Federal unemployment benefits lapsed on Labor Day. But there’s good news for Americans who’ve been waiting weeks or months for that aid to arrive: They can still collect back pay past the cutoff date.
Workers who haven’t yet applied for the federal assistance can still do so, but many have less than 30 days to act.
Delayed unemployment benefits have been a common occurrence during the Covid-19 pandemic. State unemployment offices have contended with hurdles such as a historic volume of claims, understaffing, antiquated technology, elevated levels of fraud and implementation of new rules and programs.
Data suggests thousands of people may still be waiting for aid to arrive.
About 19% of applicants — or about 104,000 people — whose first payment of state benefits arrived in July had waited at least 70 days to receive the funds, according to U.S. Department of Labor data.
However, states will still disburse any federal benefits owed to eligible applicants.
Those now-expired benefits include funds for the long-term unemployed and others (like the self-employed, independent contractors and gig workers) who don’t qualify for state unemployment insurance.
