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UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE COMPENSATION UPDATE

updated 1/3/2012

UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE COMPENSATION UPDATE

EB Trigger

In December of 2010, the United States Department of Labor (USDOL) informed Tennessee that it was in danger of triggering off the Extended Benefits (EB) program unless Tennessee’s General Assembly passed legislation to extend the EB “look-back” provision from two years to three years.  The Tennessee General Assembly passed legislation and Governor Haslam signed into law this three year “look-back” provision to allow Tennessee to remain triggered on to EB until either the EB December 2011, the date the EB program was scheduled to end, or until Tennessee’s total unemployment rate improved enough to trigger off of EB.

As mid-December approached without Congressional action to again extend the expiration date for EB, Tennessee was required by the USDOL to notify claimants of the ending of the EB program.  The Agency mailed notices to EB claimants and those claimants receiving Emergency Unemployment Compensation Tier 4 that Tennessee was triggering off EB.  More than 10,000 notices were mailed to claimants explaining that Tennessee triggered off of EB on December 17, 2011 and that the last week of EB eligibility for Tennesseans would be the week ending January 7, 2012. 

On December 23, 2011, a few days after these letters were mailed to claimants notifying them that EB had triggered off in Tennessee and their eligibility would be ending, Congress passed and the President signed into law a bill that extended both the Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) program and the Extended Benefits (EB) program to the end of February of 2012.

Those claimants who received a letter explaining that their eligibility for the EB has ceased will now receive a letter explaining that they will continue to receive EB until their entitlement is exhausted.  Additionally, letters will also be mailed to EUC Tier 4 claimants stating that they will now be eligible for EB.

Because this is only a two month extension of expiration dates, these issues will be raised once again in mid February.  Under current law, the transition dates for the various programs are as follows:

  1. TUC to EUC Tier 1:  You must exhaust Tennessee Unemployment Claim no later than February 25, 2012 to become eligible for EUC Tier 1.

  2. EUC 2 to EUC Tier 3 or EUC Tier 3 to EUC Tier 4:  You must exhaust a tier of benefits no later than March 3, 2012 to become eligible for the next tier of EUC.

The last payable week of EB is March 10, 2012.

There appears to be little discussion on the federal level of extending the “look-back” provision from three years to four years.  Consequently, Tennessee’s General Assembly will likely not be pressured to vote on state legislation to keep the EB program alive after the current February expiration. 

It has been speculated that Tennessee may naturally trigger off of EB in April due to the fact that Tennessee’s unemployment rate at that point will likely not be 120% higher than in the previous 3 years, which is a condition of staying triggered on to EB.

updated 12/27/2011

The Payroll Extension Bill package passed by Congress averts an end to emergency unemployment benefits set to expire on December 31. It provides another two months of existing federal unemployment benefits, but does not add additional weeks of benefits. Claimants should continue their weekly certification and do not need to contact the department or fill out additional forms. 

The action by Congress currently provides a two month temporary extension of both Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) and the Extended Benefits program (EB). Specific details will soon be available from the USDOL, but it is expected that the expiration of the programs on February 29, 2012 will have the following impact: 

Tennessee Unemployment Compensation – The first 26 weeks of benefits will not be affected.

Emergency Unemployment Compensation or EUC (Tier 1) – Tier 1 of EUC is up to an additional 20 weeks of benefits available after Tennessee Unemployment Compensation are used. Those receiving benefits in Tier 1 may continue to receive benefits past Feb. 29, but can only exhaust the remaining weeks within this tier. 

Emergency Unemployment Compensation (Tier 2) –Tier 2 up to an additional 14 weeks of benefits available after EUC Tier 1 are used. Those receiving benefits in Tier 2 may continue to receive benefits past Feb. 29, but can only exhaust the remaining weeks within this tier. 

Emergency Unemployment Compensation (Tier 3) – Tier 3 up to an additional 13 weeks of benefits available after EUC Tier 2 are used. Those receiving benefits in Tier 3 may continue to receive benefits past Feb. 29, but can only exhaust the remaining weeks within this tier. 

Emergency Unemployment Compensation (Tier 4) –Tier 4 is up to an additional six weeks of benefits available after EUC Tier 3. Those receiving benefits in Tier 4 may continue to receive benefits past Feb. 29, but can only exhaust the remaining weeks within this tier. 

Extended Benefits (EB) – The Extended Benefit program is up to an additional 20 weeks of benefits available after all tiers of EUC have been used. It is possible the last payable week for all claimants receiving these benefits will be the last week of February.The Tennessee Department of Labor will provide specific details of the last payment date as soon as they become available.

It is important that claimants update their home address to receive information on their claim status and 1099 tax forms. Updates to your account can be made online at https://ui.tn.gov/Pages/PersonalInformation.aspx. 

The department is awaiting official guidance from the USDOL, and will update this page and our Twitter page at http://twitter.com/tnlabor as soon as information becomes available.