Extended PUA administrative grant deadlines

CLASSIFICATION
   EMPLOYMENT AND TRAINING ADMINISTRATION                 Unemployment Insurance
               ADVISORY SYSTEM                            CORRESPONDENCE SYMBOL
          U.S. DEPARTMENT OF LABOR                        OUI/DPM
             Washington, D.C. 20210                       DATE
                                                          January 23, 2023


ADVISORY:       UNEMPLOYMENT INSURANCE PROGRAM LETTER NO. 16-20,
                Change 8

TO:             STATE WORKFORCE AGENCIES

FROM:           BRENT PARTON
                Acting Assistant Secretary

SUBJECT:        Extension of Time to Submit Request for Funding under Grant Opportunity
                Announced in Unemployment Insurance Program Letter (UIPL) No. 16-20,
                Change 7

1. Purpose. To advise states that the deadline for submitting a grant application for additional
   administrative costs under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) program is
   extended to February 24, 2023, and that the Department has extended the deadline to expend
   PUA administrative funds from June 30, 2023 to June 30, 2024.

2. Action Requested. The U.S. Department of Labor’s (Department) Employment and Training
   Administration (ETA) requests that State Workforce Agency Administrators provide
   information contained in this UIPL to appropriate staff.

3. Summary and Background.

   a. Summary – On October 21, 2022, the Department issued UIPL No. 16-20, Change 7
      advising states of the availability of an additional $61 million in administrative funding
      for activities under the PUA program which do not generate typical workload-based
      administrative funding. States were also provided the opportunity to submit a second
      Supplemental Budget Request (SBR) to request an amount in addition to their respective
      allocation of the $61 million amount. In that UIPL, states were advised that grant
      applications under both funding opportunities should be submitted no later than January
      6, 2023. The Department is extending the deadline to February 24, 2023.

   b. Background – The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act
      (Public Law (Pub. L.) 116-136) was enacted on March 27, 2020, and created new
      temporary unemployment compensation (UC) programs, including PUA, Federal
      Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), and Pandemic Emergency
      Unemployment Compensation (PEUC). See UIPL No. 14-20. The Continued Assistance
      for Unemployed Workers Act of 2020 (Continued Assistance Act) (Pub. L. 116-260) was
      enacted on December 27, 2020, and amended and extended the CARES Act UC
      programs, plus created the Mixed Earners Unemployment Compensation (MEUC)
   RESCISSIONS                                             EXPIRATION DATE
   None                                                    Continuing

         program. See UIPL No. 09-21. The American Rescue Plan Act of 2021 (ARPA) (Pub.
         L. 117-2) was enacted on March 11, 2021, and further amended and extended the
         CARES Act UC programs. See UIPL No. 14-21. ARPA also provided a $2 billion
         appropriation to the Department for purposes of strengthening the national UI system.1

         The PUA program expired on September 6, 2021, though some states chose to end
         participation earlier. States must process and pay benefits to eligible individuals under the
         PUA program for all weeks of unemployment ending on or before the date of the
         Agreement termination or program expiration (whichever was first). See UIPL No. 14-
         21, Change 1.

4. Guidance. Sections 4.c. and 4.e. of UIPL No. 16-20, Change 7, set out the required actions
   that states must complete when applying for a grant under this solicitation. Section 4.c. of
   UIPL No. 16-20, Change 7, provides that the deadline for submission of applications is
   January 6, 2023. Since the UIPL was originally published, the Department has decided to
   extend the end of the period of performance for the PUA program from June 30, 2023, to
   June 30, 2024. Additionally, the system for submitting grant applications will be unavailable
   from January 19, 2023, to February 3, 2023. Therefore, the Department is extending the
   deadline for submission of the grant applications to February 24, 2023. All other guidance
   and information in UIPL No. 16-20, Change 7, remains the same.

5. Inquiries. States should direct inquiries to the appropriate ETA Regional Office.

6. References.

    •    American Rescue Plan Act, Pub L. 117-2, enacted March 11, 2021;
    •    Continued Assistance for Unemployed Workers Act of 2020, Pub. L. 116-260, enacted
         December 27, 2020;
    •    CARES Act, Pub. L. 116-136, enacted March 27, 2020;
    •    CFR Parts 200 and 2900, Uniform Administrative Requirements, Cost Principles, and Audit
         Requirements for Federal Awards; and
    •    UIPL No. 16-20, Change 7, Supplemental Budget Request (SBR) Opportunity for Additional
         Administrative Costs under the Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) Program, issued
         October 21, 2022, https://www.dol.gov/agencies/eta/advisories/uipl-no-16-20-change-7.

7. Attachment(s). None.


 With this appropriation under ARPA, the Department has offered additional funding opportunities to states to be
used towards all UC programs in the support of: (1) fraud detection and prevention, including identity verification
and overpayment recovery activities; and (2) promoting equitable access, including eliminating administrative
barriers to benefit applications, reducing state workload backlogs, improving the timeliness of UC payments to
eligible individuals, and ensuring equity in fraud prevention, detection, and recovery activities. See UIPL Nos. 22-
21 and 23-21, respectively. States are also invited to participate in a consultative assessment towards achieving the
goals of strengthening fraud detection and prevention, promoting equitable access, and improving the timeliness of
UC payments and to receive funding to support the implementation of resulting recommendations, as described in
UIPL No. 02-22 and its changes.