployment compensation (UC) benefits from Pennsylvania.
FPUC Paid on the Following Programs
• Regular unemployment compensation (UC)
• Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC)
• Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)
• Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA)
• Shared-Work
• State Extended Benefits (EB), if activeFPUC Facts
• Individuals do not apply for FPUC. Payments are made automatically.
• FPUC is payable for claim weeks ending April 4 through July 25, 2020.
• FPUC payments are made one time at the end of each week, which means you will receive your FPUC payments on Tuesday or Wednesday after you are paid UC benefits. This will result in your regular benefits and your FPUC benefits being received approximately 1 week apart. For the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program, FPUC benefits are issued as a separate payment, but at the same time as the PUA benefits, as opposed to weekly.
• FPUC is subject to 10% Federal tax withholding from each payment, if you chose to have taxes withheld from your regular UC benefits. For information about changing your federal withholding status, go to www.uc.pa.gov and visit our Taxes on Benefits page. You may also use Pennsylvania Teleclaims (PAT) to change your preference: 888-255-4728 (Espanol: 877-888-8104).
• If you are working or being paid full time for a week, you are not unemployed and will not be eligible to receive a UC payment or an FPUC payment for the week. If you commit fraud, you are subject to fines and other penalties. UC payments will be matched against the wage records that your employer submits to the Department.
• Under the UC program and CARES Act, it is unlawful to quit work without good cause for the purpose of obtaining additional UC benefits. Refer to the UCP-1 Handbook for information about refusing suitable work, having to repay benefits for false claims, and other penalties to be enforced.