The Extended Benefits unemployment compensation program will expire on Sept. 12, 2020, according to the Alabama Department of Labor. The department will continue to pay these benefits through Oct. 3, 2020.
The program was previously set to expire on Aug. 29, 2020, with the ADOL scheduled to pay benefits through Sept. 19, 2020.
This is a separate program from the Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC) program that was enacted under the CARES Act. PEUC provides for an additional 13 weeks of regular unemployment following exhaustion.
The EB program is a federal program that is triggered when a state’s insured unemployment rate exceeds 5.9 percent. Alabama’s weekly insured unemployment rate of 6.11 percent triggered the state onto a 13-week EB period beginning the week of May 31.
It is usually available during times of adverse economic conditions. The last time Alabama offered the EB program was during the Great Recession of 2008.
Alabama will trigger off of the program on Sept. 12, 2020, when the weekly insured unemployment rate is expected to drop to below 5 percent. While the EB program was available for up to 13 weeks, not all claimants were eligible to receive all weeks.
