Unemployment Insurance Under CARES Act

View Unemployment Insurance FAQs

View information about the American Rescue Plan Act of 2021

IMPORTANT: The final payable week for PUA and PEUC is week ending Saturday, September 4, 2021. The final benefit will be processed on Sunday, September 12, 2021.

Unemployment Insurance Under Coronavirus Aid Relief and Economic Security (CARES) Act:

On March 27, 2020, Congress passed a federal stimulus package known as the CARES Act. This legislation makes a number of changes to Unemployment Insurance eligibility and benefits, including:

1. Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC)

   This emergency benefit provides most individuals receiving unemployment Insurance (UI), as well as those eligible for Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA), an emergency increase in traditional unemployment benefits with an additional $600 per week through July 25, 2020.

2. Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)

   In general, this temporary emergency benefit provides benefits to individuals who have historically not been eligible for unemployment benefits.

   If you think you might qualify for PUA, please first apply for regular UI benefits at www.azui.com. If you are determined monetarily ineligible for UI, please create a new registration on the PUA portal at pua.azdes.gov. Upload your employment documentation from calendar year 2019 to the PUA portal and begin filing weekly certifications starting May 17.

   PUA provides up to 39 weeks of unemployment benefits to people who are able and available for work (within the meaning of applicable Arizona state statute), although they are unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable to work due to one of the COVID-19 related reasons identified in the CARES Act (Section 2102(a)(3)(A)(ii)(I)). This includes workers not otherwise eligible for regular unemployment, including self-employed individuals and those who have exhausted regular and extended benefits. View more information on PUA at des.az.gov/pua.

   Note: Those who are eligible under PUA will receive the weekly $600 FPUC funds along with UI benefits, ranging from $117-$240. FPUC payments are made every week until July 25, 2020.

3. Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC)

   PEUC provides an additional 13 weeks of emergency unemployment benefits for people who remain unemployed after they’ve exhausted their traditional unemployment benefits. PEUC was launched in Arizona June 7, 2020. Individuals must log in to the initial UI claims system using their existing credentials in order to file for PEUC.

   View the PEUC web page for more information.

If you are currently receiving Unemployment Insurance benefits, you do not need to apply for PUA.
 

Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC): $600/Week Increase

This benefit is currently being issued to eligible individuals. Retroactive payments will be made for weeks claimed going back to March 29 for individuals receiving UI as well as individuals receiving PUA.

You are eligible for FPUC if you receive any of the following benefits:

• Unemployment Insurance (UI)
• Unemployment Compensation for Federal Employees (UCFE)
• Unemployment Compensation for Ex-Servicemembers (UCX)
• Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC)
• Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA)
• Extended Benefits (EB)
• Shared Work (SW)
• Trade Readjustment Allowances (TRA)
• Disaster Unemployment Assistance (DUA)

Note: Securing part time work while receiving unemployment benefits does not automatically make you ineligible. It may, however, impact your weekly benefit amount. When filing your weekly claim you must report all earnings. Earnings over $30 in a single week are deducted from that week’s benefit amount. For example, if you qualify for the maximum weekly benefit amount of $240 and you receive $180 in earnings from working that week, $150 of your earnings would be deducted from the maximum benefit amount and you would receive $90 + the $600 FPUC payment for that weekly claim. If you earn $240 or more from working a week, you will not be eligible for benefits for that week. You must receive at least $1 in benefits in order to qualify for the $600 FPUC payment.

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance

Pandemic Unemployment Assistance (PUA) provides benefits to individuals who are not otherwise eligible for unemployment benefits.

PUA provides benefits to individuals who are not eligible for regular unemployment compensation or extended benefits under state or Federal law or Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC).

In general, PUA provides up to 39 weeks of benefits to qualifying individuals who are able and available for work within the meaning of applicable Arizona state statute, except that they are unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable or unavailable to work due to one of the COVID-19 related reasons identified in the CARES Act. Through July 25, 2020, individuals receiving PUA benefits may also receive the additional $600 payment provided under the (FPUC) program if they are eligible for benefits for the week.

This includes individuals who:

• have exhausted all rights to such benefits,
• are self-employed,
• are seeking part-time employment,
• lack sufficient work history, or
• otherwise do not qualify for regular unemployment compensation or extended benefits under state or Federal law or PEUC.

Eligible individuals may continue receiving PUA benefits without returning to work if one of the below criteria (from the CARES Act) applies:

• The individual has been diagnosed with COVID-19 or is experiencing symptoms of COVID-19 and is seeking a medical diagnosis;
• A member of the individual’s household has been diagnosed with COVID-19;
• The individual is providing care for a family member or a member of the individual’s household who has been diagnosed with COVID-19;
• A child or other person in the household for which the individual has primary caregiving responsibility is unable to attend school or another facility that is closed as a direct result of the COVID-19 public health emergency and such school or facility care is required for the individual to work;
• The individual is unable to reach the place of employment because of a quarantine imposed as a direct result of the COVID-19 public health emergency;
• The individual is unable to reach the place of employment because the individual has been advised by a health care provider to self-quarantine due to concerns related to COVID-19;
• The individual was scheduled to commence employment and does not have a job or is unable to reach the job as a direct result of the COVID-19 public health emergency;
• The individual has become the breadwinner or major support for a household because the head of the household has died as a direct result of COVID-19;
• The individual has to quit his or her job as a direct result of COVID-19;
• The individual’s place of employment is closed as a direct result of the COVID-19 public health emergency; and/or
• The individual meets any additional criteria established by the Secretary of Labor. In UIPL 16-20, the Secretary indicated that independent contractors (including gig workers) with a reportable income may also qualify for PUA if he or she is unemployed, partially unemployed, or the COVID-19 public health emergency has severely limited his/her ability to continue performing his/her customary work activities.

For state unemployment insurance, individuals may continue to receive benefits if they have good cause not to return to an employer, which can include pandemic-related situations. This is determined on a case-by-case basis.

In order to  be eligible for PUA benefits you must self certify that you are otherwise able to and available for work under Arizona Revised Statutes Title 23, Chapter 4, except that you are unemployed, partially unemployed, or unable or unavailable to work as a direct result of one of the COVID-19 related reasons identified in Section 2102(a)(3)(A)(ii)(I) of the CARES Act. This is a requirement of receiving PUA benefits and will be asked when you file your initial claim and again when file your weekly certifications in the PUA portal.

Additionally, you must acknowledge that you understand that making this certification is under penalty of perjury, that intentional misrepresentation in self certifying is fraud, and that you may be subject to criminal prosecution if you are found to have committed fraud.

The PUA application is now LIVE. Find more information on PUA and apply at des.az.gov/pua.

Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation (PEUC)

PEUC provides up to 13 weeks of benefits to individuals who have exhausted regular Unemployment Compensation (UC), have no rights to regular UC, are not receiving compensation under the UC laws of Canada, and are able and available for work, and actively seeking work. However, DES is offering flexibility in meeting the “actively seeking work” requirement if individuals are unable to search for work because of COVID-19 (including because of illness, quarantine, or movement restriction).

If your regular UI benefits have expired and you wish to apply for PEUC, you can do so at www.azui.com. Login then proceed to the initial UI claim section and use the same credentials you used to file your regular UI claim. If you are unable to file online, call the UI Call Center toll free at 1-877-600-2722  or TDD: 7-1-1.

View the PEUC web page for more information.

General CARES Act Information

The Department of Labor issued additional FAQs to clarify key requirements around the new paid sick leave mandate and expanded family and medical leave. These new provisions take effect on April 1, 2020 and expire on December 31, 2020.