On Tuesday, a spokesperson for the Department of Labor said they do not expect Americans eligible for unemployment to miss a week of benefits after concerns that the president’s delay in signing the coronavirus relief bill would cause a lapse in payments.

What You Need To Know

  • A spokesperson for the Department of Labor said they do not expect a gap in unemployment payments

  • Experts worried payments would lapse this week after President Trump signed the bill on a Sunday, which is the beginning of a new week in most states

  • The department spokesperson said they expect payments to continue "without interruption"

  • About 14 million Americans rely on federal unemployment programs extended under the bill, which also includes a $300 weekly subsidy for people receiving unemployment 

Nearly 14 million Americans currently rely on two federal unemployment programs established because of the pandemic, and the latest bill also adds a $300 weekly subsidy to go out to anyone receiving unemployment, whether through their state or other programs.

Because the relief bill was signed on a Sunday — the start of a new unemployment week in most states — experts worried that the bill’s unemployment provisions wouldn’t go into effect until next week, causing a gap in payments.

But a spokesperson for the department told Spectrum News that benefits have been authorized starting after Dec. 26, meaning this week will be included after all, and payments will go out “without interruption.” About 20 million Americans currently rely on unemployment benefits.

The exact timing of the next payment will depend on states, who still have to implement the new relief measures.

“[It takes] states a couple of weeks to program the new thing into their computers and test it and make sure that it all works correctly,” Michele Evermore, a senior policy analyst at the National Employment Law Project, told Spectrum News on Monday. “As we got toward the deadline, we knew that there was going to be a lag.”

On Tuesday, the Department of Labor spokesperson said the agency is “working expeditiously to help states understand and implement these new provisions as quickly as possible.”

If a state lags in issuing this week’s payment, Americans covered by unemployment will get their payment retroactively, even if it comes later in the week or the week after.

That means that as long as someone is eligible for unemployment benefits, they will be eligible for the $300 weekly subsidy included in the relief bill signed by the president on Sunday. It includes up to 11 weeks of the additional aid, or through March 14. 

According to the Labor Department, all 11 weeks will be honored, despite the president’s delay in signing the bill.

The bill also extends two federal unemployment programs through March 14: the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program — meant for people who are self-employed, contractors or otherwise ineligible for unemployment benefits — and the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which is for those who have exhausted state benefits.