Federal Worker & Contract Separations – Apply for Unemployment Benefits
Been separated from a federal job or government contract? You may qualify for unemployment benefits. Go to the link below or call the Federal Employment UI Hotline at 855-435-7969.
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New claims filed on/after Aug. 10: you may need to enter work searches before your weekly certification. This helps organize your work searches. See when it starts in your county:
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EMPLOYERS/AGENTS-COMING SOON: MFA Begins Aug. 23
Starting August 23, you’ll need a passcode to log into NCSUITS. Update your email/phone number now under User Profile > Account Settings so you don’t get locked out.
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An official website of the State of North CarolinaAn official website of NC
As federal unemployment benefits end in North Carolina, Governor Roy Cooper today issued an Executive Order that reinstates certain unemployment benefits requirements after Sept. 4, 2021. “As the pandemic hit, we cut red tape and made temporary changes to unemployment insurance to help people get benefits and to protect employers and employees," said Governor Roy Cooper. "North Carolina’s paltry unemployment benefits are some of the stingiest in the country, and I will continue to urge the legislature to improve the state's benefits as we return to normal procedures."
On Sept. 3, the Division of Employment Security (DES) began issuing payments for Lost Wages Assistance (LWA) to eligible North Carolinians, less than four weeks after federal officials announced the program on Aug. 8.
LWA is funded by the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to provide $300 per week to supplement unemployment benefits for those who have an unemployment benefit amount of at least $100 a week and are out of work due to COVID-19.
DES expects initial funds to provide LWA for the benefit weeks ending Aug. 1, Aug. 8 and Aug. 15, 2020.
The North Carolina Division of Employment Security is taking recommended health and safety precautions after one of its employees received a diagnosis of COVID-19.
The facility where the individual’s workstation is located has been sanitized and other staff assigned to that location are working remotely to further prevent the spread of illness.
DES continues to provide claims processing and customer services.
Beginning Friday, May 22, North Carolinians who have exhausted their state unemployment insurance benefits can apply for an extension of benefits through the federal Pandemic Emergency Unemployment Compensation program (PEUC).
PEUC provides up to 13 weeks of additional assistance for people who exhausted their 12 weeks of state unemployment insurance benefits on or after July 6, 2019. It is available for benefit weeks ending Saturdays from April 4 to Dec. 26, 2020.
For people applying for PEUC:
Today, Lockhart Taylor, assistant secretary of the North Carolina Department of Commerce Division of Employment Security (DES), briefed the Senate Committee on Commerce and Insurance on the division’s work over the last two months to get relief to North Carolinians who have lost their jobs as a result of the COVID pandemic.
North Carolina independent contractors and self-employed workers out of work because of COVID-19 can apply for federal Pandemic Unemployment Assistance beginning this Friday, April 24 at des.nc.gov.
Pandemic Unemployment Assistance, or PUA, is a federal program for people who are unable to work as a result of COVID-19 and not eligible for regular state unemployment benefits, such as self-employed workers and independent contractors.
In the last month, more than 630,000 people have filed for unemployment insurance benefits in North Carolina, mostly due to the impacts of COVID-19. By the end of the next week, the Division of Employment Security plans to have more than three times its original staffing in place to respond to the surge in claims and ensure payments go out as quickly as possible.
DES expects to have more than 1,600 people working to process claims and issue payments.
• Prior to COVID-19, DES had a staff of approximately 500.
In the past 24 hours, the Division of Employment Security has made more than $100 million in Federal Pandemic Unemployment Compensation payments to North Carolinians receiving unemployment assistance, ahead of its timeline to begin FPUC payments by April 17.
The division has now paid out a total of more than $216 million to 185,000 people for unemployment claims effective as of March 15.
With more than half a million North Carolinians filing for unemployment in the past four weeks, Governor Roy Cooper has issued an executive order that will help streamline the processing of claims by lifting some of the requirements for employers to file attached claims on behalf of their employees.
The Division of Employment Security is moving quickly to bring additional unemployment insurance benefits to North Carolinians impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. DES has received official guidance from the U.S. Department of Labor on how to implement the three federal unemployment programs included in the CARES Act.
DES is working as quickly as possible to modify its technology systems to make sure people can apply for these benefits and receive timely, accurate payments. Individuals due any benefits prior to the full implementation of these programs will be paid retroactively.
