Arizona facing glitch in paying $600 jobless benefits
The Arizona Department of Economic Security on Monday launched a program that will pay $350 million in initial jobless benefits to 165,000 independent contractors and other individuals who were previously ineligible for unemployment insurance, but the agency said it was having problems getting payments out the door.
"DES is aware that there are claimants who filed weekly certifications recently that did not receive the additional $600 weekly" in federal pandemic jobless benefits, said Brett Bezio, a spokesman for the department, in an email to The Arizona Republic. "We sincerely apologize and are working to correct this as quickly as possible."
The department will provide an update once it has an estimated date for paying these claims, he said.
Under the new Pandemic Unemployment Assistance program, independent contractors, self-employed individuals and other gig-economy workers could receive benefits. The department said it was mailing checks to 165,000 individuals who had filed an initial claim between Feb. 2 and May 2 and didn't meet the criteria for regular unemployment insurance but do meet eligibility criteria for the new program.
These people will receive an initial payment representing the minimum weekly PUA benefit amount of $117 per week plus $600 a week in special payments provided by the federal government under the CARES Act, enacted following the new coronavirus outbreak. The first payments will include three weeks of benefits.
The department said it is processing initial payments totaling more than $350 million.
Pandemic unemployment benefits are available for weeks of unemployment beginning Feb. 2 and ending Dec. 26 of 2020.
PUA benefits range from $117 to $240 per week, for up to 39 weeks, plus the additional $600 for weeks from March 29 to July 25.
Starting at 6 p.m. on May 12, applicants will be able to access the PUA system, azui.com, to provide information needed to confirm ongoing eligibility, or to determine initial eligibility in the case of new applicants.