What to do when pua unemployment benefits are exhausted

Unemployment Compensation and Benefit Year Ending (BYE) Date

Individuals receiving benefits through the Unemployment Compensation (UC) program may need to re-file their claim at the end of their benefit year (BYE date), which falls exactly one year after they initially applied for UC benefits. 

The “BYE date” is the date when an individual’s unemployment compensation (UC) claim ends — after a claim’s BYE date passes, you cannot collect any additional benefits on that claim.

New claim applications will be the same as when you filed the previous year. Internally, when our UC team receives the application, they will review it to see if you are eligible for a new UC claim. Depending on the individual’s circumstances, our staff may take time to research, so individuals should anticipate a potential delay in their weekly benefits when their benefit year ends. 

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Those who meet the requirements for traditional unemployment insurance may receive benefits for up to 26 weeks during a one-year period.

Additionally, from July 1, 2020 through April 9, 2022, New Jersey’s high unemployment rate triggered state extended benefits for NJ workers who have exhausted unemployment benefits, if, among other requirements, they meet the minimum earnings requirement and the date of their initial UI claim is May 12, 2019 or later. 

Per federal regulations, on April 17, 2021, NJ state extended unemployment benefits were reduced from up to 20 weeks to up to 13 weeks because New Jersey’s unemployment rate went down.

Federal legislation expanded unemployment eligibility and extended unemployment benefits; these benefits, known as Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), better known as the $300 supplement, expired on September 4, 2021.

The federal benefits created during the pandemic, including Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC), and Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) ended September 4, 2021. Any funds that appear as remaining in your unemployment account related to these federal programs will not be available for certification or payment for weeks of unemployment ending after September 4, 2021.

Federal legislation expanded unemployment benefits. This included Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) payments, which provides an additional $300 to weekly unemployment benefits to unemployed workers. These benefits expired September 4, 2021. If you are still receiving unemployment benefits after September 4, 2021, your benefit payment will no longer include the FPUC payment.

Additionally, federal law requires a review for new wages after one year, once a claim reaches “benefit year end”. Before September 4, 2021, when claimants on Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) reached benefit year end and qualified for a new claim, NJDOL determined their new benefit rate based on the previous year’s earnings. If the benefit rate was at least $25 less than the original (first year’s) claim, NJDOL paid claimants the higher rate. After September 4, 2021, because PEUC expired, NJDOL returned such claims to the original, lower weekly benefit rate.

State extended unemployment benefits (EB) are additional weeks of benefits available to some unemployment insurance benefit recipients. The state’s ability to give these additional weeks is based on NJ’s unemployment rate. On April 17, 2021, NJ’s unemployment rate triggered the availability of up to 13 weeks of EB. Per federal law, this program ended on April 9, 2022, due to the state’s declining unemployment rate.

There are several criteria you must meet to be eligible for state extended unemployment benefits (EB). They are different from the requirements for regular unemployment benefits and federal extended unemployment benefits.

Type of Unemployment Claim: Claimants must be receiving regular/traditional unemployment benefits or Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) to receive EB. Claimants receiving Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) are not eligible for EB. To learn the type of unemployment benefits you are receiving, check your claim status.

Date of Claim:  Claims must be dated May 12, 2019 or later. Claims dated before May 12, 2019 are not eligible for EB. Your date of claim is listed on your claim status.

Residency: Claimants living and working in NJ have met this requirement. For claimants who work in NJ but live in another state, there are two options:

• If their state of residency is not on EB when NJDOL determines eligibility, the claimant can receive only two weeks of EB.
• If the state of residency is on EB when NJDOL determines eligibility, the claimant can receive EB until their state of residency goes off EB, until benefits are exhausted.

(For information on New York’s EB status, visit here. For information on Pennsylvania's EB status, visit here.)

Monetary Requirement: To be eligible for EB through April 9, 2022, you must have either earned:

• the minimum earnings requirement for 20 or more weeks in covered employment during the base year period OR
• 40x the weekly benefit rate of your original unemployment claim (listed on your claim status)

Have not already received EB: Some claimants may have already received EB on their claim between exhausting their regular unemployment benefits and before receiving PEUC. You may only receive EB once per claim.

Please note: Claimants who were disqualified for misconduct or refused suitable work will have to meet additional requirements to be eligible for EB. You would have received notification through postal mail from the Department if you were disqualified.

The CARES Act that was signed March 27, 2020 provided unemployment assistance to many NJ workers impacted by COVID-19. The Continued Assistance Act, signed December 27, 2020 and the American Rescue Plan Act signed March 11, 2021 extended this assistance. Pandemic-related federal unemployment benefits expired September 4, 2021.

Under these laws, there were three types of assistance: 

• Pandemic Unemployment Assistance: provided up to 79 weeks of benefits, up until September 4, 2021, to NJ workers who met all three of the following criteria:

1. 1. Are not eligible for unemployment benefits in any state, including self-employed workers (independent contractors, “gig” workers)
   2. Are otherwise able and available to work except that they are unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable or unavailable to work due to a COVID-19 qualifying reason, and
   3. Are able to demonstrate labor market attachment, through earnings or an official work offer.

• Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation: provided up to 49 of benefits to recipients of regular Unemployment Insurance benefits, on top of the typical maximum of 26 weeks, for a maximum total of 79 weeks of benefits.
• Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation: provided an additional $300 per week to all PUA and regular Unemployment Insurance recipients from January 2, 2021 through September 4, 2021. You may also have been eligible for $600 per week, on top of regular benefits, retroactive to the week ending April 4, 2020 through July 25, 2020.

Please note that you will still be able to receive benefits for weeks prior to September 4, if you are found eligible for a claim filed before September 4, 2021.

Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation

The American Rescue Plan Act, signed March 11, 2021, extended the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program, which provides an additional $300 to workers for weeks of unemployment ending on March 11, 2021 through September 4, 2021.

The CARES Act, signed March 27, 2020, created FPUC, which provides an additional $600 to workers for weeks ending on April 4, 2020 through July 25, 2020.

NJDOL distributed the payments weekly to those currently claiming regular unemployment benefits, Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) or Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) benefits.

Lost Wages Assistance Payments

Lost Wages Assistance (LWA), also referred to as “FEMA payments,” was a limited-time federal program that paid a $300 weekly supplemental benefit to most workers unemployed for a COVID-19 related reason during the weeks ending August 1, 2020 through September 5, 2020. The maximum benefit was for six weeks, for a total of $1,800. Lost wages supplemental payments ended on December 27, 2020.

The LWA payments were for claimants who certified that they: 

• were unemployed for all or part of the six-week period from August 1 through September 5, 2020;
• were eligible for at least $100 in unemployment benefits; and were unemployed for a COVID-19 related reason.

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