Additional 13 Weeks Now Available for Exhausted Unemployment Claims

In addition, the Department reminded claimants of the looming expiration of the Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation (FPUC) program, which has been providing those receiving regular unemployment benefits with an additional $600 benefit each week.

Unless Congress acts to extend the FPUC program, it will end on July 31. States do not have the ability to extend the FPUC program. Per Federal rules, CDLE cannot pay FPUC benefits for incomplete weeks. Since July 31 is a Friday, the last week for which the additional $600 FPUC benefit will be paid is the week ending on Saturday, July 25, 2020. Regular weekly unemployment benefit payments will not be affected, and claimants should continue to request payment as scheduled.

“We understand that these are challenging times for many Coloradans, but please know that there are many resources available to help,” said Joe Barela, Executive Director of the Colorado Department of Labor and Employment. “While the future of the additional $600/week FPUC benefit is uncertain, there are a number of support services available to those impacted including reemployment help from local Workforce Centers,” he said.

Numerous resources are available to help Coloradans affected by the loss of these additional federal unemployment benefits. A variety of jobseeker services are available throughout Colorado at local Workforce Centers, including job search assistance, career guidance, training, workshops and more. In addition, ConnectingColorado.com, the state’s job bank, has more than 54,000 job openings including thousands of “location-neutral” jobs. More information on rental, food, and medical assistance, as well as other resources, can be found at OnwardCO.org or ColoradoUI.gov.

The federally-funded FPUC benefits have been paid in addition to regular unemployment benefits since March 29. More than $1.9 billion in FPUC has been paid to date.