Although Donald Trump had initially refused to sign on the COVID-19 relief package of $900 billion, demanding at least $2,000 stimulus checks for all Americans. Eventually, he did sign the bill on Sunday evening. However, the point of concern is the additional unemployment benefits.
As of now, the unemployment benefits might take weeks to come and some people might get less money than expected.
Delayed Unemployment Benefits Causes Concern
The brand new relief package offers 11 weeks of extra benefits to the jobless people who have already spent their regular allotment given by the state benefits. Furthermore, it offers increased unemployment benefits of $300 every week till 14th March.
The signature from the President has already fuelled the process of releasing the funds and most probably the workers will be receiving their very first checks towards the end of the month of January 2021.
Since Trump has delayed in signing the bill that was passed by Congress almost 2 weeks back has resulted in the expiration of 2 unemployment programs. About 14 million US citizens have lost their unemployment benefits due to expiry.
The Labour Department of the US now has to rush through to release the guidance for states regarding the implementation of the unemployment provision in accordance with the law. States will then execute the new rules to pay the workers.
Some states might start disbursing the relief checks within a few weeks while others might take 5-6 weeks. The Labour Department of Rhode Island has stated that there will be no gap in the payment procedure and there is no requirement for reapplication. New Jersey officials have said the same thing.
Nonetheless, with a backlog and the holiday season upon the government, the process for disbursing unemployment benefits will definitely take time.
