American Rescue Plan extensions of FPUC and MEUC

CLASSIFICATION
   EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION                Unemployment Insurance
               ADVISORY SYSTEM                           CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL
          U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR                       OUI/DUIO
             Washington, D.C. 20210                      DATE
                                                         March 26, 2021

ADVISORY:       UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROGRAM LETTER NO. 15-20,
                Change 4

TO:             STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES

FROM:           SUZAN G. LEVINE
                Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary

SUBJECT:        American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) — Extensions to the Federal
                Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) Program and Mixed Earners
                Unemployment Compensation (MEUC) Program

1. Purpose. This Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) provides guidance about
   the extension of the FPUC and the MEUC program authorized by Section 9013 of the
   American Rescue Plan Act of 2021, Public Law (Pub. L.) 117-2.

2. Action Requested. The U.S. Department of Labor’s (Department) Employment and
   Training Administration (ETA) requests that State Workforce Administrators provide the
   information in this UIPL and attachments to appropriate program and staff in state workforce
   systems as they implement changes to the FPUC and MEUC programs.

3. Summary and Background.

   a. Summary – On March 11, 2021, the President signed ARPA into law. Among other
      things, Section 9013 of ARPA amends Section 2104 of the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and
      Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020, which extends the FPUC program and MEUC
      program for weeks of unemployment ending on or before September 6, 2021. There is
      no gap in authority for the FPUC or MEUC programs. States do not need to enter into
      new agreements to continue to operate the FPUC or MEUC programs.

   b. Background – On March 27, 2020, the CARES Act was signed into law, which includes
      the Relief for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act set out in Division A, Title II,
      Subtitle A. Section 2104 of the CARES Act created the FPUC program, which was a
      new temporary federal supplemental payment that provided an additional $600 per week
      to individuals receiving UI benefits through weeks of unemployment that ended on or
      before July 31, 2020. On April 4, 2020, ETA issued UIPL No. 15-20 to provide FPUC
      program implementation instructions to states. ETA issued Change 1 to UIPL No. 15-20
      on May 9, 2020, to provide states with reporting instructions and Questions and Answers
      about the FPUC program. On June 15, 2020, ETA issued Change 2 to UIPL No. 15-20 to
      provide states additional reporting instructions.

 RESCISSIONS                                            EXPIRATION DATE
 None                                                   Continuing

      On December 27, 2020, the Continued Assistance to Unemployed Workers Act of 2020
      (Continued Assistance Act) was enacted, which reauthorized the FPUC program for
      weeks of unemployment beginning after December 26, 2020, and ending on or before
      March 14, 2021, and modified the FPUC weekly supplement to $300. The Continued
      Assistance Act also created the MEUC program, which provides qualifying individuals
      with a $100 supplemental weekly payment in addition to the $300 FPUC supplemental
      payment and their underlying UI benefit payment with respect to a week of
      unemployment ending on or before March 14, 2021. MEUC is an optional program that
      states may choose not to operate. On January 5, 2021, ETA issued Change 3 to UIPL
      No. 15-20 to provide states guidance and operating instructions about the FPUC and
      MEUC provisions in the Continued Assistance Act.

      Importance of Program Integrity. Addressing improper payments and fraud is a top
      priority for the Department and the entire UI system. States play a fundamental role in
      ensuring the integrity of the UI system. Especially during this time of extraordinary
      workloads, states should maintain a steadfast focus on UI functions and activities that
      ensure program integrity and the prevention and detection of improper payments and
      fraud across all programs operated within the UI system while ensuring that legitimate
      claimants are able to swiftly access benefits during a critical time. It is critical that states
      implement processes that ensure payments are being made to eligible individuals and that
      states have aggressive strategies and tools in place to prevent, detect, and recover
      fraudulent payments, with a particular emphasis on imposter fraud by claimants using
      false or stolen identities.

4. Guidance.

   a. FPUC extension. ARPA extends the FPUC program to provide $300 per week in
      supplemental benefits for weeks of unemployment ending on or before
      September 6, 2021. In states with an agreement to administer the FPUC program where
      the week of unemployment ends on a Saturday, the last week of unemployment for which
      FPUC may be paid is the week ending September 4, 2021. In states where the week of
      unemployment ends on a Sunday, the last week of unemployment for which FPUC may
      be paid is the week ending September 5, 2021. All other FPUC program parameters, as
      provided in Section 2104 of the CARES Act, FPUC agreements, and UIPL Nos. 15-20;
      15-20, Change 1; 15-20, Change 2; and 15-20, Change 3 remain the same. There is no
      gap in authority for the FPUC program. Thus, FPUC payments may be made with
      respect to weeks of unemployment ending after March 14, 2021, which would have been
      after the FPUC program expired under the Continued Assistance Act.

   b. MEUC extension. ARPA does not include an explicit reference to the MEUC program.
      However, because the MEUC statutory provisions are in Section 2104 of the CARES
      Act, the extension of the FPUC program in Section 9013 of ARPA also extends the
      MEUC program. Specifically, Section 9013(a), APRA, extends the end date of any
      agreement entered into under section 2104 to weeks of unemployment ending on or
      before September 6, 2021. Since agreements to operate the MEUC program (as well as

       the FPUC program) are Section 2104 agreements, the MEUC program is extended by the
       amendments made by Section 9013(a) of ARPA.

       Thus, as is the case for the FPUC program, in states with an agreement to administer the
       MEUC program where the week of unemployment ends on a Saturday, the last week of
       unemployment for which MEUC may be paid is the week ending September 4, 2021. In
       states where the week of unemployment ends on a Sunday, the last week of
       unemployment for which MEUC may be paid is the week ending September 5, 2021. All
       other MEUC program parameters, as provided in Section 2104 of the CARES Act,
       MEUC agreements, and UIPL No. 15-20, Change 3, remain the same. There is no gap in
       authority for the MEUC program. Thus, MEUC payments may be made with respect to
       weeks of unemployment ending after March 14, 2021, which would have been after the
       MEUC program expired under the Continued Assistance Act.

   c. Notification requirements. States must individually notify individuals who have been
      receiving either/both of these benefits of the extension of the FPUC and MEUC
      programs, as appropriate. Refer to Section 4.d. of UIPL No. 14-21 for additional
      information.

   d. Additional funding for implementation administrative costs. The Department will make
      funding available to each state for the cost of implementing the FPUC and MEUC
      program extensions in ARPA. Detailed information about the available funding for each
      program implementation, application process, and permissible implementation costs
      regarding these funds is provided in Section 4.e of UIPL No. 14-21.

   e. Reporting instructions. All FPUC and MEUC reporting instructions in previous guidance
      remain the same.

5. Inquiries. States should direct inquiries to the email account [email protected] and copy
   the appropriate ETA Regional Office.

6. References.

      American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA), including Title IX, Subtitle A, Crisis
       Support for Unemployed Workers (Pub. L. 117-2);
      Consolidated Appropriations Act, 2021, including Division N, Title II, Subtitle A, the
       Continued Assistance for Unemployed Workers Act of 2020 (Continued Assistance Act),
       (Pub. L. 116-260);
      Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act, 2020, including Title II
       Subtitle A Relief for Workers Affected by Coronavirus Act (Pub. L. 116-136);
      UIPL No. 14-21, American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) – Key Unemployment
       Insurance (UI) Provisions, issued on March 15, 2021,
       https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=5669;
      UIPL No. 09-21, Continued Assistance for Unemployed Workers Act of 2020 (Continued
       Assistance Act) – Summary of Key Unemployment Insurance (UI) Provisions, issued on
       December 30, 2020, https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=3831;

      UIPL No. 15-20, Change 3, Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES)
       Act of 2020 – Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) Program
       Reauthorization and Modification and Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation
       (MEUC) Program Operating, Reporting, and Financial Instructions, issued on January 5,
       2021, https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=6122;
      UIPL No. 15-20, Change 2, Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES)
       Act of 2020 – Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) Program
       Operating, Financial, and Reporting Instructions, issued on June 15, 2020,
       https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=7785;
      UIPL No. 15-20, Change 1, Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES)
       Act of 2020 – Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) Program
       Operating, Financial, and Reporting Instructions, issued on May 9, 2020,
       https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=3946;
      UIPL No. 15-20, Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 –
       Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) Program Operating,
       Financial, and Reporting Instructions, issued on April 14, 2020,
       https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=9297; and
      UIPL No. 14-20, Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 –
       Summary of Key Unemployment Insurance (UI) Provisions and Temporary Emergency
       State Staffing Flexibility, issued on April 2, 2020,
       https://wdr.doleta.gov/directives/corr_doc.cfm?DOCN=3390.

7. Attachment(s).

      Attachment I: Text of Section 9013 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021

                                                   Attachment I to UIPL No. 15-20, Change 4

                Text of Section 9013 of the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021

SEC. 9013. EXTENSION OF FEDERAL PANDEMIC UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION.

(a) IN GENERAL.—Section 2104(e)(2) of the CARES Act (15 U.S.C. 9023(e)(2)) is amended by
striking ‘‘March 14, 2021’’ and inserting ‘‘September 6, 2021’’.

(b) AMOUNT.—Section 2104(b)(3)(A)(ii) of such Act (15 U.S.C. 9023(b)(3)(A)(ii)) is amended by
striking ‘‘March 14, 2021’’ and inserting ‘‘September 6, 2021’’.