Jobless aid will start right away
ALBANY — Out-of-work New Yorkers don’t have to worry about a lapse in benefits as the state prepares to dole out extended federal unemployment funds beginning next week.
Gov. Cuomo said Tuesday that the state is prepared to provide the additional $300 in weekly benefits approved by Congress without any delay despite President Trump waiting until the 11th hour to sign the COVID relief measure.
“This pandemic has created an unprecedented economic crisis, and New Yorkers have waited in uncertainty for far too long,” the governor said in a statement.
“I have repeatedly called on the federal government to do the right thing by renewing critical benefits to support millions of unemployed families through to the end of this pandemic — and now that Washington has finally acted, New York is immediately delivering those funds.”
Additionally, both pandemic unemployment assistance, which provides benefits to gig workers and contractors not covered by traditional state unemployment insurance, and pandemic emergency unemployment compensation, which covers people out of work beyond the 26 weeks of state unemployment insurance, have been extended through mid-March.
The two programs began as part of the CARES Act back in March, the last time lawmakers in Washington passed a coronavirus-related relief bill.
Jobless benefits for millions of Americans left unemployed by the pandemic were slated to expire as Trump initially refused to sign the latest legislation over the weekend. He caved Sunday night, but the last-minute move means many of those out of work will experience a break in payments until states reconfigure their systems.
Cuomo says that won’t be an issue in New York, where the Labor Department was inundated this spring by a COVID-created surge in unemployment applications.
“The extension of these federal unemployment benefits is a lifeline for many New Yorkers, and we will continue to do everything we can to bring relief to those who remain unemployed due to this unprecedented pandemic,” Labor Commissioner Roberta Reardon said.
The state has so far paid out more than $59 billion in benefits to over 3.9 million unemployed New Yorkers during the COVID crisis. That’s comparable to nearly 28 typical years worth of unemployment payments, Reardon said.
Cuomo also reminded New Yorkers on Tuesday that workers can begin reaping the benefits of the state’s expanded sick leave laws starting on Jan 1.
Workers can begin using accrued sick days starting next year as companies both large and small are now mandated to provide paid and unpaid leave.
Under the law, companies with 100 or more employees must provide at least seven days of job-protected paid sick leave each year so a worker can recover from an illness, care for a sick family member, or other matters.