MacIver News Service | March 14, 2013
[Madison, Wisc…] People collecting Emergency Unemployment Compensation (EUC) will see their weekly checks down 10.7 percent starting April 8th due to the sequester, the Wisconsin Department of Workforce Development said Thursday.“This is a mandate by the federal government as a result of sequestration,” said Scott Sussman, DWD staff member, at an Unemployment Insurance Advisory Council Meeting.
This will affect about 30 thousand people in Wisconsin, according to DWD estimates.
Emergency Unemployment Compensation is entirely funded by the federal government for people who have used up all their regular unemployment benefits.
Regular unemployment benefits last for up to 26 weeks. Then there is UEC tier 1 for up to 14 weeks, and UEC tier 2 for another 14 weeks.
There used to be UEC tiers 3 and 4. Tier three stopped taking new applicants on February 9th, and that program extended benefits for an extra 9 weeks. Prior to September 22, 2012, however, it was 13 weeks. Also before August 14, 2010, tier 4 would extend benefits for another 6 weeks. There were other programs to extend unemployment in addition to UEC prior to March of last year.
DWD has not yet notified individuals affected, but plans to do so soon.