Many of Idaho’s unemployed workers will see no disruption in their federal emergency unemployment insurance benefits after Congress and President Obama extended the program for two months into 2010.
The $25 supplemental benefit passed last fall has also been extended, as has a measure to extend a federal subsidy for continued health-insurance coverage for laid-off workers under employer group plans.
Federally-funded unemployment benefits were scheduled to start ending for many at the end of 2009, but that deadline has been extended to the week of Feb. 27. Workers laid off prior to that day will now be eligible for up to 73 additional weeks of extended unemployment insurance benefits in addition to the basic 26 weeks Idaho currently provides. Claims filed after the week ending Feb. 27 will not be eligible for federal extended benefits or the $25 supplemental payment.
Eligibility for federally-funded extended benefits will be determined automatically and claimants do not need to contact the Idaho Department of Labor to apply for the extension.
In 2009, the state paid a record $643 million in regular, extended and supplemental unemployment insurance benefits to people who are out of work, far exceeding the $247 million paid in 2008.
The renewed COBRA subsidy was extended through June for a total of 15 months, up from the current nine. The subsidy applies only to workers let go by employers.
