Federal Unemployment Insurance Extensions (Updated June 8, 2010)Sunday, May 23, 2010 marks the beginning of the current deadlines for filing for federal extensions of Unemployment Insurance (UI) benefits. Congress has been discussing the possibility of extending the filing deadlines in order to grant more access to the federal extensions currently available. Various options being considered include extending the filing deadline for another 30 days or extending it all the way through November or December of 2010. But at this point, no decisions have been made. Congress has now adjourned for a week and plans to take up the issue upon its return June 7.
If that occurs and Congress does act to authorize an extension of the filing deadline during the week of June 7 then EDD anticipates there should be little disruption in benefits for our customers. If a decision is delayed any longer than that, customers coming up on the end of their regular claim or any one of the four current tiers of federal extensions may be prevented from qualifying for any further extension benefits.
We understand these UI benefits are critical to many of our customers and that you need as much information as possible about potential benefits available so you can plan accordingly. EDD will be closely monitoring developments in Washington D.C and will be continually updating this Web site news item to keep you informed.
It should be noted, however, that at the moment Congress is not discussing the addition of any further benefits to the current maximum total of up to 99 weeks of UI benefits available. It is only discussing the extension of deadlines for filing federal extension claims which allows more time for those most recently unemployed in this recession to qualify for extended unemployment benefits.