DWD provides update on unemployment insurance eligibility

INDIANAPOLIS (July 9, 2020)  – The Indiana Department of Workforce Development (DWD) is required by federal law to re-determine eligibility on a quarterly basis for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) and Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC).

Claimants who must file a Quarter Change claim can take the following steps to continue to file for unemployment benefits:

• On your Uplink Claimant homepage, check to see if you have vouchers to file. File all vouchers for weeks you wish to claim and were unemployed;
• After filing all vouchers, return to your Uplink Claimant homepage and check to see if you have a link to file a new claim. File the new claim as soon as the link is available, before Saturday, July 11, and complete it by 8:45 p.m.

PUA created a temporary federal unemployment insurance program for individuals not otherwise eligible for benefits, including the self-employed, independent contractors, and gig economy workers.

PUA benefits are set to end on Dec. 25, unlike the $600 weekly benefit available under the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program. Those benefits are scheduled to end in Indiana on July 25, but DWD will still make FPUC payments after that date on benefit weeks for July 25 and earlier.

PEUC also is a federal program and provides up to 13 weeks of benefits to claimants who have exhausted their Unemployment Assistance benefits.

Since the week ending March 13, 2020, DWD has paid out $3.6 billion in unemployment insurance benefits. To apply for unemployment insurance benefits, review Frequently Asked Questions or learn more about unemployment insurance benefits, visit www.Unemployment.IN.gov.