EMERGENCY UNEMPLOYMENT COMPENSATION

Questions and Answers About Emergency Unemployment Compensation

Update—July 21, 2008

Colorado has begun to process applications for Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC). Unemployment Insurance (UI) Operations will begin mailing paperwork on July 23, 2008, to those who successfully filed an EUC claim. Please be patient as UI Operations is diligently preparing to pay eligible EUC claims.

You will receive a new personal identification number (PIN) for your EUC claim. As soon as you receive your PIN, request the payment of EUC benefits for the weeks ending July 12, 2008, and July 19, 2008, with the Colorado Unemployment Benefits Line (CUBLine) system on CUBLine Online or CUBLine at 303-813-2800 (Denver-metro area) or 1-888-550-2800 (outside Denver-metro area).

Questions and Answers About Emergency Unemployment Compensation have been updated. The addition of a new question “How will I know if my EUC application was successfully filed?” provides information about the mailing of Form EUC-5, Monetary Determination of Emergency Unemployment Compensation, to EUC applicants.

If you have not yet filed your EUC claim application, call an automated telephone response system at 1-888-563-4280 (toll free), 24 hours a day, 7 days a week.

The last day to file an EUC claim for an effective date of July 6, 2008, has been extended to August 2, 2008. If you file an EUC claim on or after August 3, 2008, the day on which you file determines the EUC claim effective date

Form EUC-1, Notice of Potential Eligibility for Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC Notice), is being mailed to potentially eligible EUC claimants with filing instructions. If you receive an EUC Notice, carefully read the insert titled “Quick Facts About Emergency Unemployment Compensation” for important information.

NOTE: If you receive an EUC Notice and have already filed an EUC claim, do not file again as this will delay the processing of your claim.

On June 30, 2008, the President signed into law Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) authorizing the payment of up to 13 weeks of additional EUC benefits for eligible, unemployed individuals. This EUC Web page contains important EUC information and will be updated as new information becomes available.

To be eligible for EUC, you must:

·         Have exhausted available benefits on a current unemployment insurance (UI) claim or have a claim that expired on or after May 5, 2007.

·         Not be eligible for a new UI claim in any state or territory in the U.S. or in Canada.

·         Be currently unemployed or working less than 32 hours per week.

NOTE: If you are working less than 32 hours per week, your gross income earnings must be less than your weekly benefit amount on your regular UI claim.

Call an automated, telephone-response system at 1-888-563-4280 (toll free) to file an EUC application, 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. Applications can be filed only by calling this telephone number. Please do not use this telephone number for any reason other than filing your application.

NOTE: EUC claims cannot be filed over the regular UI Operations Customer Contact telephone numbers.

EUC benefits will pay to qualified individuals beginning the week of July 6, 2008; EUC benefits will not pay for weeks prior to this date. If you file an EUC claim on or before 11:59 p.m. on July 26, 2008, the effective date on your EUC claim will be July 6, 2008. If you file an EUC claim on or after July 27, 2008, the day on which you file determines the EUC claim beginning date.

The last day an EUC claim can be filed is March 25, 2009, for a claim with an effective date of March 22, 2009. The last week EUC benefits will pay to those who are eligible is for the week ending July 4, 2009.

Within seven to ten days of the legislation passage date, the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) plans to place telephone calls and/or mail letters with EUC filing instructions to the households of approximately 130,000 individuals:

·         Who filed a UI claim with a benefit year that ends on or after May 5, 2007.

·         Whose UI benefits exhausted or claim expired on a UI claim with a benefit year that ends on or after May 5, 2007.

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·         Who are not eligible for a new UI claim.

Notification of EUC filing instructions will be delivered to the address and telephone number of record. If your mailing address or telephone number has changed, you may report the change by calling the Colorado Unemployment Benefits Line (CUBLINE) at 303-813-2800 (Denver-metro area) or 1-888-550-2800 (outside Denver-metro area). Visit the Address Change Instructions Web page for more information.

If you receive notification of possible eligibility for extended benefits, the notification will provide information about the proper method for filing an EUC claim. It is important to follow the filing instructions carefully to avoid delays in processing your EUC application.

If you have a current UI claim on file and your claim is nearing exhaustion, continue to file with the Colorado Unemployment Benefits Line (CUBLine) or CUBLine Online.