Emergency Unemployment Benefits Extended
Contact: Casey Kyler-West, Department of Labor and Industry communications director, 406-444-1520, ckylerwest@mt.gov
January 7, 2010
For Immediate Release
(Helena) The Emergency Unemployment Compensation program (EUC08), set to expire on December 31, 2009, has been extended to February 28, 2010 with the passage by Congress of HR 3326. This provision allows those individuals whose regular Montana unemployment claim runs out of funds between now and the end of February to begin receiving EUC08 benefits. It also allows claimants who are already receiving EUC08 benefits to access the next tier of the program. Because the extension is federally funded there is no cost to employers.
"This extension helps Montana unemployed workers continue to receive financial help in these challenging economic times and gives an additional boost to the Montana economy," said Labor Commissioner Keith Kelly. "The expiration of EUC08 would have been hard on Montanans during our winter slowdown."
After the balance on their Montana claim reaches zero, claimants can file an EUC08 claim. "This much needed federal benefit extension, along with historically high workload, may result in difficulty reaching the Claims Processing Centers by phone," said Roy Mulvaney, UI Administrator. For fastest access to file a claim, we strongly encourage people to log onto ui4u.mt.gov, a secure, easy to use service.
For those claimants who don't have a home computer, Internet services are available at your local Job Service Office or public library or contact the Montana Claims Processing Centers at 406-444-2545 (Helena) or 406-247-1000 (Billings).
