New Labor Department rules qualify more for unemployment benefits
Feb. 26—The U.S. Department of Labor made changes Thursday that will qualify more people for an unemployment benefits program, including those who are still working but have had their hours cut and people who have refused to go into workplaces that flout COVID-19 safety practices.
The changes come after a letter last week from New Hampshire Sens. Maggie Hassan and Jeanne Shaheen, along with three other Democratic senators, asking the acting Labor Secretary to reverse rules made in the final days of the Trump administration that kept some workers from getting benefits from the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program. The senators said the rules were at odds with the intent of the legislation that created the program.
The Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program was created as part of the CARES Act in March 2020. It was meant to help workers who didn't qualify for regular unemployment benefits because they weren't making enough money, or hadn't been in their jobs long enough before the pandemic to qualify.
In New Hampshire, the program is relatively small. Fewer than 13,000 Granite Staters use it, according to U.S. Department of Labor data, and only 25 new claims were submitted last week.
Deputy Commissioner of Employment Security Richard Lavers said in an email that about 300 New Hampshire workers who lost hours would qualify for benefits under the new rules, along with workers whose employers are not following COVID-19 safety rules, and certain educators who work on contract.
All three categories were outlined in the CARES Act, but the previous Department of Labor blocked their benefits.
Lavers said that New Hampshire's unemployment benefits application used to ask people about losing hours or shifts because of COVID-19, but the U.S. Department of Labor under the Trump administration told New Hampshire to remove that question, and stop giving benefits to people who saw their hours cut.
A worker who was laid off and later called back — but the employer was choosing not to follow New Hampshire's guidelines to safely reopen businesses — could get unemployment benefits until finding a job at a workplace observing COVID-19 protocols.
Some states already list this as a valid reason for remaining out of work during the pandemic, but New Hampshire's language on the issue has been more ambiguous: someone who is "unable to work due to one of the coronavirus related reasons allowed under the Federal CARES Act" is eligible, the state's unemployment website reads.
The rules also cover someone who has been getting fewer hours at work because of the pandemic, such as a restaurant server given fewer shifts because there are fewer customers.
States have until March 31 to make updates to their unemployment applications. Once the forms are updated, newly eligible people can use the state's standard application process for unemployment benefits, available at www.unemploymentbenefits.nh.gov, by calling 271-7700 during business hours or visiting one of the state's unemployment offices.
States will also be required to contact everyone who was denied for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, and invite them to apply again.
"We will be reviewing this guidance and listening to USDOL (U.S. Department of Labor) as they provide further explanation and will be implementing as quickly as possible," Lavers said in an email.
State unemployment offices will get further guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor on Monday, he said.
