DWD: Federal PUA Benefits Approved In December, March Set To Launch Tuesday

The state Department of Workforce Development will launch unemployment benefits for self-employed and contract workers Tuesday night, bringing an end to an excruciating three-month wait without any benefits for thousands of jobless workers in Wisconsin.

The program — Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) — was designed by Congress at the outset of the pandemic in March 2020 to serve as a lifeline for those not typically eligible for unemployment benefits, like self-employed and gig workers. Since then, federal lawmakers have twice approved extensions of the PUA program, allowing those still dealing with the economic fallout of the COVID-19 pandemic to continue to receive assistance under the program.

On Tuesday, DWD will begin sending out payments to an estimated 17,200 Wisconsinites in the PUA program. The department will be simultaneously launching PUA benefit extensions approved in both the second and third rounds of federal COVID-19 aid.

In an email Monday, DWD spokesperson Alaina Knief said the payments will be one lump-sum that covers all past unpaid weeks a recipient was eligible for PUA, in addition to the $300 weekly unemployment supplement for each of those weeks.

It can take several days for payments to show up in a recipient’s bank account, according to DWD. But the launch will be welcome news to those who have been pushed to the financial brink as they went months with no benefits, with some borrowing money to get by and maxing out credit cards.

Victor Forberger, a Madison-based unemployment attorney, said implementation of the PUA program has been a challenge in Wisconsin. He pointed to the long waits many in the program initially endured in 2020, saying when recipients were finally paid “all that money they received went to pay back loans and bills and everything that (was) outstanding, and then they had nothing again.”

According to the latest federal PUA extension, recipients are now eligible to receive a maximum of 79 weeks of benefits through Sept. 4 in Wisconsin.

In a Facebook post Tuesday, the department said those receiving payments under the PUA extensions should be able to see payments in their online portals by the end of the day Wednesday.

PUA Recipients Prompted To File New Initial Claim

Existing PUA recipients, who typically file weekly claims to get benefits, have recently reported being prompted to file a new initial claim for unemployment in their portals. That’s caused confusion among some who are simply looking to access PUA benefits under both federal extensions of the program.

Knief said in Monday’s email that “anyone who is prompted to file a new initial claim in their claimant portal must do so.” That will allow the department to determine if a PUA recipient has wages in the last 18 months that would qualify them for regular unemployment.

According to Knief, if a PUA recipient qualifies for regular unemployment, DWD is required by law to “ensure they exhaust all benefits available to them under regular (unemployment) first before making payments through a federal extension.”

If a PUA recipient qualifies for regular unemployment after filing a new initial claim, they will have to undergo a one-week waiting period before they receive their unemployment benefits. But for those who continue to be eligible for the PUA extensions, there will be no waiting-week, Knief said.

Portal Changes Rolling Out Tuesday, PEUC To Launch Wednesday

The department also announced Tuesday that a new set of unemployment benefits under a separate program will launch Wednesday, more than a week ahead of schedule, according to a press release from DWD. Those benefits — under Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) — extend the amount of time someone can receive regular unemployment.

On Wednesday, DWD will launch new PEUC benefits approved under the third round of federal coronavirus relief, estimating about 7,400 Wisconsinites to be eligible. The department previously launched PEUC benefits from the second round of federal COVID-19 aid March 4.

Additionally, DWD plans to roll out updates to unemployment recipients’ personal web portals Tuesday night, saying the new interface allows for new features like secure document uploads and a message center for “direct communication from claims specialists and adjudicators.”