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Press Release: State Labor Department Begins Claimant Communication with Passage of American Rescue Plan

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For Immediate Release
 

Date: March 11, 2021
Contact: Office of Government, Policy and Public Relations - cdle_pr@state.co.us
 

State Labor Department Begins Claimant Communication with Passage of American Rescue Plan
No Gap in Unemployment Payments Expected

(DENVER) -- Today the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment (CDLE) announced there will likely be no gap in payments for Coloradans receiving federal unemployment benefits thanks to the passage of the American Rescue Plan as long as President Biden signs the bill by Friday, March 12, 2021. CDLE is still working to evaluate the impact of the legislation on all claimant populations but anticipates no gap in benefits for most claimants. The new legislation extends the federal unemployment assistance programs another 29 weeks. The current extension provided by the Continued Assistance Act expires this Saturday, March 13. The American Rescue Plan extends a number of federal pandemic benefit programs including Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC), supplemental payments of $300 per week for anyone receiving unemployment benefits, through the week ending September 4th. 

“It is our top priority right now to ensure Coloradans experience a seamless transition as the federal unemployment benefit programs are extended through the first week of September,” said Joe Barela, Executive Director, CDLE. “We are grateful that Congress took the necessary steps before the current programs expire, saving hundreds of thousands of Coloradans the financial hardship and gap in payments we saw earlier this year due to a delay in federal action.”  
    
CDLE asked the U.S. Department of Labor and Employment (USDOL) for approval to deploy the extended programs before receiving USDOL official guidance. This approval means CDLE does not have to wait for the guidance to reprogram its computer system, however, it does have to wait until the President signs the bill into law. As long as that happens by Friday, a gap in payments should be avoided.

CDLE is contacting claimants directly with details on next steps. The UI Daily Dashboard and ColoradoUI.gov have also been updated with details on the federal pandemic benefit programs extended by the American Rescue Plan.

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