Copyright © 2020 Albuquerque Journal
Journal Staff Writer
As Congress continues to debate a relief bill that could extend a pair of much-used federal unemployment programs into 2021, New Mexico Workforce Solutions Secretary Bill McCamley said the state would work quickly to put the programs back in place once it gets federal guidance.
The roughly hour-long webinar is posted on the state workforce department’s YouTube page.
During a virtual town hall earlier this week, McCamley provided an update on the two federal programs slated to disappear after the week of Dec. 26 and the workforce department’s efforts to send out a $1,200 one-time benefit to unemployed New Mexicans.
“We are doing everything we possibly can to get as much money as we possibly can into your pockets,” McCamley said during the town hall.
The roughly hourlong webinar is posted on the state workforce department’s YouTube page.
New programs approved under the federal CARES Act include Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation, which provides an additional 13 weeks of unemployment benefits after claimants exhaust the standard 26-week state program, and Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, which covers self-employed people and others who aren’t typically covered by the unemployment system.
However, McCamley said the new programs are slated to expire at the end of December if Congress doesn’t extend them. As of Friday, 34,139 New Mexicans received benefits through PUA, and 36,199 received benefits from the PEUC program, according to the state workforce department.
McCamley said Congress is discussing extending both programs and offering additional unemployment aid, but hasn’t reached an agreement yet. He said the department would work to set up new programs quickly, but acknowledged that it would take time to implement new rules.
“These things aren’t like turning a light bulb on,” McCamley said.
In the meantime, McCamley said the state began sending out Worker Pandemic Benefit payments – one-time $1,200 payments for unemployed New Mexicans approved by lawmakers during the recent special session – earlier this week.
Claimants who were enrolled in the program in the two weeks around Thanksgiving, as well as those who saw their benefits expire between Sept. 12 and Nov. 25, should see the payments reach their accounts early next week at the latest.
