State begins issuing Pandemic Emergency Unemployment payments
Metro Wire Staff
The Department of Workforce Development has started making payments to thousands of people waiting for Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, also known as PEUC.
The federal Continued Assistance Act that went into effect on December 27 extended PEUC benefits, providing an additional 11 weeks of payments to people who qualify.
But the state’s antiquated Unemployment Insurance computer system meant that implementation of the PEUC extension was delayed in Wisconsin. The first additional payments under the program went out on March 4.
Since then, DWD has sent out PEUC benefit payments to 29,118 people across the state. The money includes all back payments and the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation add-ons, for a total of more than $102 million.
About 1,700 people have claims that could not be processed automatically, including people whose claims require extra calculations to ensure the correct benefit rates and those who have had penalties on previous claims. DWD employees will be reviewing and processing those claims as quickly as possible and expect to have most paid within the next two weeks. Anyone expecting a PEUC payment should check their claims portal for the latest information.
The Continued Assistance Act created new unemployment programs and extensions in response to the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic. Since late December, DWD has been working to launch the new federal Continued Assistance Act programs and extensions in Wisconsin. The first of those, Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation, was implemented in January.
The department’s computer system does not allow these programs to be launched all at once, so some new benefits are still weeks away. DWD has prioritized each program by the number of Wisconsinites who could potentially qualify. DWD recently hosted an informational briefing that provides greater insights into the challenges the department faces with its IT system.
For up-to-date information on DWD’s Continued Assistance Act program implementation, view the Progress Tracker.
