10.12.2020
Congressman John Sarbanes (D-Md.) today joined the Maryland Congressional Delegation in again urging Maryland Governor Larry Hogan (R) and Maryland Secretary of Labor Tiffany Robinson to redouble the state’s efforts to speed up the processing of Marylanders’ Unemployment Insurance (UI) claims.
Following up on their past efforts and conversations with state leaders earlier this year, the Congressional Delegation also requested that the state provide full and updated information about the numbers of unpaid and/or unresolved UI claims.
“Too many Marylanders are still reeling from the economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic, even though a state-federal partnership exists to deliver vitally needed support to unemployed workers,” the lawmakers said. “Team Maryland is continuing its work to ensure that both the state leaders and federal agencies that make this process function appreciate fully the urgency of the present situation. For many – too many – the situation is nothing less than dire. Even strong economic lifelines matter very little if they are not quickly and fully deployed.”
The lawmakers continued: “We will continue to press state leaders for greater transparency and expediency in the processing of unemployment insurance claims, and will not stop advocating on behalf of those Marylanders who need assistance until they receive all the benefits they are entitled to under the law.”
The UI provisions in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security Act (CARES) Act enacted by Congress in March 2020 include expanded benefit eligibility to workers not otherwise covered by UI, such as the self-employed, independent contractors and gig economy workers; a 13-week extension of unemployment benefits; and a $600 increase in weekly unemployment benefits.
The UI provisions in the Families First Coronavirus Response Act provide various types of assistance to states, including up to $1 billion in emergency administrative grant funding, of which Maryland received roughly $16.8 million. This law also removes, through December 2020, the current requirement in UI law for states to have a waiting week for their regular UI programs.