Updated March, 2021
This Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program provides unemployment benefits to workers who are either:
Benefits will be given to these workers who have become fully or partially unemployed, or unable or unavailable to work due to any of the following reasons:
Workers do not qualify for PUA if they:
Where is the PUA program is available?
All states and territories, including Washington, D.C., have agreed to participate in the PUA program. However, either the DOL or a state may give thirty days written notice to terminate the PUA Agreement.
The DOL says it has the right to terminate an agreement with a state or territory if that area, “does not have an adequate system for administering such assistance.” If an agreement is terminated, payments will still be made for weeks of unemployment that were on or before the termination date.
So, it is possible that some areas may not offer the program at some point in the future.
The qualifications for PUA have not been changed after President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 into law. The only update is that the program has been extended until September 6, 2021.
For more information on Pandemic Unemployment Assistance: